American Studies 238 - Only Joking: Race, Gender, and Comedy in American Culture

Comedy has been a primary site for enacting and contesting citizenship in the United States. This course presents a history of comedy from the nineteenth century to the present to analyze the role of humor in shaping racial and gender stereotypes, as well as expressions of solidarity, resistance, and joy among marginalized groups. Case studies include blackface minstrelsy, screwball movies, stand-up comedy, sit-coms, satirical news shows, memes, Internet trolls, and cancel culture debates. The course applies cultural studies, affect theory, media studies, feminist studies, and critical race studies to analyze the social, political, emotional and psychological effects of comedy.