The butt of the joke? Laughter and potency in the becoming of good soldiers
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The butt of the joke? Laughter and potency in the becoming of good soldiers. / Sløk-Andersen, Beate.
In: Cultural Analysis, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2019, p. 25-56.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The butt of the joke? Laughter and potency in the becoming of good soldiers
AU - Sløk-Andersen, Beate
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - In the Danish military, laughter plays a key role in the process of becoming a good soldier. Along with the strictness of hierarchy and discipline, a perhaps surprisingly widespread use of humor is essential in the social interaction, as the author observed during a participatory fieldwork among conscripted soldiers in the army. Unfolding the wider context and affective flows in this use of humor, however, the article suggests that the humorous tune (Ahmed 2014a) that is established among the soldiers concurrently has severe consequences as it not only polices soldiers’ sexuality and ‘wrong’ ways for men to be close, but also entangles in the‘making’ of good, potent soldiers. Humor is therefore argued to be a very serious matter that can cast soldiers as either insiders or outsiders to the military profession.
AB - In the Danish military, laughter plays a key role in the process of becoming a good soldier. Along with the strictness of hierarchy and discipline, a perhaps surprisingly widespread use of humor is essential in the social interaction, as the author observed during a participatory fieldwork among conscripted soldiers in the army. Unfolding the wider context and affective flows in this use of humor, however, the article suggests that the humorous tune (Ahmed 2014a) that is established among the soldiers concurrently has severe consequences as it not only polices soldiers’ sexuality and ‘wrong’ ways for men to be close, but also entangles in the‘making’ of good, potent soldiers. Humor is therefore argued to be a very serious matter that can cast soldiers as either insiders or outsiders to the military profession.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - military
KW - humor
KW - attunement
KW - affects
KW - military service
KW - potency
KW - sexuality
M3 - Journal article
VL - 17
SP - 25
EP - 56
JO - Cultural Analysis
JF - Cultural Analysis
SN - 1537-7873
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 213321222