Topics in AMCS: Comedy in the Settler Colony

This course is meant to conceptualize the relationship between comedy and power in the United States. Settler colonialism is the context here-the place that the comedy and comedians we will be studying maneuver, produce within, and, at times, directly "talk up to." Themes in this class include (1) whiteness and white jokes, (2) racial humor and the joke about race, (3) funny Natives and settler jokes, (4) good ole misogyny, (5) gay as in funny, (6) transphobic punchlines, (7) FOB "fresh off-the-boat" takeovers, and (8) the conclusion: jokes are supposed to be funny. Through these different themes, we will chart out patterns, repetitions, and connections in the way contemporary comedy is crafted and performed. More importantly, we will study reactions to these jokes, ours included, to examine what is funny and what is not funny and why the difference matters. Presently, comedians are some of the most open critics of political correctness, identity politics, and cancel culture, and the comedians we will study execute these criticisms in different ways, sometimes very badly. Our class material will also include a genealogy of comedy in the U.S. We will be highlighting the role Indigenous humor plays in elucidating and challenge what we will describe as "settler culture." This class requires students to watch and replay a lot of TV, study the very structure of a joke and the storytelling involved, and analyze its social and political dimensions in their daily assignments. The class's main project is a comedy set that students write and execute to showcase that they understand what makes a joke funny, how to make fun of settler colonialism, and how to poke fun at the silly business of social difference.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU BA; AS HUM; AS SD I; FA HUM; AR HUM; FA CPSC

Topics in AMCS: Comedy in the Settler Colony

AMERICAN CULTURE STUDIES 330C

Section 01