ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. This book constitutes a unique resource, presenting chapters on irony, satire and parody as tools for analysis and means of representation, as well as considering humour in the conduct of research, and offering guidance on getting published. Humour may be regarded as a legitimate area of study for social scientists, but by and large they prefer to present their research and expect it to be taken seriously. To laugh or to encourage laughter as a response to serious social problems is to shirk one's responsibility to take appropriate action. More important, to treat serious situations as laughable is to risk one's reputation. Similarly, satire and parody are not synonymous, and though they may be present together they function differently. The development of rigorous taxonomies is the delusion of the positive sciences and for the humorist should be attempted only with caution and due irony.
