Goucher College 2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalogue 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
Goucher College 2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalogue PLEASE NOTE: This is an archived catalog. Programs are subject to change each academic year.

JS 114 - Jewish Humor (4 Cr.)

(LER DIV)(LER TXT)(GCR RPP)
This course uses the long history of Jewish humor to introduce the student both to the discipline of Judaic studies and also to the philosophical issues–ethical, political, and social–that arise from studying humor. Some questions we might discuss are: What makes something humorous? How do we respond–ethically, socially, and politically–to offensive humor? What role does humor play in society? Explicitly, we will draw comparisons between Jewish humor and other ethnic humors (e.g. African-American humor) and try to assess what humor does and can mean for us moving forward. Some of the figures we might focus on are, e.g., Henri Bergson, Sigmund Freud, Sarah Silverman, and Dave Chappelle Fall semester. Offered fall 2017 and every other year. Shuster.