The AHSA is pleased to announce two winners of the 2024-2025 Jack Rosenbalm Prize for American Humor. This prize is awarded biennially to honor the best article on American humor by a pre-tenure scholar, graduate student, adjunct professor, or independent scholar published in a peer-reviewed academic journal or book. This year’s judges were Grace Heneks, Albert Sergio Laguna, and Eran A. Zelnik. They say, “After considering several outstanding submissions this year for the ASHA’s Jack Rosenbalm prize, we are delighted to announce the two winners: Brittney M. Edmonds for her essay “Eddie Murphy’s Last Laugh,” The Oxford Handbook of Screen Comedy, eds. William V. Constanzo and Peter C. Kunze (Oxford, 2025) and Richard Aldersley for his essay “Red in the Face: The Great Depression, Nathaniel West, and Cynical Humour,” Humour in Times of Confrontation, 1901 to the Present, eds. Shun-Liang Chao and Vivienne Westbrook (Routledge, 2025). We found that both essays carefully and insightfully situated the different forms of humor they discussed in their political and social contexts. Both essays also stood out as intriguing meditations on the cultural work humor performs, including considering the potential and limits of humor.”
Congratulations, Dr. Edmonds!