A lecture/seminar satisfying the second half of the Reading & Composition requirement, R4B offers structured and sustained practice in the processes used in reading, critical analysis, and writing. Students engage with thematically-related materials from a range of genres and media. In response, they craft short pieces leading to longer expository and/or argumentative essays. Students develop a research question, draft a research essay, gather, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources. Elements of the research process--a proposal, an annotated bibliography, an abstract, a works cited list, etc.--are submitted with the final report in a research portfolio. Students write a minimum of 32 pages of prose.

What makes something amusing? Is humor subjective? Is it culture-specific, generation-specific, time-and-day specific? What does Mark Twain’s humor have in common with Shakespeare’s comedies? And what about memes? How is today’s standup different from the standup comedy of the past? Why do we laugh? The course will consider these and other questions as we look at how humor functions in literature. We’ll read and discuss Freud’s theories about jokes, and you’ll develop your own research project to determine just what’s so funny. Book List: Typical American (Gish Jen), Topdog/Underdog (Suzan-Lori Parks), Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (Sigmund Freud), The Craft of Research 4th Ed. (Wayne C. Booth, et al.), Films TBA

Enrollment is restricted to students who have satisfied the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement. This course satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

Requisites

• Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature and Composition. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.
• Students must satisfy the ELWR in order to enroll in this class.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills