11:15-12:30  TR  BH 236
Satisfies AHLA Requirements

We will examine several satiric works from throughout the Western
tradition.  Our primary aim will be to get a sense of the scope of
satire, the forms that it takes, the techniques that it employs, the
ideals that it proposes, and the victims that it ridicules.  Among the
questions that we will be asking along the way are the following:
Does satire's use of distortion and exaggeration make it essentially
unfair?  Is satire particularly suited to defending traditional
beliefs and values, or is it equally suited to attacking conservative
attitudes. Is satire used only where rational arguments could not
succeed, or can satire itself be rational? What does one need to know
in order to understand satire, and what does one need to feel in order
to derive pleasure from satiric works? The tentative list of readers
includes the following:

Aristophanes, The Clouds
The Satires of Horace and Juvenal
Thomas More, Utopia
Molière, Tartuffe
Swift, Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, and the Bickerstaff
Papers
Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth
Waugh, The Loved One.

Students will also be expected to monitor and report on contemporary
satire as it manifests itself in various political cartoons, as well
as web magazines such as The Onion  and television shows such as The
Daily Show. There will be a midterm, a final, and a short (5-6 pp.)
paper.