Dr. David Gillota, associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, has been named editor of the “Studies in American Humor” (StAH), a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. For the past seven years, Gillota has worked on the journal in the roles of book review editor and as the associate editor. StAH is the official journal of the American Humor Studies Association.
“I’ve been part of a community of scholars who work in American humor for a long time now, so it’s nice to have the trust of that community to run the journal moving forward,” said Gillota. “It’s exciting to be able to play an active role in the direction of the field.”
According to the StAH website, the journal publishes articles on “topics, themes, practices, practitioners and media across the wide spectrum of American humor, past and present.” The journal has been continuously published since 1982.
“One of the main ideas that runs through all of the work in the journal is that the things that make us laugh – whether it’s a Mark Twain novel, a funny meme or a stand-up comedy routine – actually matter,” said Gillota. “People often assume that just because something is funny, that it is not worth thinking about. However, at the journal – and in humor studies in general – we think that by examining those things that are funny, we can learn more about a culture. The things that make us laugh (or the people we laugh at or laugh with) can reveal something about our own values or our history.”
To learn more about StAH and the American Humor Studies Association visit, americanhumorstudiesassociation.wordpress.com.