Introduction

[Christopher Holcomb]

Dear DISCOURS subscribers:

	I'm an Assistant Professor of English at Texas A&M University (and
I'm also one of the list co-owners). I finished my Ph.D. at The University
of Texas at Austin in 1995 with a concentration in Rhetoric.
	I've just completed a book manuscript, "Mirth Making: The Discourse
on Jesting in Elizabethan Rhetoric and Courtesy Manuals," which offers a
kind of historical pragmatics of jesting and situates the early modern
discourse on jesting in the context of widespread increases in social and
geographic mobility experienced in the period. I'm currently interested in
improvisation (not just speaking extempore, but improvisation in its many
forms and fashions, including jazz performance, stand-up comedy, Homeric
rhapsodes...you name it..if it's related to improv, then I'm interested.)
	Like Mary, I'm looking forward to many exciting cross-diciplinary
exchanges.

Best,
Chris Holcomb