Seasoned experts of both communication studies and comedic activism, Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman will soon embark on a series of events in promotion of their soon-to-be-published A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice.

Comedians who say something serious about the world while they make us laugh are capable of mobilizing the masses, focusing a critical lens on injustices, and injecting hope and optimism into seemingly hopeless problems. By combining communication and social justice frameworks with contemporary comedy examples, Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman show us how comedy can help to serve as a vehicle of change—whether by engaging with issues such as global poverty, climate change, immigration, and sexual assault—and how activists can work with comedy to reach and empower publics in the networked, participatory digital media age.

“Kudos to Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman for teaching me so much about my own job. A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar is a comprehensive and insightful examination of the ways comedy can help shape social justice movements. It is an important read for anyone interested in understanding our current media landscape as a whole.”
––Hasan Minhaj, Comedian/Host of the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

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