The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy

Raúl Pérez

Published by Stanford University Press 2022

The Souls of White Jokes

How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy

Raúl Pérez

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503632349

Overview
Contents

About this book

A rigorous study of the social meaning and consequences of racist humor, and a damning argument for when the joke is not just a joke.

Author / Editor information

Raúl Pérez is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of La Verne. His work has been published in American Behavioral Scientist, Discourse and Society, Ethnicities, and Sociological Perspectives, and featured in Time, The Grio, Latino Rebels, and Zócalo Public Square.

Reviews

Michael Pickering:
"It is a commonplace assumption that humor is always harmless fun and vital for our everyday well-being. In this important new book, Raúl Pérez cogently argues that this is not invariably the case, and that jokes and joking relations can be hostile, divisive, alienating and dehumanizing – or in other words, very harmful. Within a strong and well-woven theoretical framework, The Souls of White Jokes offers a major contribution to the critical sociology of ethnicity and racism as well as to the study of humor in key institutions and organizations."

David Roediger:
"Theoretically astute and historically rich, this unique study depicts the racial joke—far from being harmless and disarming—as being inseparable from the cementing of white solidarity, from the spreading of racist commonsense, and from easy disavowal of the damage being done."

Simon Weaver:
"In providing the first sustained discussion of racist humor in the United States, Pérez contributes a significant critical intervention to intellectual discussions of racism."

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva:
"This book is an example of the best the sociological imagination has to offer. Pérez advances a powerful theory, elegantly substantiated with historical and contemporary examples. I learned a lot and so will everyone who reads this book."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
TABLE OF CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
1 THE RACIAL POWER OF HUMOR Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 AMUSED RACIAL CONTEMPT, OR A THEORY OF WHITE RACIST HUMOR Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	22
3 HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT The Violent Racist Humor of the Far Right Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
4 BLUE HUMOR The Racist Insults and Injuries of the Police Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
5 PRESIDENT CHIMP The Politics of Amused Racial Contempt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
Epilogue RACIST HUMOR AND THE CULT(URE) OF WHITENESS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207

Language: English
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 232
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 20
Keywords: race; racism; humor; jokes; white supremacy; anti-blackness; police; law enforcement; alt-right; far right; politics

eBook

Published: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 9781503632349