Laughing Out Loud

Abstract

This chapter by Jared N. Champion and Peter C. Kunze compares understandings of the stand-up comedian as a public, social, and cultural figure alongside theorizations of the public intellectual. Stand-up comedians do not only translate the ideas of traditional intellectuals; they often contribute to and comment upon such insights. Consequently, they stand as public intellectuals in their own right, and they often present themselves as such in the public arena—on stage, in writing, on television. Examining stand-up comedians as public intellectuals reframes stand-up comedy as a performance practice with political consequences.