CRITICAL HUMORS

HONORS 200: THE SHAPING OF THE MODERN MIND (HU) SEM 005: MW 12:30 – 1:45 HON 180; SEM 007: MW 3:30-4:45 HON 180

Dr. W. Tyson Hausdoerffer, Honors College Lecturer Office: HON 158 Office Hours: MR 11:30-12:30 and 1:45-2:45, TW 1:45-2:45, and by appointment Contact Info: (414) 229-4658; [email protected]

The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears and takes more forms: hollow, heartless, mirthless, maniacal. –James Thurber

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION Most forms of humor involve some degree of criticism. However, “critical humor” can easily slide into ridicule and sometimes becomes downright abusive. In this course, we will examine a number of important plays that use humor in ways that disturb the boundary between criticism and abuse. What’s more, in disturbing this boundary, some of these plays also call into question the generic boundary between comedy and tragedy. Why do these plays set out to disturb these boundaries? What do they gain, and what do they sacrifice, by doing so? In what ways do they amuse us, and in what ways do they disturb us? How easily can we even distinguish amusement from disturbance in our reactions to these works? To begin our exploration of these questions, we will spend the first part of the semester studying some key premodern examples of critical humor. These will include Aristophanes’ Acharnians, Lysistrata, and The Clouds and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice. In the second part of the semester, we will look at several important examples of modern critical humor. These will include Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo and The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES It is the goal of the course that all students in it will learn: #1 to construct insightful, compelling, and succinct arguments #2 to write in a clear, concise, fluent, and forceful manner #3 to participate in, and also to lead, seminar-style discussions in an effective manner #4 to pose and pursue good research questions—to have an aptitude for inquiry #5 to approach the analysis and interpretation of comedy from productive angles

III. REQUIRED READINGS You must bring a HARD COPY of the following texts to class; electronic versions are not permitted in class: Albee, Edward. At Home at the Zoo, A Play. (ISBN-10: 1590205243) _____. The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (ISBN-10: 1585676470) Aristophanes. The Acharnians, Lysistrata, The Clouds. (ISBN-10: 0941051587) Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts. (ISBN-10: 0802130348) Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. (ISBN-10: 019953585X) _____. Twelfth Night, Or What You Will. (ISBN-10: 0199536090) IV. REQUIRED FILM VIEWING We will watch a film version of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in conjunction with our reading of it. All students are expected to make arrangements to attend the screening that will be held at 7 PM in HON 180 on Tuesday, April 9th.

V. GRADE SCHEME Short Assignment #1 10 points Short Assignment #2 10 points Short Assignment #3 20 points Short Assignment #4 30 points Essay 1 Proposal & Outline 10 points Essay 1 First Draft 30 points Essay 2 Revised Draft 40 points Essay 2 Proposal & Outline 10 points Essay 2 50 points Presentation #1 20 points Presentation #2 30 points Overall Participation 40 points Total 300 points

VI. DESCRIPTION OF GRADE CATEGORIES

A. Short Assignments There will be 4 short assignments. The first two of these assignments are worth 10 points each and will involve writing a single paragraph that contains a formally complete argument concerning some aspect of the day’s reading; the third assignment is worth 20 points and will involve arguing one claim using two distinct strategies; the fourth assignment is worth 30 points and will involve arguing one claim using three distinct strategies. Please keep in mind that these short assignments are expected to meet a high standard of correctness and professionalism; in particular, they are expected to meet the standards detailed in the writing handout called 20 Things to Get Right.

B. Essays Essay 1, a critical essay on the topic of humor in the plays of Aristophanes, must be at least 4 full pages long and is worth 20 points. That draft will be reviewed thoroughly and returned for revision. The revised draft, a significantly expanded and improved version of the first, must be at least 6 full pages long and will be worth 40 points. Essay 2, a critical essay on the topic of humor in two or more of the plays we study, must be at least 6 full pages long and will be worth 50 points. All drafts are expected to follow the standards detailed in the writing handout called 20 Things to Get Right. Also note that a proposal and detailed outline, worth 10 points, must be turned in prior to each essay, on the dates specified in the Schedule of Readings and Assignments.

C. Presentations Each student must give two presentations. The first involves leading a ten- to twelve minute discussion of a specific passage chosen from the day’s reading. The second involves leading a fifteen- to twenty-minute discussion of whatever the student considers to be the most important question relating to the day’s reading. In both cases, the discussions must be dynamic; they are expected to produce a lively interaction between the discussion leader and the rest of the class. The discussion leader is therefore expected to prepare a series of possible questions to ask the class and to engage in dialogue with the other students as they respond to those questions. For both presentations, the discussion leader must email me the topic of discussion no later than noon the day before the discussion is to take place. I will then post the topic to our D2L website for the other students to see.

D. Overall Participation The overall participation grade, worth 40 points, is calculated based on how positive an impact each student has on the course. To have a significantly positive impact, you must come to class prepared for discussion, be attentive to the discussion at all times, respond regularly to questions, regularly offer comments and questions of your own, regularly volunteer to read passages aloud, take a constructive role in group work, and not dominate the discussion or otherwise make it uncomfortable for other students to participate. In addition to considering in a general way the quality of each student’s impact on the course, I formally track participation in two ways, first by evaluating each student’s participation each day on a scale of 0-3, and second by keeping a record of who speaks up during all the student-led discussions.

VII. GRADING POLICIES The final grade for the course is calculated by adding up the points a student has earned in all the grade categories listed above, factoring in any points lost due to absence, tardiness, or early departure (see Section VIII on attendance below), and dividing that sum by 3 to arrive at a score on a scale of 1-100; the letter grade is then assigned according to standard practice (i.e. 100-93 = A; 92-90 = A-; 89-87 = B+, 86-83 = B; 82-80 = B-; etc.). If you discover after the final grade has been submitted that a clerical error has been made (e.g. the score of an assignment was incorrectly recorded), please contact me as soon as possible so that I can verify the mistake and submit a request for a grade change if a change is warranted. If you wish to appeal the grade you have been given for any other reason, you should first contact me for an explanation of the grade. If my explanation is unsatisfactory, then you may appeal the grade by following the procedures detailed at the following site: http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/upload/grievance_procedure.pdf.

VIII. ATTENDANCE POLICIES All students are expected to attend class every day, to arrive on time, and not to leave early. Arriving late or leaving early counts as half an absence. Full absences can only be excused for the observance of officially recognized religious holidays, for call-up to active military duty, or for verified illness. In the case of absences due to religious observance, the student must inform me of any anticipated absences within the first three weeks of class; in the case of absences due to military call-up, the student is expected to inform me as soon as possible of any anticipated absences; in the case of absences due to verified illness, the student is expected to email me about the absence as soon as possible and to follow-up with an official note upon returning to class. If a student is absent for any other reason, his or her grade will be affected according to the following strict schedule: 1-2 absences: no penalty 3 absences: -6 points from 300 point total (2% impact) 4 absences: -15 points from 300 points total (5% impact) 5 absences: -30 points from 300 points total (10% impact) 6+ absences: Automatic F in course. Note that in addition to these penalties, you will earn zero participation points when absent; however, if your absence is excused and you wish to receive a participation score, then you must email me a 1-2 page reflection on the day’s reading before the next class meeting. Finally, even if your absence is not excusable, it is in your interest to notify me of the absence in advance or, if the absence is due to unforeseen circumstances, to touch base with me via email before the next class meeting.

IX. POLICIES ON LATE ASSIGNMENTS Assignments must be handed in on time in order to receive full credit; “on time” means the beginning of the class period unless otherwise specified on the Schedule of Readings and Assignments. Late assignments will lose at least the numerical equivalent of half a letter grade if turned in during the first 24 hours after the deadline and an additional half a letter grade for each additional day.

X. POLICIES ON INCOMPLETE GRADES It has long been the custom of the Honors College not to grant any incomplete grades in Honors 200; however, in accordance with UWM policy, “An incomplete may be given to a student who has carried a subject successfully until near the end of the semester but, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond that student's control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of term work. An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that s/he was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above” (http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S31.pdf).

XI. POLICIES ON ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT Academic misconduct will not be tolerated in this course; it will be dealt with according to the procedures outlined in UWM’s Academic Misconduct Policy. UWM’s definition of academic misconduct covers a wide range of acts, but I want to draw specific attention to the ones mentioned that are usually called “plagiarism,” including collaborating with others in work to be presented, contrary to the stated rules of the course; submitting a paper or assignment as one’s own work when a part or all of the paper or assignment is the work of another; submitting a paper or assignment that contains ideas or research of others without appropriately identifying the sources of those ideas. (http://www4.uwm.edu/acad_aff/policy/academicmisconduct.cfm) It is important to note that it is considered plagiarism not only to copy material word-for- word from an outside source without proper acknowledgement but also to paraphrase the words or even to make loose use of the ideas of others without proper acknowledgement. In fact, even “forgetting” to place quotations within quotation marks or providing incorrect or incomplete citations may be considered plagiarism. The consequences of plagiarism in this course range from “oral reprimand, written reprimand to student only, assignment to repeat the work, to be graded on its merits” (“Group A Sanctions”) through “lower or failing grade on the particular assignment or test, a lower grade in the course, a failing grade in the course, removal of the student from the course in progress, personal probation, a written reprimand to be included in the students disciplinary file” (“Group B Sanctions”) to “disciplinary probation, suspension, or expulsion” from UWM (“Group C Sanctions”), depending on the severity of the case (see link provided above).

XII. CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR POLICIES Since this is a seminar-style course, it is of the utmost importance that all students behave in a manner that is conducive to good discussion. In the section on “Overall Participation” above, I outlined how students should behave in order to achieve a good grade for participation, mentioning things like coming to class prepared, participating regularly in discussion, taking a constructive role in group work, and so forth. At the very least, students are expected to be attentive, to respond when called upon, and to avoid any behaviors that might negatively affect the seminar atmosphere of the course (if this is all a student manages to do though, his or her participation grade will not be very good). Undesirable seminar behaviors include, but are not limited to, nodding off, consulting cell phones (more on this in Section XIII below), eating during class, packing up books before class is over, whispering to a neighbor, interrupting others, dominating the discussion, or being uncivil in any way. If a student’s behavior becomes disruptive to the point that it infringes on the teaching process or “makes it impossible for normal classroom activity to continue,” I will ask the student to leave the class for the day and will follow established protocols to ensure that the disruptive behavior does not occur again (https://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S9.htm). And of course, if any student acts in a dangerous or threatening way, I will call campus police immediately.

XIII. POLICIES ON LAPTOPS, TABLETS, CELL PHONES, ETC. The use of electronic devices is disruptive to a seminar atmosphere and is therefore prohibited unless a student provides me with a VISA stating that he or she must be allowed to use one. Moreover, in the interest of making the classroom a sociable place, all students are expected to stow their electronic devices before entering the classroom, regardless of whether or not I have arrived.

XIV. POLICIES ON STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES The Student Accessibility Center has asked all instructors to post the following statement to their syllabi: "If you will need accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact me as soon as possible." More specifically, I prefer that students with disabilities provide me with a copy of their VISA within the first few weeks of the semester so that I can make arrangements to accommodate them. The VISA and any related information will of course be kept in strict confidence.

XV. ADDITIONAL UNIVERSITY POLICIES A more comprehensive list of University Policies can be found at the following link: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf