Author: Noël CarrollPublisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199552223
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
Examines the leading theories of humor, focusing on the incongruity theory.
Comedy: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Matthew BevisPublisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199601712
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Book Description
With a broad scope across the millennia, from high literature to popular culture, between page and stage and screen, this Very Short Introduction considers comedy not only as a literary genre, but also as a broader impulse at work in many other historical and contemporary forms of satire, parody, and play.
On Humour
Author: Simon CritchleyPublisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135199035
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
This is a fascinating and beautifully written book on what philosophy can tell us about humour and about what it is to be human. It will fascinate and intrigue anyone with a sense of humour.
Viruses
Author: Dorothy H. CrawfordPublisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198811713
Category : Medical virology
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
Viruses are big news. From pandemics such as HIV, swine flu, and SARS, we are constantly being bombarded with information about new lethal infections. In this Very Short Introduction, Dorothy Crawford demonstrates from their discovery and the unravelling of their intricate structures, how clever these entities really are.
Design: A Very Short Introduction
Author: John HeskettPublisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0192854461
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Book Description
This book will transform the way you think about design by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal to the medical equipment used to save lives. John Heskett goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalise objects.
Galileo: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Stillman DrakePublisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191606669
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 161
Book Description
In a startling reinterpretation of the evidence, Stillman Drake advances the hypothesis that Galileo's trial and condemnation by the Inquisition was caused not by his defiance of the Church, but by the hostility of contemporary philosophers. Galileo's own beautifully lucid arguments are used to show how his scientific method was utterly divorced from the Aristotelian approach to physics in that it was based on a search not for causes but for laws. Galileo's method was of overwhelming significance for the development of modern physics, and led to a final parting of the ways between science and philosophy. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Bestsellers
Author: John SutherlandPublisher:
ISBN: 9780191776960
Category : American fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 127
Book Description
For the last century, the tastes and preferences of readers of fiction have been reflected in the American and British bestseller lists. John Sutherland takes an engaging look through the lists to reveal what we have been reading - and why.
Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Ennis Barrington EdmondsPublisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199584524
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 161
Book Description
Rastafari has grown into an international socio-religious movement, with adherents of Rastafari found in most of the major population centres and outposts of the world. This Very Short Introduction provides a brief account of this widespread but often poorly understood movement, looking at its history, central principles, and practices.
Humour
Author: Terry EagletonPublisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300244789
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 191
Book Description
A compelling guide to the fundamental place of humour and comedy within Western culture—by one of its greatest exponents Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humour and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humour subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit? Packed with illuminating ideas and a good many excellent jokes, the book critically examines various well-known theories of humour, including the idea that it springs from incongruity and the view that it reflects a mildly sadistic form of superiority to others. Drawing on a wide range of literary and philosophical sources, Terry Eagleton moves from Aristotle and Aquinas to Hobbes, Freud, and Bakhtin, looking in particular at the psychoanalytical mechanisms underlying humour and its social and political evolution over the centuries.
Contemporary Art: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Julian StallabrassPublisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0192806467
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Book Description
"Bloodied toy soldiers, gilded shopping carts, and Lego concentration camps. Contemporary art is supposed to be a realm of freedom where artists shock, break taboos, and switch between confronting viewers with works of great profundity and jaw-dropping triviality. But away from shock tactics in the gallery, there are many unanswered questions. What is contemporary about contemporary art? What effect do politics and big business have on art? And who really runs the art world?" "Previously published as Art Incorporated, this controversial and witty Very Short Introduction is an exploration of the global art scene that will change the way you see contemporary art."--BOOK JACKET.
