Welcome Guest Blogger Ruth Wisse

Ruth Wisse

Ruth Wisse

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is pleased to announce that Dr. Ruth R. Wisse, Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, will be joining the Brandeis Center Blog team as a guest blogger. Dr. Wisse, an experienced editor, essayist, and columnist brings to the Brandeis Blog a long history of expertise and scholarship in the area of Jewish studies. Look for Dr. Wisse to address the topic of her new book, No Joke. No Joke traces modern day Jewish humor around the world, whether found in literature or everyday life, and examines the impact of Jewish humor on both Jewish and non-Jewish cultures. As it is in many cases, humor can be a way of responding to and dealing with those issues that one is unable to address head on. No Joke recognizes this and discusses the use of Jewish humor as a form of relief in repressive societies for both Jewish and non-Jewish cultures. As such, the book is able to invoke questions regarding more complicated issues associated with Jewish culture and human rights, which are very much tied to the discussion of modern day anti-Semitism.