History of American Stand-up Comedy

elective courses

The course presents an overview of American stand-up comedy. It investigates the beginnings of stand-up on the vaudeville stage, the countercultural comics of the 1950s and 60s, feminist comediennes, pioneers of intersectional and LGBTQ+ comedy, comedians as political commentators, early and contemporary satirists of race, the rise of the confessional style of comedy, absurdist and apocalyptic comedians, first mainstream stars of stand-up, current innovators of the genre, and contemporary stand-up’s introspective turn. Apart from the analyses of recordings and transcripts of stage performances, the course will be complemented by critical texts on the history and theory of stand-up.

According to cultural critic Richard Zoglin (Comedy at the Edge, 2009), the stand-up comedy revolution of the 1970s forever changed the character of American humor. Taking Zoglin’s argument as a point of departure, the course presents an overview of American stand-up comedy. Among other topics, it investigates the beginnings of stand-up on the vaudeville stage (Bert Williams, Moms Mabley), the countercultural comics of the 1950s and 60s (Lenny Bruce, George Carlin), original feminist comediennes (Joan Rivers, Elayne Boosler, Whoopi Goldberg), pioneers of intersectional and LGBTQ+ comedy (2 Dope Queens, Ellen DeGeneres, Jerrod Carmichael), the birth of comedian-as-political-commentator (Mort Sahl, John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert), early and contemporary satirists of race (Dick Gregory, Charlie Hill, W. K. Bell), the rise of the confessional style of comedy (Richard Pryor), absurdist (Steve Martin, Andy Kaufman) and apocalyptic (Bill Hicks, Marc Maron) comedians, first mainstream stars of stand-up (Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams), contemporary innovators of the genre (Julio Torres, Hasan Minhaj, Bo Burnham), and stand-up’s focus on introspection and mental health in the second decade of the twenty-first century (Chris Gethard, Neal Brennan, Taylor Tomlinson). Apart from the analyses of recordings and transcripts of stage performances, the course will be complemented by critical texts on the history and theory of stand-up.

Shawn Levy, In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Standup Comedy (Doubleday, 2022)

Wayne Federman, The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle (Independently published, 2021)

David Steinberg, Inside Comedy: The Soul, Wit, and Bite of Comedy and Comedians of the Last Five Decades (Random House, 2021)

Kliph Nesteroff, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy (Simon & Schuster, 2021)

Patrice A. Oppliger and Eric Shouse, The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)

Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone, The Punk Turn in Comedy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018)

S. Robert Lichter et al., Politics Is a Joke!: How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life (Routledge, 2018)

Shawn Chandler Bingham and Sara E. Green, Seriously Funny: Disability and the Paradoxical Power of Humor (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2016)

Judd Apatow, Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy (Random House, 2016)

Tom Shales, Live From New York: Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night (Back Bay Books, 2015)

Kliph Nesteroff, The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy (Grove Press, 2015)

Ian Brodie, A Vulgar Art: A New Approach to Stand-Up Comedy (University Press of Mississippi, 2014)

Rebecca Krefting, All Joking Aside: American Humor and Its Discontents (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014)

Mike Sacks, Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today’s Top Comedy Writers (Penguin Books, 2014)

Yael Kohen, We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012)

Eddie Tafoya, The Legacy of the Wisecrack: Stand-up Comedy as the Great American Literary Form (Universal-Publishers, 2011)

William Knoedelseder, I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy’s Golden Era (PublicAffairs, 2009)

Richard Zoglin, Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America (Bloomsbury USA, 2008)

Joanne R. Gilbert, Performing Marginality: Humor, Gender, and Cultural Critique (Wayne State University Press, 2004)

John Limon, Stand-up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America (Duke University Press Books, 2003)

Knowledge

Students will be able to:

- K_W01 - Identify the place and specificity of Humor Studies against the background of other academic disciplines within the humanities

- K_W02 - understand key terminology, well established methods and theories within Humor Studies

- K_W07 - explain principles of designing literary and culture studies, with special focus on selecting appropriate methods and tools in formulating research questions in the field of Humor Studies

- K_W09 - identify on an advanced level the multiplicity of subgenres within American stand-up comedy, including their complexity, cultural codes, as well as structural and institutional background of culture

Abilities

Students will be able to:

- K_U01 - employ the terminology and methodological tools from Humor Studies in literary studies and culture studies

- K_U03 - analyze literary and cultural phenomena within American stand-up comedy and draw generalizations on their basis with respect to the social, historical and economic context

- K_U07 - employ modern technology for the sake of obtaining information and using various communication channels and techniques (specifically, to use Perusall.com during the course for close reading and commenting upon assigned texts, and use modern research and editing tools for creating a video essay or a podcast episode for the final assignment)

- K_U08 - plan and organize working alone and in a team to attain goals

Social competences

Students will be ready to:

- K_K02 - undertake life-long learning and personal development, applying skills and competences to select subjects and projects optimally suiting one’s personal interests in the realm of Humor Studies

- K_K04 - apply the skill to critically assess communicated comedic/satirical content to think and act independently in various social situations

- K_K05 - function effectively in social and cultural interactions, through various forms and media, thanks to the ability to express oneself in a cohesive and lucid manner (e.g., through a written text, visual media, or a debate/discussion)

- K_K06 - value cultural heritage and cultural diversity as they are exemplified in the medium of stand-up comedy

Education at language level B2+

- attendance

- class participation/being active

- preparation/homework (i.e., reading assignments, commenting, and taking part in online discussions on Perusall.com)

- final assignment (term paper, video essay, or a recorded podcast discussion)

3 absences are allowed.