The Comic in Society

Catalog description

What is laughter? What makes us laugh? What purpose does laughter serve? This course looks at the role the comic plays in our cultural conversations, with special attention to the ways it mediates deeply contested issues. To do so, we will explore theories of comedy and humor and examine some representative comedic works in stand-up, literature and film. We'll consider whether the comic tends to perpetuate or challenge stereotypes and conventions, and whether serious issues are complicated and illuminated by comedy or merely diminished to a punch line. Does laughter make it easier for the public to engage with sensitive issues, or does it prevent engagement? What is at stake-who wins and who loses- when comedians participate in social commentary? Comedy is also the most tenacious of genres- plots for the latest Hollywood rom-coms borrow shamelessly from plots conventional 2,000 years ago. What are those conventions, and why do they persist so insistently? We finally will consider the comedic worldview as modus vivendi-a way of being in the world. Our objectives, then, are to know the comic as a spirit and a way of seeing, and to explore what laughter means as a response to the world.