ENGL 1805
Freshman Seminar: Satire and Humor
Dr. Carolyn Sigler
University of Minnesota Duluth | Fall 2008 | MW 9:00-10:50 am


Dr. Sigler's Office: H 413, 726-8640
Fall Office Hours: M 1:00-3:00 pm W 2:00-3:00, and by appointment
Professor Sigler's Homepage
E-mail Professor Sigler
E-mail the class
Fall Reading Schedule
ENGL 1805 Homepage
ENGL 1805 Handouts and Readings

"To see the way wit functions for all of us—men and women alike—is to see a map of our culture: to focus on things we've seen but not necessarily processed or analyzed; explaining what we've sensed but not yet bothered to define. Humor may have been ignored or challenged, but it has always been a secretly potent, delightfully dangerous, wonderfully seductive and, most importantly, powerful way to make a statement, to tell our stories, to make sure everyone's voice is heard."
          ~Regina Barreca, Who's Laughing Now?


CLASS TEXTS
The following texts are required and may be purchased at the UMD Bookstore. Please purchase only the editions indicated below so that you will have the same pagination for class discussion and the exams.

Required

John Cleese and Connie Booth, The Complete Fawlty Towers (Da Capo)
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (Dover)
Carl Hiaasen, Tourist Season (Warner)
George Orwell, 1984 (Signet)
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (Penguin)
John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces (Grove)

Supplemental short readings will be available for download at the class handouts page (password required).

Recommended
A good writing handbook such as The Pocket Wadsworth Handbook, 3rd edition (Wadsworth)

COURSE PURPOSES
This is a Freshman Seminar, and as such is restricted to students with less than 30 credit hours. It is also a Liberal Education Category 9 course--Literary and Artistic Expression: Analysis and Criticism, which is designed to provide knowledge and skills important for an active and socially responsible citizen. In this course we will study satire and humor in their historical, social, aesthetic, and intellectual contexts.  Humor has been one of humanity's persistent modes of thought, of action, of self awareness--indeed, Louis Kronenberger has observed that "comedy itself is ... criticism"--so the subject matter of this course will help to enhance your understanding of the principles and techniques of analysis and interpretation.

    The Specific Goals of the Class Are As Follows:
    • grounding students in the literary methods or tools used by writers of humor and satire, such as irony, sarcasm, exaggeration, understatement, hyperbole, allusion;
    • exploring the uses of satire in many forms--including prose, poetry, drama, and visual texts such as film and political cartoons--and from diverse periods and cultures;
    • strengthening students' ability to read insightfully, to think critically, and to communicate effectively in discussions and writing
    • enhancing students' understanding of the ways that satire works in particular cultural contexts--that is, why it emerges when it does and what it targets;
    • enabling students to explore their own humanity by trying to discover how they react to comedy, and what that reaction says about them.
CLASS REQUIREMENTS
When I figure final grades, I will consider all of your class work: attendance, contributions to class discussions, in-class writing assignments, longer writing assignments, midterm, and final exams. In determining final grades, each course requirement carries the following weight:

        * Essay (20% of grade)
        * Midterm Examination (15%)
        * Final Examination (20%)
        * Group Presentation (10%)
        * Daily Writings/Quizzes (15%)
        * Attendance and Informed Class Participation (20%)

      READING
      This course will proceed primarily by discussion; your presence and regular, informed participation are crucial to your success in the class and the success of the class itself as a shared scholarly endeavor. The most important work in this course will be careful, patient, thorough reading of the assigned texts. You will need to finish the assigned readings by the date indicated on the reading schedule and—to receive credit for participation—must always bring the assigned text(s) to class. I encourage you to take reading notes on each text, and to mark passages we discuss in class.

      WRITING PROJECTS
      Formal writing (done outside of class) must use MLA format, be word-processed, free from mechanical errors, double-spaced, and printed in "best quality" using a standard 12-point font and 1-inch margins. You must keep a copy of any work you hand in, and retain graded work until the end of the semester. All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date, and must be turned in on time to receive full credit. Papers sent via e-mail, left in the professor’s box, or dropped off by students who do not remain in class, will be considered late. No writing assignments may be turned electronically.

      Daily Writings and Quizzes
      To help record attendance, to prepare for class discussions and to demonstrate how carefully you are reading the assigned works, you will spend a few minutes each class period writing about the day's assignment. Each brief exercise (e.g., a paragraph of reaction to the day's reading or a quiz) will be graded on a five- to 10-point scale. No make-up writings can be given; however, to allow for an emergancy that might cause you to miss class, you may skip one writing exercise without penalty or, if you do them all, your lowest score will be dropped from your average for the semester.

      Examinations
      The midterm and final examinations (open book) will consist of identification questions as well as essays of analysis and synthesis. You will be given a number of short identification questions, as well as several brief excerpts from the required readings on our syllabus. You will be asked to answer all of the identification questions and to explicate your choice of the excerpts. In explicating the passages, you will interpret them in depth and detail. Give your sense of what each excerpt means and why it is important. Point out specific themes, images, character traits, stylistic features, etc. that convey your sense of the meaning. Also, place each excerpt in the context of the work from which it is taken. How does it fit into your interpretation of the entire work? How does it function in the text as a whole? Please note that make-up exams cannot be given except in the case of a documented medical or family emergency.

      Some exam advice:

      • Don't bother with long, general introductions to your examination essays; get directly to your points.
      • Don't just paraphrase the passages or summarize the stories—analyze and interpret the material carefully. Go beyond the obvious to make explicit what is implicit in it. Explore the complexities of the excerpt and as many of the significant details as you can in the time available. The best-developed essays will receive the highest grades.
      • Support your interpretations with well-selected evidence. You need not copy out long quotations, but you should refer to specific incidents, descriptions, images, details, etc. to back up your reading of the works. While there is no single objectively "correct" interpretation of any work, you are expected to make a convincing case for your own interpretation by presenting strong specific evidence.
      • Take a few minutes before writing your essays to think about your arguments and perhaps to jot an outline on scratch paper. Decide what main points you want to make and what evidence you will use to support them.

      Essays
      Specific instructions for the essay projects will be distributed in class and via the class Web site. Your essay project should be 5-7 pages in length, should be on one of the assigned texts for the class (except by prior agreement—see b. below), and must be based on original ideas and research. Your essay is yours: find something to write about that you are interested in and want to know more about. Please consult with me early and often as you work on your assignment. I will be happy to read and comment on drafts as you go along. Ask your classmates for their help, too, as you work through your project. Also, you are welcome to consult the writing tutors at the Tutoring Center (40 CCtr). The essay is due on 10 December , but please keep in mind that you will need to bring a complete, polished and typed draft to class on 8 December for an in-class peer editing workshop.

      Some possibilities:
      A. Critical Analysis: A standard critical analysis of a work or works from our syllabus. You might focus on one narrow aspect of a single work (e.g. race or gender and power relations in Swift, Jackson, Thurber, Ball, Cleese, Hiaasen, or Cohen; “business” and “deal-making” in A Christmas Carol, M. Verdoux or Roger and Me; tensions between reality and satire in Roger and Me, The Daily Show, or Borat ; varieties of humor in Swift, Toole, Seinfeld, Moore or Cohen), or you might compare or contrast two of our authors on a single topic (e.g. dark humor in 1984 and Roger and Me; “the little man” character in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” M. Verdoux, 1984, Seinfeld, or Fawlty Towers; depictions of money and power in A Christmas Carol. Roger and Me, Fawlty Towers, A Tourist Season, or Borat); depictions of the "stranger in a strange land" in Gulliver's Travels, Confederacy of Dunces, Tourist Season, or Borat; the "Houyhnhnm" persona in Gulliver's Travels and one other work (e.g. A Christmas Carol, M. Verdoux, 1984, Confederacy of Dunces, Roger & Me, Tourist Season). These are just a very few examples. If you explore a work we've already discussed, make sure that your analysis goes well beyond what was said in class discussion. Direct your essay to your classmates and the instructor: that is, assume that they are familiar with the works (don't bother with plot summary) and eager to hear your own insights into them.

      B. Creative Analysis: An imitation or parody of one of our writers along with a separate explanation of what precisely you intended to imitate or parody and how successful you feel the attempt turned out. Thus, you’ll write a short story (or scene, chapter, script, collection of poems, etc.) using the genre, style and themes of a particular author to illustrate and explicate your interpretation of his or her work. Requirements of this option are: 1) Your creative work must be tied thematically and stylistically to a particular work on the syllabus; 2) Your creative work must include a substantive 250-word introduction or conclusion that analyses your story’s purpose(s) (in other words, what your version reveals about the original). Your effort will be judged on its effectiveness as a work of creative writing (characterization, pace, theme, detail) as well as its effectiveness as an imitation or parody of a specific text. Some possible topics: a modern updating of Gulliver's Travels, A Christmas Carol, "The Lottery," "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," or 1984 ; an undiscovered “chapter 15” of A Confederacy of Dunces (what happens after Ignatius and Myrna drive off into the sunset?!) or an undiscovered voyage for Lemual Gulliver; a Gulliver's Travels , Confederacy or Tourist Season chapter from another character’s point of view (e.g. one of the Lilliputians or Houyhnhnms; Ignatius's mother or Burma Jones; Skip Wiley); "The Secret Life of Mrs. Mitty"; a scene from an “undiscovered” Fawlty Towers or Seinfeld episode; a collection of satiric journalism pieces; you get the idea! Good imitations and parodies require a thorough and critical understanding of the original. Make sure that your effort captures the concerns and style of your model.

      Late Assignments
      All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date, and must be turned in on time to receive full credit. Papers left in the professor's box, or dropped off by students who do not remain in class, will be considered late.   Late papers will be accepted up to five days after the due date, but five points will be taken off for every day they are late.   If some emergency occurs you must contact me BEFORE the class in which the paper is due.   Last minute computer and printer problems do not count as an emergency.   Please back up your work and plan accordingly

      Academic Integrity
      Be extremely careful to acknowledge the sources that have influenced your work. Should you incorporate the ideas, general phrasing, or exact words of any other source without properly crediting the author(s), you are guilty of plagiarism. The penalty for plagiarism in this course is severe: you will fail the course and UMD’s Academic Integrity Officer will be notified of the reason for your failure.  See UMD’s Student Academic Integrity Policy for further information.

      ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
      In general, I will generously reward students who contribute week after week to class discussions with intelligent, thought-provoking comments that demonstrate careful reading of the texts and thoughtful attention to what others have said. Students who skip a lot of class, are frequently late, don't bring to class the texts being discussed, or don't seem to listen to what others have to say and never say anything themselves, should expect a lower grade for participation and for the class.  Thus, lack of preparation for class, irregular attendance and/or distracting behavior (sleeping, eating, checking e-mail, etc.) will hurt your grade; good attendance and active participation in class discussions will improve your grade.  As a rule, all electronic communication devices (phones, pagers, palm pilots, cd-players, ipods, etc.) must be turned off during class, and food should not be eaten in class.

      I expect good attendance of everyone, and I take role religiously, as your attendance is absolutely essential to the learning that happens in this course. I do understand, however, that every once in a while circumstances may make it impossible for you to attend. If you miss one or two classes during the semester, don't worry about it. If you miss more that, you may want to start worrying about how your attendance might hurt your grade. Also remember that late arrivals or early departures may cause you to miss announcements, quizzes and/or important class material—and will also detract from your attendance/participation grade for the class. If you do have to miss a class, or arrive late, it is your responsibility to obtain class materials, assignments and information from myself and/or colleagues. Please keep me posted regarding unavoidable absences by a brief note, by message on my voice-mail (726-8640), or (preferably) by e-mail.

      E-MAIL
      As of August 2001, university-assigned student e-mail accounts (your d.umn.edu account) are the University's official means of communication. You are responsible for regularly checking your account, as most class updates and announcements will be made via e-mail. E-mail is also the best and surest means to contact your professor.

      COURSE WEB SITE
      Copies of the class syllabus, course handouts and several short readings will be available to download through the ENGL 1805 Web site. The course Web site also provides a number of online resources to help you with research, writing, and revision. These include links to satire/humor literary history, culture and author sites, research and style guides, and online dictionaries and writing tools.

      HOW TO LEARN FROM AND DO WELL IN THIS COURSE

      • Read with energy, interest, and pleasure. Approach reading as an exchange of questions between yourself and the text. Mark up that book (forget about resale!).
      • Come to class prepared to engage with your texts, your colleagues, and me—that is, read the assigned works by the first date they are listed on the schedule and be ready to discuss them.
      • View your writing as a craft, a discipline, and a process. Begin writing assignments before you actually start writing the essay. Come into my office to discuss ideas, research, drafts, and rewrites. Also use your colleagues as readers and sources of feedback.
      • If you ever have questions or concerns about readings, assignments, grades, or anything else connected with the course, please feel free to consult with me about them. I enjoy talking with students, and I don't want anxiety or uncertainty about grades to interfere with more important questions ("Why is George Kostanza obsessed with marble rye?" "Where are Ignatius and Myrna going at the end of Confederacy of Dunces?" "Why is Basil Fawlty so angry?"). I am available in my office during the hours listed above; if the office hours are unfeasible for you, you are always welcome to e-mail me to arrange some other time.
      • If you have any disability, either temporary or permanent, that might affect your performance in this course, please let me know as soon as possible so that I may adapt materials or testing to provide for equitable participation. The UMD Access Center (726-8217) can also provide further information and assistance.

        CRITERIA FOR GRADES
        A = excellent written work (essay, examinations): superb content and effective expression; perfect score on most daily writing exercises; informed, active participation in class discussions (no more than 2 absences); outstanding contributions.
        B = superior written work—exceeds average, but room for improvement; 80-89% average on daily written exercises; informed, active participation in most class discussions (no more than 3 absences); significant contributions.
        C = written work that meets average (i.e., high) standards for UMD students, but some problems with content and/or expression; 70-79% average on daily writing exercises; informed, active participation in class discussions (no more than 4 absences).
        D = significant problems with any or all course components (writing projects, examinations, daily writing exercises, participation in class discussions).
        F = performance that does not meet minimum standards for students at a major state university.
        I = incompletes are given only in the following very limited circumstances: a student must contact the professor and specifically request an Incomplete; no more than one or two weeks of class, or one or two assignments can have been missed; a student must already be in good standing; s/he must have a documented family or medical emergency; s/he must arrange a schedule with the professor for making up the missed work that is acceptable for both professor and student.

        FALL 2008 READING AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE