TC 302 (43710): Comedy, Ancient and Modern, Fall, 2009
TTH 11-12:30, MAI 220E
Timothy Moore (Department of Classics), 113 Waggener, 232-4161, timmoore@mail.utexas.edu
Office hours TTh 12:30-2, or by appointment

Description:
In this course we will examine the nature of dramatic comedy and its role in society.  We will read, discuss and write about comedies from ancient Greece and Rome and from various modern nations, paying particular attention to the following questions:
Do comic plays reinforce or challenge the preconceptions of their audiences? How have comic playwrights responded to issues such as class, gender, religion, and politics? Why does comedy have such power both to unite and to divide people?

Required Texts:
Four Plays by Aristophanes: The Clouds, The Birds, Lysistrata, The Frogs, transl. by William Arrowsmith, Richmond Lattimore, Douglass Parker.  Meridian Classic, New American Library, 1984.  ISBN 0-452-00717-8.
Brecht, The Three-Penny Opera, translated by Ralph Manheim and John Willett. Penguin Classics, 2007: ISBN 978-0-14-310516-9.
Susanna Centlivre,  A Bold Stroke for a Wife, edited by Nancy Copeland.  Broadview Literary Texts, 1995.  ISBN:  1-55111-021-0.
Mary Chase. Harvey. Dramatists Play Service. 1971. 0-8222-0500-9.
Eugene Ionesco. The Bald Soprano and Other Plays. Grove Press, 1982. 0-8021-3079-8.
Menander, Plays and Fragments, transl by Norma Miller.  Penguin, 1987.   ISBN 0-14-044501-3.
Moličre, The Bourgeois Gentleman, in a new translation and adaptation by Bernard Sahlins.  Ivan R, Dee, 2000.  ISBN 1-56663-304-4.
Plautus and Terence: Five Comedies, translated by Deena Berg and Douglass Parker. Hackett, 1999. 0-87220-362-X.
Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors. Dover Thrift Editions, 2002.  0-486-42461-8.
Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew. Dover Thrift Editions, 1997.  0-486-29765-9.
George Bernard Shaw, Arms and the Man. Dover Thrift Edition, 1990. 0-486-26476-9.
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest. Dover Thrift Editions. 0486264785.
Additional readings will be provided on Blackboard or are available on line.

Assignments and Grades: (this course has a substantial writing component):
Weekly reaction papers (1 page each; due each Tuesday on which no other assignment is due): 10%
4-6 page paper (must be rewritten for credit): 20%
10-15 page research paper (must be rewritten for credit): 40%
Two oral reports: 10%
Class participation (includes attendance, preparation, and class discussion): 20%

 
Grade scale
A: 93-100; A-: 90-92.9; B+: 87-89.9; B: 83-86.9; B-: 80-82.9; C+: 77-79.9; C: 73-76.9; C-: 70-72.9; D+: 67-69.9; D: 63-66.9; D-: 60-62.9

Tentative Schedule
August
27 Introduction to course

September
1 Plautus, Double Bind
3 Shakespeare, Comedy of Errors

8 Rodgers, Hart, and Abbott, The Boys from Syracuse (on Blackboard)
10 Theories of the Comic: Selections by Bergson and Freud from Robert W. Corrigan, Comedy: A Critical Anthology, pp. 745-750 (on Blackboard); Thomas C. Veatch, "A Theory of Humor," International Journal of Humor Research, May, 1998 (on line at http://www.tomveatch.com/else/humor/paper/humor.html)

15 Theories of Comedy: Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, pp. 163-186: "The Mythos of Spring: Comedy" (on Blackboard); Eric Bentley, The Life of the Drama, chapter 9: "Comedy" (on Blackboard); Paul Woodruff, The Necessity of Theater, chapter 10: “Laughter” (on Blackboard)
17 Aristophanes, Birds

Also planned for late September (dates and locations to be announced): performances of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and King Lear

21 (7 PM, Bass Concert Hall): University Lecture: “The State of the Economy,” Tom Gilligan, Dean, Red McCombs School of Business
22 Aristophanes, Birds; Topic paragraph for research paper due
22 (7 PM, Bass Concert Hall): University Lecture: “How to Spot a Tyrant: Lessons from Theater,” Paul Woodruff, Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies
24 Aristophanes, Lysistrata

29 Menander, The Bad-Tempered Man
October
1 Terence, The Brothers

6 Six Japanese Kyôgen Plays from Don Kenny, The Kyogen Book: Busu, Hikkukuri, Mizu Kumi, Niwatori Muko, Ebisu Daikoku, and Tsuki-Mi Zato (on Blackboard); Begin 1st oral reports
8 Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew

13 Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew: Paper 1 due
15 Meeting with Librarian Lindsey Schell, PCL 1.124

20 Moličre, The Bourgeois Gentleman
22 Centlivre, A Bold Stroke for a Wife

27  Gilbert and Sullivan, Pirates of Penzance (on line at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive: http://math.boisestate.edu/GaS/pirates/html/index.html); List of sources for research paper due
29 Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

November
3 Shaw, Arms and the Man; Revision of Paper 1 due
5 Visit to the Harry Ransom Center (Details TBA)

10 Brecht, The Three-Penny Opera; Outline of research paper due; Begin 2nd oral reports
12 Brecht, The Three-Penny Opera

17 Mary Chase, Harvey
19 Ionesco, The Bald Soprano

24 The Marx Brothers, Duck Soup (VIDCASS 3463); Research paper due
26 Thanksgiving

December
1 Billy Wilder, Some Like it Hot (VIDCASS 3081)
3 TBA: (A recently-released comic film)

10: Revision of research paper due (place in my mailbox in 123 Waggener Hall by 5:00 PM)

A word to the wise
It is imperative that you attend class each day, and that you read each assignment before class. Please note the importance of class participation in your grade. This means that you will be richly rewarded for consistent attendance and preparation, but repeated absences and/or lack of preparation for class will cost you dearly.

Scholastic dishonesty
Scholastic dishonesty on any graded assignment will result in a 0 on the assignment. Scholastic dishonesty includes any kind of cheating, including plagiarism. For more information, contact Student Judicial Services at 471-2841, or go to http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis.php.

Academic disabilities
The University of Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities.  For more information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259, or go to http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/index.php.

Religious holidays
You may make up any work you miss for a religious holiday if you notify me of the holiday fourteen days ahead of time.

Late work
Journal entries will not be accepted late unless written documentation is provided of illness, family emergency, or a religious holiday.  Papers will be accepted without penalty until 5:00 PM on the due date, or later if written documentation of illness, family emergency, or a religious holiday is provided.  Without such documentation the grade on the assignment will be lowered by 2 points for each day it is overdue.  Students who hand in the final paper late will receive a grade of incomplete (X), to be changed to a grade when the paper is handed in.

Cell phones
Please make absolutely certain that your cell phone, if you have one with you, is turned off during class.  

Laptops
Laptop computers are wonderful tools.  In a class such as this, however, where discussion is vital, they are a distraction.  Please do not use them during this class.
last modified August 24, 2009 by timmoore@mail.utexas.edu