Outline

This may well be the least serious seminar at SILS and yet it is not an easy option. How could it be, given that our central questions are What is Funny? and Why is it Funny?
What is Funny? examines the work, life, background and popularity of a group of British, American, Australian and European comedians and scriptwriters working in all mediums: live (stand-up), radio, TV, and film, and asks some difficult questions. Why does comedy work better in some media than others? Why do we only have to look at some comedians to know they’re funny? How is it that some comedy works anywhere (Chaplin, Mr Bean, M. Hulot) while other comedy only works in one cultural or national group? (and some comedians do not travel well at all).
The main requirements for this seminar are a refined and discriminating sense of humour, an ability to tune into unusual comic methods and manners, and the curiosity to wonder constructively about the nature of comedy and study it methodically.
Besides their own understandings, students will bring to the seminar examples of their own national or personal humour and examples of the work of non-Anglophone comedians and be ready to introduce them to the seminar. Students will write a term essay and extend this in the form of a presentation. The course will utilise all and any media to introduce and study comic material and students are free to reference anybody and anything in presentations and class discussions.