When Laughter Fades: Individual Participation During Open-Mic Comedy Performances

dc.contributor.advisorEnglebretson, Robert
dc.creatorCain, Sarah Seewoester
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-17T15:48:29Z
dc.date.available2019-05-17T15:48:29Z
dc.date.created2018-08
dc.date.issued2018-06-20
dc.date.submittedAugust 2018
dc.date.updated2019-05-17T15:48:29Z
dc.description.abstractAudiences have traditionally been defined and characterized by the collective responses they produce – behaviors such as clapping, laughing, booing, and the like. But during the course of speaker-audience interactions, individual contributions are also observed. And in the context of open-mic comedy audiences specifically, they quite regularly occur. Individual contributions during speaker-audience interactions are typically treated as “noise” in the interactional system, treated as problematic in some way, are seen as being un-audience-like, or may be dismissed from consideration entirely. In this dissertation, I analyze several types of individual audience member contributions, I ground this work in Conversation Analysis, which operates under the assumption that all social interaction is orderly at a minute level of detail, and I explore ways in which audience members organize themselves and their actions meaningfully. I look at five types of individual contributions – echoing (i.e. partial repetition of a previous utterance), two types of clapping, and two types of ohing – and show that not only are they well-timed, but systematic in when they occur and what they do. I consider what types of actions they pursue relative to the response in progress, what stances they display, and whether the individuals orient to their potential as autonomous individuals or collective group members through their individual participation. Finally, I suggest that collectivity is not fundamental to being an audience but rather is part of what must be managed (alongside autonomy) when participating as an audience.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationCain, Sarah Seewoester. "When Laughter Fades: Individual Participation During Open-Mic Comedy Performances." (2018) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105806">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105806</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/105806
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectaudiences
dc.subjectcomedy
dc.subjectconversation analysis
dc.subjectindividual participation
dc.titleWhen Laughter Fades: Individual Participation During Open-Mic Comedy Performances
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentLinguistics
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
CAIN-DOCUMENT-2018.pdf
Size:
1.59 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.84 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.6 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description: