Course syllabus

This is a course summary. Students, for full details please see Course schedule and requirements

header_frontpage_03b.png

Image credit: durantelallera/Shutterstock

Who laughs? When? Why? Are here things you MUST laugh at? Are there things you MUST NOT laugh at? What role does laugher play in the life of a comic? A politician? A doctor? Do animals laugh? Do angels? Are there religions that laugh? What is the relation between laughter and comedy? Sorrow? Pain? Cruelty? Love?

This course is the first-year foundation course for the Arts Scholars programme in the BA. It provides weekly ninety-minute discussion seminars through two semesters, led by a designated convenor who is an advanced academic staff member, and featuring invited and volunteer presenters from areas of discipline-based expertise, including from outside the University. Seminar leaders and visitors will open discussion of a multi-disciplinary topic from various points of view. Discussion will build expertise and acquaintance with Arts and other disciplines by providing an array of possible contexts for considering the central topic, developing both a richness of understanding and an appreciation of the forms, structures and preoccupations of academic thought. The course will also build cohort cohesion and a culture of enquiry and intellectual experiment through intensive discussion and group participation.

For 2018, the central topic will be "Laughter", led by Professor Tom Bishop. Through the weekly seminars, the class will look at the meaning(s) of laughter, and its role in various aspects of human life -- physical, social, cultural, psychological, artistic, etc. How and why do we laugh? What do we use laughter for, and when? Can laughter help or hurt us? What makes a good joke -- or a bad joke? And so on. Short readings will focus attention. Guest speakers and field-trips will give practical demonstrations and allow for interactive discussion. 

bar_01.pngCourse aims and outcomes

The course pairs something familiar and popular (comedy, laughter, humour) with areas of relative unfamiliarity (philosophy, literature, biology, politics) as a means to develop insights into a common form of communication and social interaction, and to critically explore related social, historical, and cultural contexts. By the end of this course, you will have an understanding of the diverse ways in which laughter and humour is embedded in our daily interactions, dominant social structures, and cultural discourse.

At the same time, the mixed-methods format of the class supports the development and practice of skills in communication, leadership, resourcefulness, social networking, self-awareness, and reflective and critical thinking.

The multi-disciplinary basis of the course also builds familiarity with and encourages the application of theory and methods from a range of disciplines into students’ own majors. This develops a more holistic foundation to students’ academic journeys, and supports a more widely informed graduate. Of particular importance is developing the ability to identify research questions pertinent to or deriving from difference disciplines, supporting the sense of the range and distinction among humanistic and social science disiplines.

By completing this course, you will:

 On the topic, ‘Laughter’

  • be able to identify cross-cultural and historical trends in humour
  • demonstrate an understanding of the contemporary, philosophical, and historical function and context of different types of humour
  • identify, through ‘Laughter’ in its diversity of forms, the interaction of social, historical, and cultural forces in literature, politics, art, and societies
  • better appreciate how different disciplines address and analyse a common topic from very different perspectives

 Your wider skillset

  • be comfortable applying viewpoints from a range of disciplines to individual issues or questions
  • critically evaluate your own positionality in the context of wider debates and discourse
  • develop your oral presentation skills and be (at least somewhat) comfortable presenting to an audience
  • use writing and personal reflection as a tool for learning
  • demonstrate project leadership and effective collaboration skills through group projects

bar_02.png

Seminar themes

The year is broken down into four themes around which our speakers will present:

Set 1 Laughter in Thought (Semester 1 Weeks 1-5)
    ... who laughs when, laughter in primates, and philosophy and laughter.
Set 2 Staging Laughter (Semester 1 Weeks 6-12)
   
 ... devising comedy for the stage, comic books, and writing comedy.
Set 3 Laughter in History (Semester 2 Weeks 1-6)
    ... medieval laughs, Shakespeare and Rabelais, Latin comedy, and humor in/from/about the Bible
Set 4 Laughter in Practice (Semester 2 Weeks 7-12)
    ... artificial laughter and robotics, laughter and healing, and politics of laughter

Each theme will introduce students to a variety of perspectives, challenges, applications, and ideas around the concept of laughter in different contexts. 

bar_03.png

Class times

We meet once a week for a 90-minute seminar-style discussion class. Class is held in the Clocktower room 012 in both semesters.

Semester 1: Tuesday 4 - 5:30pm
Semester 2: Wednesday 3 - 4:30pm

bar_04.png

Recommended Texts

Visiting discussants will assign their own readings, which will be provided in advance of classes. 

Carroll_book.jpg

Noel Carroll, Humour: A Very Short Introduction (2014) [on order at Library]

Required [purchase at ubiq]

Critchley_book.jpg

Simon Critchley, On Humour (2002) [find in Library]

Required [purchase at ubiq]

InsideJokes_book.jpg

Matthew Hurley, Daniel Dennett & Reginald Adams, Inside Jokes (2011) 
[find in Library, eBook available through Library]

Recommended

DyingLaughing.jpg Dying Laughing (2016), dir. Lloyd Stanton, Paul Toogood [trailer] HistoryofComedy The History of Comedy (2017), CNN [episodes]

bar_01.png

Assessment

Arts Scholars is a 15-point class. This requires an equivalent of 5,000 words of writing over the course of the year. However, this will certainly not be in one go. You will undertake: 

Online discussion and seminar involvement (20%) requiring thoughtful comments and responses to seminar topics each week, and engagement and participation during class time.

Individual projects (50%) including two short (1200 word) essays of your choice, and the crafting and delivery of one original joke/critical analysis of a joke performance. 

Group projects (30%) including leading in-class discussion twice during the year. 

General notes on projects and assessment
The emphasis in planning and presentation of both individual and group projects is on exploration, the raising and pursuit of research questions, and creative problem-solving. A successful project will not necessarily provide definitive conclusions. For instance, it may point to the need for further work, or continued reflection on its own procedures. Criteria for assessing projects will be provided and discussed. However, it is in the nature of an exploratory class not to be able precisely to anticipate where inquiry may lead, or what will provide the most appropriate vehicles of intellectual endeavour.

bar_02.png

Course summary:

Date Details Due