Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 to 12:15, Thomas 124
Professor: Dr. Bev Hogue
Office: 216-A Thomas Hall
Office Hours: MW 10 a.m. to noon and 3 to 4 p.m.; TTH 2 to 4 p.m.; F 10 a.m. to noon
Other hours available by appointment
e-mail: hogueb@marietta.edu
office telephone: x4657
website: www.marietta.edu/~hogueb
class e-mail list: 2008_FL_FYSE_101_16@marietta.edu
Course Description: When it works, humor hits the reader in the gut, producing an immediate visceral and emotional response. When it doesn't work, humor falls to the floor with a resounding thud. Why do human beings need humor? What purpose does it serve? And what makes funny things funny? In this course, students will explore a wide
variety of humorous and theoretical essays from the past and present in order to develop an understanding of the functions of humor in human societies.
Course Objectives
By the conclusion of the course, students will begin to develop proficiency in
Expectations: All students must
Required Texts
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Del Rey, ISBN 978-0345391803
Michael J. Rosen, May Contain Nuts, Harper, ISBN 978-0060516260
Dave Barry, Dave Barry Does Japan, Ballantine, ISBN 978-0449908105
Additional articles on electronic reserve through the library website.
Evaluation:
Students’ grades will be computed based on the following point values:
Autobiographical essay 100 points
Midterm essay exam 100 points
Observation essay and presentation 150 points
Final essay exam 100 points
Participation 50 points
The participation grade is based on satisfactory completion of reading assignments, in-class exercises, and Daily Humor assignments.
Grading Scale
A = 93-100 A- = 90-92 B+ = 88-89 B = 83-87 B- = 80-82
C+ = 78-79 C = 73-77 C- = 70-72 D+ = 68-69 D = 63-67 D- = 60-62
The A+ grade does not affect gpa and will be given only for extraordinary work.
All written work must be typed/word processed, double-spaced, in black ink on white paper, with attention paid to spelling, grammar, and style. Late work will not be accepted except in rare unavoidable cases. Students are expected to produce original work for this course; papers written for other courses here or elsewhere are not acceptable.
Plagiarism occurs when a student represents someone else’s work as his or her own; it includes:
Any student who plagiarizes, whether from published material (such as a web site, book, or magazine) or from unpublished material (such as another student’s writing), will receive an F on the assignment. Any student who submits someone else’s work as if it were his or her own will receive an F on the assignment and may fail the class. Copying information from an online source directly into a paper will result in an automatic F for the assignment and possible failure of the course.
All work produced in this course is considered public and is used for the purposes of teaching and evaluation. This may include the use of your work as a model for future students and the submission of your work to an online plagiarism detection service.
Co-Curricular Probation: Students placed on academic probation at the end of the semester will be barred from most co-curricular activities the following semester. See the college catalog for further details.
Accommodations: Any student requiring accommodations because of a documented disability should notify the instructor AND the Academic Resource Center (Andrews Hall, third floor, 376-4700) at the beginning of the semester for further instructions.
A Note on Offensive Humor
Humor can be a shield or a sword, causing pleasure or pain. The point at which humor crosses the line from “funny” to “offensive” varies for each individual. In order to explore what makes things funny and not-so-funny, we will sometimes look at examples of humor that you may find offensive. In order to prevent unnecessary grief, we will observe three simple rules:
August
22 Introduction to class; diagnostic writing
26 Laurie Rosenwald, “Abstinence, Only….” 294-96
Neil Pasricha, “Clarifying My Relationships” 272-74
Danny Liebert, “Greatest Love Quotes Ever” 152-55
John Warner, “The New York Times Book Section…” 339-42
28 Nancy Cohen, “The Bitter End (My Will)” 56-7
David Martin, “And What’s With That Round Ball?” 186-7
September
2 Roy Blount Jr., “See the World but Stay Southern” 44-48
Joe Bob Briggs, “Forever Dale” 50-54
4 Autobiographical essay draft due
9 Nancy Cohen, “What I Learned About Cooking Last Night” 58-9
Phil Austin, “Developmental Valley” (school lunch menus) 24-25
Jim Mullen, “The First Thanksgiving Family Feud” 213-14
Phil Austin, “X is for Christmas” 26-33
11 Jimmy Carr and Lucy Greeves, “Nuts, Bolts, and Hydraulic Brains” (on electronic
reserve; see handout for directions)
16 Autobiographical essay due; Information literacy session
18 Jimmy Carr and Lucy Greeves, “Beyond the Pale” (on electronic reserve)
23 Henry Alford, “The Ultimate B&B” 4-6
Kevin Guilfoile, “Transcending Spaces” 110-115
Kurt Luchs, “Editorial” 164-65
David Martin, “Take These Mottoes, Please” 179-80
25 Neil Pasricha, “Ten Increasingly Annoying Short Stories” 268-71
Alysia Gray Painter, “A Reenactment of the Reenactment…” 263-66
30 Preparation for midterm exam
October
7 Preparation for midterm exam
9 Midterm essay exam
(four-day break Oct. 11-14)
16 Adams 1-35
21 Adams 36-103
23 Adams 104-157
28 Adams 158-216
November
4 Group presentations; sign up for advising meetings
6 Observation essay draft due for peer review
11 No class; observation essay due in my mailbox no later than noon.
13 Dave Barry, 1-39
18 Dave Barry, 40-77
20 Dave Barry, 78-121
25 Dave Barry, 122-71
(Thanksgiving Break Nov. 26-30)
December
2 Dave Barry, 172-210
4 Prepare for final exam
10 Final Exam, noon to 2:30
As the class focuses on humor in theory and practice, we will look at a wide variety of examples of humor in order to work toward some understanding of what makes things funny. Most class periods will begin with the Daily Humor Assignment, when one student will share some humorous item. When it is your turn to do the Daily Humor Assignment, here is what you should do:
Click here for schedule.
Click here for chart.
We all seem to know what’s funny, but why it’s funny is more difficult to pin down. And why do we care so much about humor? What purpose can it possibly serve in society?
Let’s begin at the beginning: what humor means to you as an individual. For this essay, you will describe a specific true experience involving humor of some kind and explain how this experience affected you. For instance, you might write about one of the following:
This essay should be brief (around 750 words) but substantial, using enough specific details to help your classmates visualize and understand the experience. It must:
Deadlines:
Sept. 4: Bring a readable draft to class
Sept. 16: Turn in the final copy at the beginning of class.
This essay is worth 100 points. If you do not bring a draft to class on Sept. 4, your essay will earn no more than 50 points.
On Thesis Statements
The quality of the thesis statement can make the difference between a good paper and a great paper, or a good paper and a failing paper. The thesis statement is a clear, straightforward, specific statement indicating what point your paper will make; it may also suggest the structure of your essay. Here are some examples:
Too broad: Jokes make the world a better place.
Too vague: Humor means many things to many people.
Too narrow: Once when my brother said “weasel” it sounded funny because he had a speech impediment.
Too pointless: I find weasel jokes funny, but everyone has a right to his or her own opinion so who am I to judge?
Good: Spending an afternoon as a Hostess Twinkie helped me learn important things.
Better: Spending an afternoon as a Hostess Twinkie helped me understand how often I wear a mask to hide my true feelings.
Best: Spending an afternoon as a Hostess Twinkie helped me understand how American culture rewards people who put on plastic smiles when they’re really crying inside.