The Wit and Humour of Political Science

The Wit and Humour of Political Science
Author: Lee Sigelman
Publisher: ECPR Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2010-10-01
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1907301100

The Wit and Humour of Political Science is the serendipitous product of two senior scholars working across the world from one another and who independently collected funny and satirical articles on political science over the years with the intent of someday publishing them for a wider audience. The lead editors— Kenneth Newton (Professor Emeritus, University of Southampton, Visiting Professor, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, and Hertie School of Governance, Berlin) and the late Lee Sigelman (Columbian School of Arts and Sciences, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, George Washington University) — learned by chance of each other's projects. Newton and Sigelman joined forces with Kenneth Meier (Charles H. Gregory Chair in Liberal Arts and Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University) and Bernard Grofman (Jack W. Peltason (Bren Foundation) Endowed Chair in the Department of Political Science, University of California, Irvine) to publish this collection under the joint imprint of APSA and ECPR. The collection includes previously published essays as well as original pieces never formally published. From the editors: This volume collects what in our opinions are the wittiest and funniest pieces about political science and political scientists. We are confident that even a small investment of the reader's time will be sufficient to disprove Baker's slur on our discipline. Like all good humour, much of the work we have chosen for inclusion has a serious point. It helps scholars keep an open and skeptical mind, it picks out our weak points in theory and methods, points out how research may be going wrong, and it pricks the balloon of bombast, pretentiousness, and jargon. And, not only that, it's fun... Its contents make essential reading for all political scientists, even the most senior, but it may be enjoyed by younger scholars, especially those without tenure (or worse yet, without a job), by other social scientists, and even— gasp—by readers unaffiliated with any academic discipline.

Great Political Wit

Great Political Wit
Author: Robert Dole
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2000-08-01
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0767906675

Bob Dole's political career may not have taken him to the White House, but he did pick up some great stories along the way. In this delightful collection, the longtime United States senator shares his favorite anecdotes, witticisms, and reminiscences. From the campaign trail to the Oval Office, from smoke-filled rooms to the chambers of the Capitol, Bob Dole surveys a century of political wit. There are bon mots from Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and a host of other political figures. Bob Dole introduces each section with mirthful moments from his own experience, displaying the gift for wry humor that has made him a favorite guest on late-night talk shows. A jovial--and completely bipartisan--compendium, Great Political Wit is a connoisseur's selection of political repartee at its best.

Great Presidential Wit

Great Presidential Wit
Author: Robert J. Dole
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2001
Genre: Presidents
ISBN: 0743203925

The former senator and presidential candidate collects bipartisan presidential humor from famous, and not-so-famous, chief executives, from Washington to Clinton.

Comedy and Critical Thought

Comedy and Critical Thought
Author: Iain MacKenzie
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2018-03-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1786604086

Throughout history, comedians and clowns have enjoyed a certain freedom to speak frankly often denied to others in hegemonic systems. More recently, professional comedians have developed platforms of comic license from which to critique the traditional political establishment and have managed to play an important role in interrogating and mediating the processes of politics in contemporary society. This collection will examine the questions that arise when of comedy and critique intersect by bringing together both critical theorists and comedy scholars with a view to exploring the nature of comedy, its potential role in critical theory and the forms it can take as a practice of resistance.

Your Wit Is My Command

Your Wit Is My Command
Author: Tony Veale
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0262045990

For fans of computers and comedy alike, an accessible and entertaining look into how we can use artificial intelligence to make smart machines funny. Most robots and smart devices are not known for their joke-telling abilities. And yet, as computer scientist Tony Veale explains in Your Wit Is My Command, machines are not inherently unfunny; they are just programmed that way. By examining the mechanisms of humor and jokes--how jokes actually works--Veale shows that computers can be built with a sense of humor, capable not only of producing a joke but also of appreciating one. Along the way, he explores the humor-generating capacities of fictional robots ranging from B-9 in Lost in Space to TARS in Interstellar, maps out possible scenarios for developing witty robots, and investigates such aspects of humor as puns, sarcasm, and offensiveness. In order for robots to be funny, Veale explains, we need to analyze humor computationally. Using artificial intelligence (AI), Veale shows that joke generation is a knowledge-based process--a sense of humor is blend of wit and wisdom. He notes that existing technologies can detect sarcasm in conversation, and explains how some jokes can be pre-scripted while others are generated algorithmically--all while making the technical aspects of AI accessible for the general reader. Of course, there's no single algorithm or technology that we can plug in to make our virtual assistants or GPS voice navigation funny, but Veale provides a computational roadmap for how we might get there.

Maestri of Political Science

Maestri of Political Science
Author: Donatella Campus
Publisher: ECPR Press
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2011-06-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1910259020

This book continues the editors' work (started in the volume “Masters of Political Science”) of highlighting and re-evaluating the contributions of the most important political scientists who have gone before. Its basis is the belief that the future development and sophistication of the discipline will benefit from a critical understanding of the works of early political “giants” whose contributions are presented and analysed: Gabriel A. Almond, Raymond Aron, Philip Converse, Maurice Duverger, Stanley Hoffmann, Paul Lazarsfeld, Arend Lijphart, Elinor Ostrom, William H. Riker, Stein Rokkan and Susan Strange. The editors review and consider the contributions of these maestri to the study of contemporary democracy, political culture, electoral systems, political communication, the transformation of capitalism and state formation in Europe. Maestri of Political Science is aimed not only at a new generation of political scientists but is a valuable opportunity for established scholars to see new light through old windows.

Praeger Handbook of Political Campaigning in the United States

Praeger Handbook of Political Campaigning in the United States
Author: William L. Benoit
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 621
Release: 2016-02-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1440831637

This work peels back the curtain on how political campaigns influence America, covering everything from social media to getting to the Oval Office. This comprehensive handbook reveals essentially everything the American public wants to know about political campaigns. The two-volume set begins with a historical overview, then goes on to investigate campaigns from a variety of perspectives that shed light on how they work and why. Readers will discover how campaigns are run, how they're covered by the media, how they influence government, and how various interest groups and demographics play a part in the system. The contributors—who include academics, elected officials, journalists, and campaign professionals—offer new data, interviews, and analysis in a style that will prove fresh, accessible, and engaging for everyone from college students to political junkies. They offer the inside scoop on types of campaign media—for example, TV spots, debates, and social media—and on message variables such as language, humor, and evidence. Groups of voters like women and youth are examined, and the work also discusses theories of campaigning such as agenda-setting, issue ownership, the Elaboration Likelihood Model, and the Theory of Reasoned Action. Scandal in American political campaigns, always a subject of interest, is addressed as well.