Required Texts
[A] = Aristophanes. Lysistrata and Other Plays. Addison Wesley, 2008. ISBN: 9780140448146.
[WS] = Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors. 1st edition. Edited by Charles Whitworth. Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780199536146.
[MDC] = De Cervantes, Miguel. Don Quixote. Reprint edition. Translated by Edith Grossman. Harper Perennial, 2005. ISBN: 9780060934347.
[CL] = Lennox, Charlotte. The Female Quixote: or The Adventures of Arabella. Edited by Margaret Dalziel. Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780199540242.
[MT] = Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Dover Publications, 1994. ISBN: 9780486280615.
[JM] = McBride, James. The Good Lord Bird. Reprint edition. Riverhead Books, 2014. ISBN: 9781594632785.
[JL] = Leguizamo, John. Ghetto Klown. Illustrated by Christa Cassano and Shamus Beyale. Harry N. Abrams, 2015. ISBN: 9781419715181.
[AB] = Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Reprint edition. Mariner Books, 2007. ISBN: 9780618871711.
Freud, Sigmund. The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious. Translated by Joyce Crick. Penguin Classics, 2003. ISBN: 9780142437445.
Harris, Joseph. Rewriting: How To Do Things With Texts. Utah State University Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780874216424.
Films
Chi-Raq. 2015.
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. 1995.
Ghetto Klown. 2014.
Performance
Performance by NYC Drag Queen Miss Shuga Cain, entitled She’s the Man: A Drag Queen Performance (MIT's De Florez Fund for Humor)
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1: Introduction - What's So Funny? | ||
| 1-2 | General introduction; basic vocabulary; course structure |
No assigned readings. Watch: Chi-Raq. |
| Week 2: Old Comedy | ||
| 3 | Aristophanes, Lysistrata | [A] pp. 131–159. |
| 4 | Lysistrata cont. | [A] pp. 160–193. |
| Week 3: Plautus & Shakespeare | ||
| 5 | Plautus, Menaechmi | Plautus. "Menaechmi." In The Comedy of Errors. 1st edition. Edited by Charles Whitworth. Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 188–220. ISBN: 9780199536146. |
| 6 | Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors |
[WS] pp. 85–130. To prepare for Close Reading 3, read: Harris, Joseph. "Introduction" and "Chapter 1: Coming to Terms." In Rewriting: How To Do Things With Texts. Utah State University Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780874216424. |
| Week 4: Shakespeare cont. | ||
| 7 | The Comedy of Errors | [WS] pp. 131–180. |
| 8 | Twelfth Night | Shakespeare, William. The Twelfth Night. |
| Week 5: Spanish Classics | ||
| 9 | Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote of La Mancha | [MDC] pp. 1–102. |
| 10 |
Don Quixote cont. | [MDC] pp. 103–249. |
| Week 6: Spanish Classics cont. | ||
| 11 | Don Quixote cont. | [MDC] pp. 250–352. |
| 12 | Don Quixote cont. | [MDC] pp. 353–449. |
| Week 7: Early Women Humor | ||
| 13 | Charlotte Lennox, The Female Quixote | [CL] pp. 1–100. |
| 14 | The Female Quixote, cont. | [CL] pp. 101–200. |
| Week 8: American Humor | ||
| 15 | Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | [MT] pp. 1–101. |
| 16 | Adventures of Huckleberry Finn cont. | [MT] pp. 102–220. |
| Week 9: American Humor cont. | ||
| 17 | James McBride, The Good Lord Bird | [JM] pp. 7–156. |
| 18 | The Good Lord Bird cont. | [JM] pp. 157–298. |
| Week 10: Women & Comedy | ||
| 19 | The Good Lord Bird cont. | [JM] pp. 299–458. |
| 20 | Tina Fey | Fey, Tina. Bossypants. Little Brown, 2011, pp. 3–10. ISBN: 9780316056861. |
| Week 11: Comic Memoir | ||
| 21 | Tina Fey & David Sedaris | "Act One: Papa Was Not a Rolling Stone." 104: Music Lessons. This American Life, June 5, 1998. |
| Week 12: Graphic Novels | ||
| 22 | John Leguizamo, Ghetto Klown | [JL] pp. 1–74. |
| 23 | Ghetto Klown cont. | [JL] pp. 75–121. |
| Week 13: Gendering the Joke | ||
| 24 | Ghetto Klown cont. | [JL] pp. 122–181. |
| 25 | Alison Bechdel, Fun Home | [AB] pp. 1–86. |
| Week 14: She's the Man | ||
| 26 | Fun Home cont. | [AB] pp. 87–150. |
| 27 | Fun Home cont. | [AB] pp. 151–232. |