READING LIST

Mark Twain, Complete Humorous Sketches (New York: Da Capo, 1996). ISBN: 0306807025

S. J. Perelman, Acres and Pains (Short Hills, NJ: Burford Books, 1999). ISBN: 1580800165.

Dorothy Parker, The Portable Dorothy Parker (NY: Viking Penguin, 1991). ISBN:0140997091

Lenny Bruce, How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992).  ISBN:0671751085

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (NY: Dell, 1991). ISBN:0440180295

David Marc, Comic Visions, 2nd ed. (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1997). ISBN:1577180038

Bailey White, Mama Makes Up Her Mind (NY: Random House, 1994). ISBN:0679751602
 

INTENTIONS OF THE COURSE

This is a course on American intellectual history, from the 18th through the 20th centuries, through the vehicle of American humor.  We will study the tensions in American values, ideas, and forms of expression by using both high and vernacular humor.  We will use humor to explore the connections and tensions between the various parts of the American mind.
 
 

 Read these requirements closely, because they tell you all you need to know about the operation of the class and the requirements for your paper.  Don't read these once and then forget them, because you'll be judged on the basis of them.

ATTENDANCE: I will take attendance weekly, partly to get to know students' names, and partly to make sure people give sufficient importance to this part of the course.  Part of your discussion grade is also a grade for attendance -which means showing up for lecture on time.

READING: All students must complete the reading for the course.  (Note that several of the books are heavily abridged and are much shorter than they appear).  Assignments are indicated in the syllabus.  It is very important for you to complete the reading in time for the weekly discussion.

DISCUSSIONS: Part of each class will be devoted to a discussion of the issues raised in lectures and in the reading.  You will not be able to do well in the discussions if you haven't kept up with your reading.  It is expected that you will have finished the week's reading assignment by the time of the discussion.  As much as possible, the discussions will be a friendly exchange of ideas and opinions.  The discussions are intended to be fun and enriching, not threatening.  Don't feel intimidated by a lack of background in history.  Often there is no one "right" answer to the questions being discussed, and undergraduates always do as well as graduate students in these sessions. Part of your grade for the semester will be based on your active participation (talking) in the discussions, so it is important to show up and take part. Their purpose is to give you practice speaking about and challenging ideas, instead of just memorizing them.

PAPERS: There will be one paper, DUE IN CLASS ON MONDAY APRIL 8.  Undergraduate papers are to be 8 pages and graduate papers are to be 12 pages. This is partly an exercise in writing for precise length, so don’t be more than a page over or under.  Papers should be stapled together; please do not use paper or plastic folders to bind them.  Papers should be submitted with a separate title page on the front, with a title, the student's name, and the name of the course.  Do not put your name inside the paper, as each will be read with the title page turned back in order to assure an objective, neutral reading of the essay.  This way your performance in class discussion should not influence your paper grade.  No paper extensions, even in the event of a nuclear war.  For every day the paper is late, it will drop a full grade (for example, from a B+ to a C+).

These papers are to be "think papers" as well as research papers.  I want to know your perceptions and ideas.  The papers will be graded on the strength of their ideas, their ability to advance a thesis or interpretation, and on how well they are written (their use of language, spelling, punctuation, and syntax). Naturally, any plagiarism (having someone write the paper for you, or copying it from another source) will result in an immediate failure of the entire course.  Use endnotes to indicate page numbers for any quotes you use, or to tell the reader when you have borrowed ideas from another author.

PAPER TOPIC: Find in magazines before 1985 (bound periodicals) in Strozier Library several (around 6 or 8) advertisements or political cartoons that you think relate to one of the themes of humor we have dealt with in this course. (Another option is to find humorous articles, and then you would only need one or two.)  Discuss these ads or cartoons or articles in relation to the theme you have chosenCand also discuss them in relation to a book from our course that you believe relates to that same theme. For example, how do the cartoons and the book work similarly or differently in using or addressing that theme or issue? How and why does their use of humor coincide or diverge from each other? What effect has changing historical conditions had on those differences? Staple all of these ads, cartoons, or articles onto the back of your essay—so you hand all of them in together.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act should follow these steps: 1) Provide documentation of your disability to the Office of Disabled Student Services (08 Kellum Hall, 644-9566).  2) Bring a statement from the Office of Disabled Student Services indicating that you have registered with them to your instructor the first week of class.  The statement should indicate the special accommodations you require.

EXAMS: There will be two exams during the course of the semester -a midterm and a final.  Both tests will be a combination of ten short identifications and one essay question.  The exams will be judged on the strength of their ideas, their ability to advance a thesis or interpretation, and their use of language, spelling, punctuation, and syntax.  Make sure to write legibly enough to be understood.  Bring blue books for the exam.  Put your name on the front, but not inside--to insure a neutral reading.

GRADES (FOR UNDERGRADUATES): Each of the four components of the class will count 25% toward the final grade: the two exams, the paper, and class discussion.

COURSE WEB SITE: This course has its own page, linked through my web site at: http://mailer.fsu.edu/~njumonvi

OFFICE HOURS: Friday 11:10 to 12 noon in Johnston 239. Map to my office: http://mailer.fsu.edu/~njumonvi/office-map.htm
 
 

18th and 19th CENTURY AMERICAN HUMOR

Week 1:
Mon, Jan 7: Humor as intellectual history.
Wed, Jan 9: Benjamin Franklin, early almanacs, and the Northeastern Yankee, 1700-1850.
Fri, Jan 11: Discussion.
Reading: Poor Richard’s Almanac:
http://www.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/his341/pra1753cover.htm
http://www.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/his341/pra53pg12.htm
http://www.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/his341/pra53pg34.htm
http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/docs/texts/prichard33.html
http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/docs/texts/prichard34.html
http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/docs/texts/prichard35.html
http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/docs/texts/prichard36.html
http://www.cc.ukans.edu/carrie/docs/texts/prichard47.html
 

Week 2:
Mon, Jan 14: Theories of humor.
Wed, Jan 16: The humor of the South and West, 1820-1860.
Fri, Jan 18: Discussion.
Reading: Southwestern humorists:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/sw/fink4.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Swhumor/crockett.htm
http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/huckfinn/suggs.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/horse-sw.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/sw/longstreet.html
http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/price/thompson.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/remus/selections.html
 

Week 3:
Mon, Jan 21: MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY
Wed, Jan 23: Twain and American innocence.
Fri, Jan 25: Discussion.
Reading: Mark Twain, Complete Humorous Sketches, pp. 31-35, 59-61, 109-14, 116-20, 136-39, 143-45, 149-52, 170, 200-217, 230-44, 261-76, 349-54, 503-508, 631-42, 671-84.

Week 4:
Mon, Jan 28: African Americans and the minstrel show.
Wed, Jan 30: Humor of urban ethnicity and rural simplicity, 1880-1930.
Fri, Feb 1: Discussion
Reading: Selections from from Finley Peter Dunne:
Mr. Dooley on the Temperance Wave
On the Philippines
Expansion
On Prayers for Victory
The Rising of the Subject Races
On the Anglo-Saxon
and selections from H.L. Mencken:
The Hills of Zion
Chiropractic
 

AMERICAN HUMOR, 1900-1945

Week 5:
Mon, Feb 4: Video: Early cinema through the Marx Brothers.
Wed, Feb 6: Humor of words: Perelman, Kaufman, and the Marx Brothers.
Fri, Feb 8: Discussion.
Reading: S. J. Perelman, Acres and Pains.

Week 6:
Mon, Feb 11: Urbane humor: The Algonquin Round Table & the New Yorker.
Wed, Feb 13: Dorothy Parker and the rise of women's humor.
Fri, Feb 15: Discussion.
Reading: Dorothy Parker, The Portable Dorothy Parker, read pages 3-18, 96-124, 187-210, 437-41, 443-46, 452-55, 458-61, 475-79, 483-86, 491-95, 508-10, 518-22, 556-61, 568-72.
 

Week 7:
Mon, Feb 18: Zora Neale Hurston, Constance Rourke, and the anthropological view of culture.
Wed, Feb 20: MIDTERM EXAM.
Fri, Feb 22: Discussion.
Reading: None.
 
 

AMERICAN HUMOR AFTER WWII

Week 8:
Mon, Feb 25: From the Borscht Belt to radio and TV comedy: the nationalization of humor.
Wed, Feb 27: Suburbs and optimism. Video: the sitcom in the 1950s.
Fri, Mar 1: Discussion.
Reading: David Marc, Comic Visions, pp. 10-22, and chapters 2 and 3.

Week 9:
Mon, Mar 4: Mad magazine and the impact of mass society.
Wed, Mar 6: The Cold War, irony, and the loss of innocence: Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl.
Fri, Mar 8: Discussion.
Reading: Lenny Bruce, How to Talk Dirty and Influence People.
 

SPRING BREAK: March 9-17

Week 10:
Mon, Mar 18: African American comics from the Apollo to Pryor.
Wed, Mar 20: Video: Richard Pryor.
Fri, Mar 22: Discussion.
Reading: Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five, first half.

Week 11:
Mon, Mar 25: Woody Allen: the angst of postwar life.
Wed, Mar 27: Antiwar humor.
Fri, Mar 29: Discussion.
Reading: Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five, second half.

Week 12:
Mon, Apr 1: Boomer humor and postmodern culture.
Wed, Apr 3: Yuppies, political correctness, and the 1980s.
Fri, Apr 5: Discussion.
Reading: David Marc, Comic Visions, chapters 4, 7.
 

Week 13:
Mon, Apr 8: Women's humor in the 1980s and 1990s.
    PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY.
Wed, Apr 10: Video: women's humor.
Fri, Apr 12: Discussion.
Reading: Bailey White, Mama Makes Up Her Mind.
 

Week 14:
Mon, Apr 15: TBA
Wed, Apr 17: Religion, rock, and humor. Video: Sam Kinison.
Fri, Apr 19: Discussion
Reading: None

Week 15:
Thr, Apr 25: FINAL EXAM, 3 pm until 5 pm in this room.