College Humor

Expressing the joy and stress of making one's way through higher education, college humor has entertained countless students. Simon J. Bronner (2012) argues that the inspiration for much college folklore is students' transition from childhood to adulthood. During this in-between stage of life, much memorable expressive behavior occurs. Among the most common forms of college humor are riddle-jokes, legends, parodies, and pranks. Although college humor has evolved over time, with a recent propensity for Internet use, certain forms have stayed remarkably similar. This entry looks at some of the types of humor most popular on college campuses.

Oxford, England's oldest university, was founded in the late 12th century; Cambridge followed soon afterward. At both of these large universities, sharing daily life in residential colleges gave rise ...