Professor Judith Swift

Office Hours: M 1-3pm; W 10am-12pm and by appointment

Office: 874-4809 E-mail: jswift@uri.edu

Office Location: 308A Independence Hall

Thursday, 3:00-5:45 p.m. Independence 307A

TA: Nicole Luparelli E-mail: FabStar99@aol.com

Course Description: This course will examine the genres, background, content, structure and performance of humor, most particularly in stand-up comedy. It will explore the elements of comedy in general and will seek to place comedy in the framework of society. Students will observe and critique routines of various types and genres. Students will be expected to collect appropriate materials, write original material and develop these into a routine to be performed in an open public venue.

• To examine humor and comedic structure;
• To understand some major movements in humor and stand-up comedy;
• To introduce major historical personalities/humorists in stand-up comedy;
• To develop critical and analytical skills related to stand-up comedy and the use of humor in communication in general;
• To have an applied experience in the development and delivery of a comedy routine;
• To explore the spoken and physical language of humor;
• To consider the place and effect of humor in a multicultural society;
• To explore the power of humor as a communication tool.

Content: The course will begin with an examination of the origins of comedy and specifically with the traditions of social comedy in the guise of the fool or jester in the courts of Europe. It will examine genres of comedy (parody, satire, farce, physical), elements and structure of jokes (set-up, punch line, payoff moment) and elements of comedic rehearsal and presentation (expectation/ violation, pace, delivery, context, physicality, sound effects) and a vocabulary of related terms. It will look at the extended comic monologue as well as the joke sequence routine. It will also give some insight into the specific problems and advantages of comedy on radio and television. Some time will also be given to improvisation and the ad-lib.

Students will review the work of some of the great extended monologists (e.g. Ruth Draper, Garrison Keillor, Shelley Berman), social comment comics (Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Bill Cosby, Chris Rock) and sight gag comics (Red Skelton, Lucille Ball), and improvisational comics (Sid Caesar, Lily Tomlin, Elaine May).

A portion of most classes will involve student presentation of comic material and group analysis and criticism.

• regular assignments of comedic writing in a variety of styles both in and out of class,
• a mid-term project that will be a review/critique of a comedic routine,
• the proposal for the final project
• the preliminary content of the final project
• the complete content of the final project

All writings will, of course, be word-processed and use correct grammar, spelling, etc., with references and resources properly credited. Length is to be adequate to address the assignment. In other words, you determine the length based on your assessment of how best to complete the task. Assignments should be turned in as attachments via e-mail. There is no need for hard copy.

• a research report on a comedic performer to be approved,
• class participation in the presentation, analysis and criticism of comedy material,
• rehearsal and performance in a public venue of a personal comic routine.

Evaluation: Evaluation will be based on grades of the written projects outlined above, committed rehearsal and performance of the final project, as well as regular class attendance and participation.

General Notes: This syllabus is an outline of proposed events. It is subject to change. I will never change it to make anything due earlier for you. I may change the order of things to allow for a special opportunity or to allow additional exploration on a particular topic. I will supply additional supplementary readings along the way.

Communication: I expect everyone to use e-mail in order that we can communicate efficiently with each other. We will use this tool to increase class discussion by posting additional ideas, observations, questions and insights. If you need to see me, stop by during office hours, call or e-mail and I’ll get you in as quickly as possible.

Attendance: Attendance is expected. You are upperclass students and I assume you want the stimulation of class discussion with a professor and your peers. If you will not attend on a given day, please call or e-mail. Absences will hurt your grade because class participation is an important aspect of my evaluation of your work.

Other readings and/or viewings as applicable and assigned including excerpts from books, films, articles, magazine and newspaper reviews.

Honor Code: : I expect each of you to contribute his/her own work; however, I also encourage you to work together to solve problems, achieve solid analysis, critique performances, and even to prepare and explore the theses of your final performances. I also expect that you will all be direct about crediting yourself and/or others about completed work. There is nothing wrong with assisting each other. The only caveat is to acknowledge that assistance. With regard to group work, you will be required to sign a contract agreeing to be responsible for disclosing the amount of your work and to be forthright about how much you did or did not contribute. This saves each of you from ever having to be in the awkward position of reporting or covering for another student. I also know each of you want to be honorable in your individual or group projects. On the other hand, if a student violates rules pertaining to plagiarism or cheating, I will report that student to the appropriate university authorities. I will do this because it is no favor to cover for a person who acts dishonestly. We call this enabling. It is also unfair to the students in the class who come by their grade honestly.

Philosophy of Teaching: I am committed to an engaging, active partnership of learning in which I rediscover and discover aspects of comedic communication/presentation along with you. I am also interested in using comedy as a springboard for the exploration of a wide range of topics from historical events to contemporary issues. Comedy is at its best when it serves as a catalyst to inspire continued communication. Humor is a catalyst for social interaction and communication. The question of "what is funny" leads us to examine our own taste and preferences. The exploration of comedy allows us to consider circumstances in which human beings display their most exalted and most depraved impulses and actions. In short, this is exciting stuff. However, just as no one is responsible for our individual happiness but us, no one is responsible for our intellectual excitement. I can bring mine to the classroom but you also need to be prepared to risk exposing and exploring yours. Learning should be fun and painful—thinking ‘til it hurts, and addictive. I look forward to the time we will have together examining and laughing at the variations of stand-up comedy.

Censorship: This class examines an area of human expression which cannot be fully explored, examined, created or tested in an atmosphere of judgment or disapproval. While we will discuss what constitutes hurtful humor OR hurtful intent, we must concurrently be open to freedom of expression as fundamental to the creative process of humor. There will be no censorship in this class. This includes topics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, age, physical appearance, etc. At the same time, however, we will all discuss and agree upon an in-class method for assuring a safe place for those who find humor hurtful to express that feeling and for all of us to analyze this result.

N.B.: Although the subject of this class is comedy, the process of studying, analyzing and preparing comedic material is demanding. While humor is to some degree subjective, there are numerous objective standards by which it can be judged and evaluated. It will never be sufficient to find or make something funny. The concomitant obligation will be to analyze why it was funny and/or how one planned it to be funny. In essence, much of the work will be tedious, repetitive, demanding, painful, rigorous and, with lots of hard work, ultimately funny and fun.

We will try to accomplish a field trip to a comedy club. This is being worked on now.