{"id":{"repo_id":"lsu-thes","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.lsu.edu:gradschool_dissertations-2141"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/lsu-thes/oai:repository.lsu.edu:gradschool_dissertations-2141","repository":{"repo_id":"lsu-thes","name":"Lousiana State University","base_url":"https://repository.lsu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"In spite of yourself : the asignifying force of humor and laughter","abstract":"In Spite of Yourself: The Asignifying Force of Humor and Laughter calls upon the interruptive moments of uncontrollable laughter to challenge rhetoric’s historical treatment of humor and laughter. Anyone who has ever suffered a fit of hysterical laughter at precisely the wrong moment, or has begun to laugh spontaneously at an inappropriate joke before stopping short, can attest to laughter’s uniquely uncontrollable force. Beyond all reason and control, laughter interrupts us and reminds us of the limits of the human subject. Because laughter does not signify meaning in the traditional communicative sense, it exerts an asignifying force irreducible to the questions of truth, understanding, and presence. While rhetoricians like Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian attempt to confine laughter’s force to calculated aspects of persuasion, their approaches simultaneously reveal an understanding that laughter’s effects lie beyond the rational control of the orator. By tracing the often-unintended effects of humor through a range of comedic performances including stand-up comedy, radio, and film, this project ultimately argues that laughter’s rhetorical power resides not in what it means, but in what it does. Ultimately, because laughter is not a signifying language, yet it still produces rhetorical effects, taking up laughter’s asignifying force provides a chance to expand the field of rhetoric in ways beyond the reason, beyond signification, and beyond the human.","abstract_html":"In Spite of Yourself: The Asignifying Force of Humor and Laughter calls upon the interruptive moments of uncontrollable laughter to challenge rhetoric’s historical treatment of humor and laughter. Anyone who has ever suffered a fit of hysterical laughter at precisely the wrong moment, or has begun to laugh spontaneously at an inappropriate joke before stopping short, can attest to laughter’s uniquely uncontrollable force. Beyond all reason and control, laughter interrupts us and reminds us of the limits of the human subject. Because laughter does not signify meaning in the traditional communicative sense, it exerts an asignifying force irreducible to the questions of truth, understanding, and presence. While rhetoricians like Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian attempt to confine laughter’s force to calculated aspects of persuasion, their approaches simultaneously reveal an understanding that laughter’s effects lie beyond the rational control of the orator. By tracing the often-unintended effects of humor through a range of comedic performances including stand-up comedy, radio, and film, this project ultimately argues that laughter’s rhetorical power resides not in what it means, but in what it does. Ultimately, because laughter is not a signifying language, yet it still produces rhetorical effects, taking up laughter’s asignifying force provides a chance to expand the field of rhetoric in ways beyond the reason, beyond signification, and beyond the human.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Casper, Kevin Michael"],"institution":"English","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:59:03Z","subjects":["force","posthuman","poststructural","postmodern","laughter","rhetoric"],"languages":[],"rights":["unrestricted","Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["etd-07082013-143714","https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1142"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-07082013-143714","href":null,"code":true},{"text":"https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1142","href":"https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1142","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1142","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Casper, Kevin Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013-07-05"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-05-12T23:11:09Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["force","posthuman","poststructural","postmodern","laughter","rhetoric"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["etd-07082013-143714","10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1142","https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1142"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In Spite of Yourself: The Asignifying Force of Humor and Laughter calls upon the interruptive moments of uncontrollable laughter to challenge rhetoric’s historical treatment of humor and laughter. Anyone who has ever suffered a fit of hysterical laughter at precisely the wrong moment, or has begun to laugh spontaneously at an inappropriate joke before stopping short, can attest to laughter’s uniquely uncontrollable force. Beyond all reason and control, laughter interrupts us and reminds us of the limits of the human subject. Because laughter does not signify meaning in the traditional communicative sense, it exerts an asignifying force irreducible to the questions of truth, understanding, and presence. While rhetoricians like Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian attempt to confine laughter’s force to calculated aspects of persuasion, their approaches simultaneously reveal an understanding that laughter’s effects lie beyond the rational control of the orator. By tracing the often-unintended effects of humor through a range of comedic performances including stand-up comedy, radio, and film, this project ultimately argues that laughter’s rhetorical power resides not in what it means, but in what it does. Ultimately, because laughter is not a signifying language, yet it still produces rhetorical effects, taking up laughter’s asignifying force provides a chance to expand the field of rhetoric in ways beyond the reason, beyond signification, and beyond the human."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["In spite of yourself : the asignifying force of humor and laughter"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Casper, Kevin Michael"],"dc:date":["2013-07-05"],"dc:date.available":["2022-05-12T23:11:09Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In Spite of Yourself: The Asignifying Force of Humor and Laughter calls upon the interruptive moments of uncontrollable laughter to challenge rhetoric’s historical treatment of humor and laughter. Anyone who has ever suffered a fit of hysterical laughter at precisely the wrong moment, or has begun to laugh spontaneously at an inappropriate joke before stopping short, can attest to laughter’s uniquely uncontrollable force. Beyond all reason and control, laughter interrupts us and reminds us of the limits of the human subject. Because laughter does not signify meaning in the traditional communicative sense, it exerts an asignifying force irreducible to the questions of truth, understanding, and presence. While rhetoricians like Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian attempt to confine laughter’s force to calculated aspects of persuasion, their approaches simultaneously reveal an understanding that laughter’s effects lie beyond the rational control of the orator. By tracing the often-unintended effects of humor through a range of comedic performances including stand-up comedy, radio, and film, this project ultimately argues that laughter’s rhetorical power resides not in what it means, but in what it does. Ultimately, because laughter is not a signifying language, yet it still produces rhetorical effects, taking up laughter’s asignifying force provides a chance to expand the field of rhetoric in ways beyond the reason, beyond signification, and beyond the human."],"dc:identifier":["etd-07082013-143714","10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1142","https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1142"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide."],"dc:subject":["force","posthuman","poststructural","postmodern","laughter","rhetoric"],"dc:title":["In spite of yourself : the asignifying force of humor and laughter"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"],"thesis:institution_name":["English"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:59:03Z"}