Title
FSEM1010-03.FSEM: The Power of Humor.F15.Gaetano,George
Document Type
Syllabi
School
CLA
Department
COMM
Course Subject
FSEM
Course Number
1010
Course Section
03
Course Title
FSEM: The Power of Humor
Academic Term and Year
Fall 2015
Credits
4.00
Area of Study
FSEM
Course Description
Though the obvious goal of most humor is to elicit laughter, humor also often serves more “serious” functions. In this course we will explore how humor can be used to influence attitudes, beliefs, and values. The rhetorical function of humor—its ability to persuade—will be examined through the writings of such people as Nora Ephron, David Sedaris, Molly Ivins, Dave Barry, P.J. O’Rourke, among others. We will read scholarly articles that deal with the theories and functions of humor, as well as the texts, Performing Marginality, which explores the use of humor by women and people of color to assert their power, and Mark Twains’ Letters to the Earth, in which religious beliefs are satirized.
Recommended Citation
Gaetano, George, "FSEM1010-03.FSEM: The Power of Humor.F15.Gaetano,George" (2015). Historic Syllabi -- full text access limited to internal Hamline administrative staff only. 5810.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/syllabi/5810