Rhetoric, Writing, and Public Discourse 200-A: Special Topic in Rhetoric, Writing, and Public Discourse: Comedy & Critique

This course will examine theories of comedy across multiple media and contexts, and consider what it means to be "just joking" in our contemporary social worlds, which have serious problems. We will reflect as a class on the extent to which comic works and actors have positive or deleterious effects on our individual and collective lives. A basic impulse of comedy-from slapstick to mockumentary to standup-is to temporarily destabilize and critique the status quo. Comics intervene in the status quo of our lives in a variety of ways that invite audiences to join in, often exposing and subverting the seriousness of our cultural norms and institutions. However, comedic works-for instance, cringe TV shows, satirical and parody films, and irreverent stand-up specials-also risk confirming dominant norms and/or instilling in others forms of cynicism that work against attempts to critique the world. The seminar will analyze such comedic performances and their implications, as we work toward a theoretical framework for the analysis of comic interventions as critical acts. We will consider theories of humor, comedy, and laughter from classical antiquity to today, each of which will help us think through the possibilities and limits of comic critique in media across the 20th and 21st centuries.