Laughing at "Lo Politico": Mass Media Political Humor in Contemporary Latin America

FAIN: HB-50140-11

Barry Steven Levitt
Florida International University Board of Trustees (Miami, FL 33199-2516)

What's so funny about politics? And why might political humor differ across time and place? This project examines contemporary political humor in seven Latin American societies. Drawing on a multidisciplinary cache of humor theory, I first ask what, exactly, makes different pieces funny and demonstrate that "what's funny" is itself a political issue. I explain why different modes of political humor are delivered through particular mass media, highlighting the dynamic cultural shifts that new communications technologies are driving in the region. And I examine whether the prevalence of different modes of political humor is shaped by national-level political regimes and laws. The project will produce a publicly-accessible online database of Latin American political humor, two journal articles (which will undergird a book project), and an undergraduate course syllabus, helping to advance the NEH's Bridging Cultures initiative.