The Genre Studies course provides students with an understanding of the many
modes that comprise a particular "kind" of literature. Toward that
aim, the course concentrates on one of four genres—tragedy, comedy, romance,
or the epic—each time the class is offered. The course on comedy focuses
on all the genre's multifaceted forms and modes of expression, from slapstick,
satire, and fantasy, to the absurd.
What makes a situation "funny"? Why do we laugh at events that are crude, cruel, or painful? From the ancients, to Bergson, to Freud, we will supplement our reading with theories of comedy, the importance of authorial intention in dictating the form that comedy takes, and why humor can be both an outlet for our baser instincts yet morally instructive.
Texts for the course include:
Drama:
Aristophanes: The Birds
Shakespeare: Twelfth Night
Wilde: The Importance of Being Ernest
Fiction:
Voltaire Candide
Beckett Murphy
O’Connor Wise Blood
Carter Nights at the Circus
DeLillo White Noise
Film:
Director: Howard Hawks Bringing Up Baby
Director: Joel Coen Raising Arizona