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| Semester | fall semester 2019 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Following a chronological trajectory from early U.S. performers such as Bob Hope and Joan Rivers to recent American and British comics such as George Carlin and Frankie Boyle, this course is devoted to an often controversial phenomenon of twenty- and twenty-first-century Anglophone popular culture: stand-up comedy. Apart from tracing the subgenre's history, we will consider the uses and limitations of various theories of humor (e.g., Schopenhauer, Hobbes, Freud, Noel Carroll, John Morreall) and study stand-up comics' performative negotiations of gender, race, class, and sexuality. A word of warning: if you are easily offended, this course may well not be for you. To find out whether you are among the easily offended, watch some clips of Jimmy Carr's performances on YouTube. |
| Learning objectives | This seminar introduces students to a number of historical and theoretical approaches to stand-up comedy. |
| Bibliography | All students need to purchase and read Eddie Tafoya's "The Legacy of the Wisecrack: Stand-up Comedy as the Great American Literary Form" before the beginning of the term. Copies are available at the Labyrinth bookstore. Additional material will be uploaded on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This seminar is open only to MA students. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
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No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Literatur im Zusammenspiel der Künste und Medien (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular and active participation; no more than two absences |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |