ENGL3112 Comedy and Satire

In this topic students will explore the issues involved in comic and satirical representation. What is comedy? What is satire? How do the two genres differ and interpenetrate? What are we thinking and feeling through laughter? What different types of humour are there? What do comic and satirical works say about the cultures which generate them? These questions will guide us as we assess a selection texts – including plays, poetry, novels, and video – from the classics to the present day.

The topic aims to engage students in a sophisticated analysis of the distinctive generic features, complex cultural imbrication, and emotional effects of comedy and satire through engagement with a wide range of classic and contemporary texts, written and dramatic. We will explore and question assumptions about the functions of humour, irony, parody, and laughter. We will critically assess these texts and concepts, both in the context of academic research and in the circulation of popular and online opinion.

1. Evaluate the qualities of a range of comic and satirical texts from a range of classical and contemporary contexts
2. Compose analytic or creative texts about comedy and satire for academic, peer, and engaged public audiences
3. Elaborate and respond to coherent verbal arguments about comic and satirical texts
4. Theorise about the formal and affective elements of comedy and satire within a framework of humour scholarship
5. Distinguish between ethical and functional rationales for laughter and for comic and satirical achievement