Who’s Laughing Now?

Comedy has arguably been one of the most protected forms of democratic free speech, but in recent years there has been an emergent chorus of voices seeking to limit the freedom of comedic speech. While some have argued that there are jokes a comedian must never tell, or topics that must be placed beyond the reach of comedy, others have argued instead that comedians are the unsung heroes of free speech and democracy and therefore nothing should be off limits from the witty insights of the comedic arsenal. Is there a way to reconcile these two positions? Indeed there is, and laughter is just the thing to help show the way.

Professor Darren Zook is a professor of Political Science and International and Area Studies at UC Berkeley. In 2005, Professor Zook was awarded the first Golden Apple Award, an award for outstanding teaching chosen by UC Berkeley students. In 2018 College magazine named Professor Zook one of the 10 most inspiring professors at Cal. He has a Ph.D. in history, despite graduating with a B.S. in math from UC Berkeley, and his research interests include international law, cyber security, and diversity and identity in the United States

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