ߣƵ

Skip to Main Content
ߣƵ

Krefting's new book examines stand-up comedy

November 18, 2014
Beck Krefting's book

Beck Krefting, assistant professor of American Studies, is the author of a new book, All Joking Aside—American Humor and Its Discontents, published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

According to the publisher’s web site, Krefting’s examination of stand-up comedy “establishes a new genre of comedic production, ‘charged humor,’ and charts its pathways from production to consumption.”

Stand-up comics have used charged humor “to reveal social, political and economic stratifications,” according to the publisher. Krefting’s history of charged comedy over the past nearly 70 years highlights the work of a number of comics, including Dick Gregory, Robin Tyler, Moz Jobrani, and Hari Kondabolu.

In an interview with Tracy Wuster of the blog Humor in America, Krefting—herself a comic who has done stand-up and improve—tries to determine “What words would create the greatest comedic effect and in what order?” With ߣƵ serving as host each year to the National College Comedy Festival, Krefting said she “gets to teach, mentor, and debate with students who are comedyphiles just like me.”

Click to read the Humor in America interview. Visit the publisher’s web site .

Related News


Students+listen+intently+during+an+election+program+at+the+Tang+Teaching+Museum
The $175,000 award will support SkidMORE Discourse: Meaningful Open Respectful Engagement (M.O.R.E.), a two-year initiative to help students build the habits of listening, critical thinking, and respectful dialogue that strengthen both campus life and democracy.
Apr 30 2026

Pushkala+Prasad+
Zankel Professor of Management for Liberal Arts Students earns ߣƵ’s top teaching award for her interdisciplinary, globally focused approach to business education.
Apr 30 2026

Fred+Braunstein+%E2%80%9908+sits+in+a+chair+in+ߣƵ%27s+Wyckoff+Center
Now the in-house principal counsel for the global online marketplace Taskrabbit, he says exploring questions of gender, sexuality, and race at ߣƵ expanded his worldview.
Apr 24 2026