The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy

Comedy is part of the cultural landscape as never before, as older manifestations such as performance (stand-up, plays, etc.), film and TV have been joined by an online industry, pioneered by YouTube and social media.This innovative new book series will help define the emerging comedy studies field, offering fresh perspectives on the comedy studies phenomenon,and opening up new avenues for discussion. The focus is ‘pop cultural’, and will emphasize vaudeville, stand-up, variety, comedy film, TV sit-coms, and digital comedy. It will welcome studies of politics, history, aesthetics,production, distribution, and reception, as well as work that explores international perspectives and the digital realm. Above all it will be pioneering – there is no competition in the publishing world at this point in time.