Module to which the course contributes: Literature and Culture Program

Programmes of study to which the module contributes:

English & American Literature

Researchers, translators, content writers, magazine journalists, teachers, copywriters, communications specialists.

Contenidos –  synopsis of the curriculum

Course description

Part I.  Much is suggested by the terms comedy and humour: some of you might think of stand-up comedy or slapstick movies, while others might think of ethnic jokes or dirty jokes; still others might think of biting social commentary or parody; others of us still might think of the ancient division of drama into comedy and tragedy. In this unit, we will watch classic comedy films (slapstick), read plays, and listen to stand-up while considering contemporary theories of humor, laughter, and comedy. Some questions to consider: how does the joke create a community of laughers or exclude a community being laughed at? What assumptions have to be shared in order for the joke to be funny? Is humor conservative (in that it maintains the status quo), subversive, or something else entirely?

Part II. Satire is so prevalent in pop culture that most of us are already very familiar with it. In this section, we will discuss how writers have used satire and humor to address issues around politics and power, inequality and class, gender and marriage – as well as to entertain readers and audiences (e.g. satire in drama, in novels and short stories, in film and other media). We will also examine “The Daily Show Effect” of current affairs satire (comedy news programs) and its appeal to younger audiences in a more engaging way than conventional, straight-faced journalism. These shows belong to a genre that uniquely blends elements of journalism with those of comedy to deliver the news with a humorous twist.

Across the module, we will also discuss how satire often goes hand in hand with dystopian fiction.

Part III. In this unit, you are invited to consider the importance of utopia and dystopia to debates about modernity, gender, identity, capitalism, imperialism, climate change, reproductive rights, terrorism, artificial intelligence, and state violence. This class will examine a variety of historical and current “what if?” thought experiments (speculative fiction), including classics and current bestsellers. You will explore the specific conditions that inspired these dystopias, the general warnings inherent in them, and the broad trends in dystopias over time.

Part IV. We will also ask how satirical humor and irony continue to pose fundamental challenges for interpretation—problems that arise when we take humor seriously—and how we might distinguish satire from postmodern parody and pastiche. The focus in the last section will be mainly on the concepts relating to metafictional features of novels, such as the use of self-reflexivity and self-consciousness, intertextuality, etc.

Generic learning outcomes

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

CG1. Comprehend the underlying social, moral, and/or political ideas conveyed by literary texts / films and engage with those ideas critically.

CG2. Reflect on your own position as a reader in relation to current affairs and public debate.

CG3. Apply close reading techniques to a range of literary texts, and make complex comparisons between them.

CG4. Critically interrogate the historical and cultural specificity of perceived divisions such as ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture.

CG5. Think about comedy and satire as vehicles for social and political commentary and change

CG6. Learn about our own responses to comedy and satire and what that reaction says about our own tastes and convictions.

CG7. Enhance our understanding of humor, both as an interaction between individuals and as a device used in comedy and satire.

Specific learning outcomes

After successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

CE1. Experience analyzing comic and satiric themes comparatively: cross-culturally, formally, and/or historically.

CE2. Take satire as an occasion to sharpen your critical reasoning, writing, and speaking skills.

CE3. Debate big issues of public and global significance with analytical rigor.

CE4. Identify specific techniques authors use in satire or specific examples within a text that create the satirical work through modern examples.

CE5. Use the appropriate literary terminology to explain how various writers use their respective genres and literary forms to produce comic and satiric effects.

CE6. Offer insightful and nuanced analyses of complex questions involving environmental, political, historical and societal concerns in relation to dystopian narratives.

CE7. Understand literary scholarship that bears upon ideas of utopia/ dystopia in a wider cultural and historical context.

Transversal skills

On completing this module, you will be able to:

CT1. Discuss, evaluate, and creatively deploy critical perspectives.

CT2. Construct original, articulate, and well-substantiated arguments. Advocate a specific position responsibly. Effectively communicate through a range of different means.

CT3. Conduct library and web-based research and document sources (MLA 9^th edition).

CT4. Revise your own writing. Produce a clean, efficient writing style and adapt it to various rhetorical situations. Edit and proofread formal prose.

CT5. Gauge the value of different strategies for argumentation, including the use of counter-arguments.

CT6. Avoid plagiarism and understand why it is unacceptable.

CT7. Manage your time and workload effectively.

Course materials

This course focuses on primary-source material and not on secondary-source material (i.e., introductory, critical, and/or analytical texts). Nevertheless, occasionally I may assign some secondary-source readings, which will be announced in class and/or via Studium.

General Resources – Critical Texts (Indicative secondary reading)

Anthony, Ashley G., C. Clark Triplett, and Ashley G. Anthony, editors. Worlds Gone Awry: Essays on Dystopian Fiction. McFarland, 2018.

Billig, Michael. Laughter and Ridicule. Towards a Social Critique of Humour. MacMillan, 2005.

Boyle, Kirk. The Rhetoric of Humor: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Bedford, Freeman & Worth, 2016.

Chritchley, Simon. On Humor. Routledge, 2002.

Colebrook, Claire. Irony. Routledge, 2004.

Day, Amber, Satire and Dissent. Indiana UP, 2011.

Dentith, Simon. Parody. Routledge, 2000.

Gordin, Michael, Helen Tilley and Gyan Prakash, editors. Utopia/Dystopia: Conditions of Historical Possibility. Princeton University Press, 2010.

Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Parody. The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms. Routledge, 2000.

Stock, Adam. Modern Dystopian Fiction and Political Thought: Narratives of World Politics. Taylor & Francis, 2018.

Zupančič, Alenka. The Odd One In: On Comedy. MIT Press, 2008.

The final reading list will be announced on Studium before the start of semester.

All texts for the course will be provided for you via the course website, mainly in PDF format. Extra-literary materials (i.e., artwork, film and television clips, etc.) will also be provided for you by way of hyperlinks to external sources.

The course will be assessed by the following THREE pieces of work taken together:

Oral presentation (written version: 1,000 words max, 25% of grade)

The presentation will be delivered orally in class. It should last for about 20 minutes and it should be presented from notes, not read from a prepared, written script. It should be written up as an essay of no more than 1000 words. The presentation will demonstrate in concise form your ability to unite literary and theoretical readings of a text, to raise questions about the text and place it within its historical and critical context. In giving your presentations, and in responding to the presentations of other members of the class, you will be expected to make your own judgments, apply aesthetic and critical terms with precision, and present your view in the form of a coherent argument.

Midterm exam (25% of grade)

This assessment task is intended to allow students to articulate their own critical position in written form. It will enhance understanding of the methods of analysis and thinking specific to the study of humor and satire.

Final examination (50% of grade)

The final examination will consist of short identification questions and excerpts from the required readings on our syllabus (dystopia and parody).

Summative Assessment

This is how I will formally assess what you have learned in this module. Grades are determined by weighted percentages as outlined above, NOT total points or a simple average.

Breakdown - Main assessment methods

Final Exam                                            50%

In-class presentation activity                 25%

Midterm exam                                       25%

You should strive to:

1. demonstrate that you’ve completed the assigned readings (comprehension);

2. provide a thoughtful analysis of the assigned readings (critical thinking); and,

3. engage with the ideas/issues raised in the assigned readings (independent thought).

In order for this course to be successful, it is imperative that you take the time to do a careful reading of course material. You cannot memorize the material of this course, nor will merely “knowing” the material be sufficient. The course focuses more on critical engagement, exploration, and communication related to complex issues than on mastering a body of material.

Class feedback, post-assessment, and feed-forward sessions.