123425 SE 'Fast Track' Literary & Cultural Studies Seminar / American / North American Lit. / Studies (2019W)

This class explores expressions of “American” humor from the 18th century to the present day. We will first ask ourselves what makes a cultural text funny, and how we can make sense of humorous forms and situations, as well as our cultural desire for such forms and situations, theoretically and conceptually. We will then look at a select number of cultural texts (including literature, (audio)visual media, and performance) and explore the ways in which humor is used in order to intervene in complex cultural struggles over meaning. In particular, we will look at how humor negotiates questions of national “American” identity; local, regional, and transnational differences; the politics of gender and sexuality; racial and ethnic difference; or of dis/ability and age. We will also explore how humor encourages or discourages access to various political public spheres.

As this is a seminar, much of the course content will depend on the primary texts students eventually want to work with. The first half of the course will be dedicated to general questions concerning literary and cultural theory and method; the second half of the course will be devoted to students’ individual research projects.

Students should be familiar with the cultural history of the United States before the first session. For preparation, any American cultural history will do; for an easy read, I recommend Paul S. Boyer et al., The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People (multiple editions).