adamVL

I studied Linguistics and PoliSci at Columbia (class of oh-ten), and I'm seeking advice about the world of graduate study in linguistics/anthro-related field: how best to study humor, and jokes, as the most profound key to a culture's treasures. Since graduation, I've been living partly in the Middle East, or else traveling back and forth as a freelance journalist and, just a little, as an actor/comedian. Mostly, I'm so interested in how "funniness" reflects different cognitive set-ups — how cultural gaps can be better understood by analyzing a language's most untranslatable pieces. I'd love any direction towards relevant studies, and particular programs, if anything stands out, where this kind of study could take wing. As a student not particularly inclined towards empirical models and the pure science aspects of linguistics, this may be "cultural anthropology", or something else. Of course, there is a whole lot of fear in the professional marketplace nowadays, and so I'm afraid of just following any relevant specialist to whatever institution (and there aren't many); otherwise, I'd maybe try to find an excellent dept (of whatever) at a fine university. But which? And does that make any sense? Please help. Thank you!

I studied Linguistics and PoliSci at Columbia (class of oh-ten), and I'm seeking advice about the world of graduate study in linguistics-related field: how best to study humor, and jokes, as the most profound key to a culture's treasures. Since graduation, I've been living partly in the Middle East, or else traveling back and forth as a freelance journalist — mostly after stories of people and progress in conflict regions — and, just a little, as an actor/comedian. Mostly, I'm so interested in how "funniness" reflects different cognitive set-ups — how cultural gaps can be better understood by analyzing a language's most untranslatable pieces. I'd love any direction towards relevant studies, and particular programs, if anything stands out, where this kind of study could take wing. As a student not particularly inclined towards empirical models and the pure science aspects of linguistics, this may be "sociology", or something else. Of course, there is a whole lot of fear in the professional marketplace nowadays, and so I'm afraid of just following any relevant specialist to whatever institution (and there aren't many); otherwise, I'd maybe try to find an excellent dept (of whatever) at a fine university. But which? And does that make any sense? Please help. Thank you!