Humor in academia: An international survey of humor instruction

The topic of humor is vapidly coming of age as a serious study in colleges and universities throughout the world. As a few of us began to teach the topic as a university-credit course during the nineteen sixties and early nineteen seventies, we felt like true pioneers with scant supplies and doubting colleagues. But during the nineteen seventies, through the research and writings of many scholars and practitioners, humor began to emerge as a credible field of scholarship. Today, there is an abundance of content with which to teach this fascinating new social science. However, the frivolity historically associated with humor still lingers with many academy colleagues skeptical about humor as a serious course in higher education. This article presents results of a survey into the current status of humor instruction in the world\u27s colleges and universities with hopes of turning skepticism into appreciation. Questionnaires went to 106 subjects identified by Don Nilsen as Humor Scholars with Humor Courses. With 24 multiple-choice and three open-ended questions, the instrument probed the needs, preferences, problems, objectives, and priorities of those teaching humor courses. The response rate was 45 percent, representing 34 U.S. and nine foreign institutions. The survey reveals the diversity and scope of humor instruction worldwide