Humoresques

Humour in the Beginning

images/2022-H in the beginning041.jpgRoald Dijkstra and Paul van der Velde (eds.), Humour in the Beginning.
Religion, humour and laughter in formative stages of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism
KU Leuven / Radboud University, [Topics in Humor Research, 10], John Benjamins Publishing Company, 290 pp. + index2022, 99€.

 

mot-clé: religions, chrétienté, Islam, Bouddisme , judaïsme

 

This work presents a multidisciplinary collection of fourteen in-depth case studies on the role of humor – both benign and blasphemous, elitist and ordinary, orthodox and heterodox – in early, formative stages of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and (lateantique) Judaism.
Main topics include the incongruous nature of the divine, the role of anthropomorphism, superior and didactic humor, moderate laughter, responses from dissenters and the gap between religious regulations and reality.

Contributions by: Y. Amin; F. Bernard; M. Dijkstra; R. Dijkstra; G.J. van Gelder; N. Graham; F. Hassan; V. Hunink; R. Kiperwasser; I. Kuin; G. Kuipers; P. Lanfranchi; U. Marzolph; B. Schweizer; A. Sterken; A.I. Sælid Gilhus; P. van der Velde.

Table des matières

Preface | pp. vii–viii
About the contributors | pp. ix–xii

PART I. HUMOUR AS TOOL AND TOPIC (ESSAYS)
Humour, risk and religion
Giselinde Kuipers | pp. 3–9
Religion and humour: The big picture
Bernard Schweizer | pp. 11–16
The unquenchable laughter of the gods
Inger N.I. Kuin | pp. 17–22
Is the application of modern humour theories on historical cases a joke?
Yasmin Amin | pp. 23–30

PART II. CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM IN LATE ANTIQUITY
Derisive laughter and religious identity in ancient Christianity
Ingvild Sælid Gilhus | pp. 33–46
Opponent or advocate? Exploring Clement of Alexandria’s attitude(s) towards laughter
Nicole Graham | pp. 47–62
“This joke has gone on for long enough”: Humour, derision, and allusion in the letters of Gregory of Nazianzus
Floris Bernard | pp. 63–80
The smile of the martyr
Pierluigi Lanfranchi | pp. 81–92
Divine mockery and laughing Rabbis
Reuven Kiperwasser | pp. 93–105
Converting comedians: Humour and laughter as a way to interpret the early Christian mime reports
Roald Dijkstra | pp. 107–126
Biblical fun: Humour in the Cena Cypriani
Vincent Hunink | pp. 127–142

PART III. THE QUR’AN AND EARLY ARABIC LITERATURE
Humour and its ethics: Reflections from the early Islamic era
Farooq Hassan | pp. 145–154
A laughing God, between Sunni approval and Shi’ite rejection
Yasmin Amin | pp. 155–182
Poetic parodies of Islamic discourses by Abū Nuwās
Geert Jan van Gelder | pp. 183–206
Greek and Buddhist jokes and their corresponding versions in classical Arabic literature
Ulrich Marzolph | pp. 207–218

PART IV. BUDDHISM
How is this sutra different from my ass? Humour as a gateway to enlightenment in Zen Buddhism
Michel Dijkstra | pp. 221–234
Finicking monkeys: Sun Wukong (Monkey King) as a humorous force in the Chinese discourse on the Three Teachings
Arjan Sterken | pp. 235–252
“Are you really serious?”: The Buddha, the Brahmins and humour in the śramaṇa tradition of India
Paul van der Velde | pp. 253–270

PART V. CONCLUSION
Humour in religion: A Protean phenomenon
Roald Dijkstra | pp. 273–300
Index :SUBJECTS & METADATA

 

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