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Professional Writing and Discussions: Language and Humour in Stand-Up Comedy
DozentIn: Andrew Jones, B.A., M.Phil.
Veranstaltungstyp: Seminar
Ort: 15/115: Di. 12:00 - 14:00 (12x), 22/E25: Di. 12:00 - 14:00 (1x)
Zeiten: Di. 12:00 - 14:00 (wöchentlich), Ort: 15/115, 22/E25
Beschreibung: Professional Writing and Discussions courses are advanced language courses designed for B.A. students who are in or have completed their 5th semester of studies and for M.A. students. . Under the guidance of their course instructors, the course participants will undertake a more active and independent development of their language skills by applying them to a specific topic area. They will continue to train their productive and receptive language skills, further expand their lexico-grammatical knowledge in connection with the specialist language used in the course, and acquire supplementary cultural knowledge on English-speaking countries. Ultimately, the central aim of these courses, whatever topic area and skills focus you choose, is to facilitate students' transition into self-sufficient and proficient users of the English language. If you elect to take this course, you will be expected to attend class regularly and contribute actively and intelligently. Furthermore, you will need to complete a portfolio of written and/or oral tasks during the course of the semester.
This particular course is for students who are interested in learning more about senses of humour in English-speaking countries while acquiring a feeling for accents, dialects and idiomatic language use in various parts of the English-speaking world. We will primarily familiarise ourselves with the work of modern stand-up comic artists, but will also acquaint ourselves with some of their influences, including celebrities that had successful stand-up careers before moving on to other ventures. We will examine the strategies that stand-up comics employ in order to elicit laughs from their audiences, as well as attempting to establish why some jokes flop. We will also investigate the effect that the role factors such as national culture, race, gender and sexuality play in both the delivery and reception of stand-up comedy. We will explore heckling and why it often doesn't work out well for those that attempt it and we will discuss some ethical questions around stand-up comedy. For example, is it morally accepable to still laugh at the work of Bill Cosby and Louis CK? Should stand-up comedy be a politics-free zone? Should comedians refrain from making jokes about their audience members (body shaming, speculations on marriages and relationships, "yo mama" jokes)? Be ready to laugh, be prepared for some controversy, and be willing to try out some stand-up comedy of your own!
Up to twelve spots in the course can be allocated in advance to students who come to my office hour and confirm that they are prepared to commit to taking the course and have identified stand-up comics whose work they would like to analyse during the course. Please note that the Stud.IP registration procedure is not binding and that the remaining spots in the course will be allocated during the first class session.
