Laughter in Stories of Crime and Tragedy: Bringing Humour Theory to Criminology

• In Event: Narrative Criminology II: Gender and Psychosocial Dynamics

Abstract

Humour is essential for social life, but has yet to be explored in great depth in criminology. In this article we introduce humour theory to criminology, emphasizing superiority and relief theory. We draw on a sample of male incarcerated offenders and demonstrate how they use humour to criticize, transmit values, and deal with tragic events. Humour is ambiguous and evades simple categorization, which makes it a "problem" in scientific research. This is maybe why it has been neglected in criminology. We argue that criminologists should pay more attention to humour, and use humour theory to explore the culture and social world of offenders.

Authors

• Sébastien Tutenges, Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University

• Sveinung Sandberg, University of Oslo