Alleen Pace Nilsen is an American literary scholar, linguist, and one of the pioneers of both humor studies and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

studies. She is Professor Emeritus in the Department of English at Arizona State University, where she was previously the director of the English Education Program. Together with her husband Don Nilsen, she co-founded the

International Society for Humor Studies ''Humor: International Journal of Humor Research'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Walter de Gruyter on behalf of the International Society for Humor Studies. , its editor-in-chief is Christian F. Hempelmann (Texas A&M University- ...

Academic career

Alleen Pace Nilsen was originally trained as an English teacher, receiving a degree from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

, and worked as a First Class teacher at Malcolm Price Laboratory School,

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...

. In 1973, she received her PhD in English Education from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

. Her dissertation dealt with occurrences of sexist language in school materials. In 1980, Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson co-authored ''Literature for Today's Young Adults'', which became a seminal textbook for teachers and librarians and has seen nine editions so far. In the 1980s, Nilsen was also co-editor of the ''English Journal for the

National Council of Teachers of English The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum ...

(NCTE)'', a president of

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents ALAN, The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents is a teachers organization in the United States, an independent assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Founded in November 1973, ALAN is made up of teachers, authors, libraria ...

of NCTE (ALAN), and a founding editor of ''ALAN Review''. In 1987, she received the ALAN award, a yearly award whose aim is to "honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of adolescent literature." Together with her husband Don Nilsen, Nilsen founded the International Society for Humor Studies. She served as President of the Society in 2000. She also, alongside Don Nilsen, was co-president of the

American Name Society The American Name Society (ANS) is a non-profit organization founded in 1951 to promote onomastics, the study of names and naming practices, both in the United States and abroad. The organization investigates cultural insights, settlement history, ...

in 2008.

Other work

Between 1967 and 1969, Alleen lived in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, where she accompanied her husband Don on an international development mission. Based on these experiences, the couple created a website called "Afghanistan for Kids", which aims to educate American children and their parents about the country. Don and Alleen Nilsen have also created several dozens of introductory PowerPoint presentations with the aim of educating the general public about humor research, gender, and other topics their academic work has touched upon.

Select bibliography

* ''Sexism and Language'' (co-editor) (1977) National Council of Teachers * ''Language Play: An Introduction to Linguistics'' (w/ Don Nilsen) (1978) Newbury House Publishers * ''Literature for today's young adults'' (w/ K.L. Donelson) (1980) Scott Foresman * ''Encyclopedia of 20th-century American Humor'' (w/ Don Nilsen) (2000) Oryx Press * ''The Language of Humor: An Introduction'' (w/ Don Nilsen) (2018) Cambridge University Press

References

External links

"Afghanistan for Kids"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsen, Alleen Pace Humor researchers University of Michigan alumni Linguists from the United States Women linguists 1936 births Arizona State University faculty Brigham Young University alumni Living people