Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2024 - HIST 472W D100

Problems in World History (4)

Global History of Humor

Class Number: 3276

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 6 – Aug 2, 2024: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units including nine units of lower division history.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An advanced examination into the concepts and methodology of world history. Selected themes may include globalization, modernization, migration, religious expansion, colonialism, imperialism, and the teaching of world history. Content may vary from offering to offering; see course outline for further information. HIST 472W may be repeated for credit only when a different topic is taught. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Humour in World History
This course traces the history of humour across centuries and continents, from the first recorded joke (ca. 1900 BC, about flatulence) to the global digital stage today.  We'll see humour used as a tool of oppression, and as a stepping stone to transcendence.  We'll trace dead-parrot jokes from ancient Greece through medieval Persia to modern Britain.  We'll use humour as a mirror for society, and as an meme of cross-cultural communication.  Does humour have a history, or are new jokes merely variations on old ones?  Does humour have pedagogical value in a world-history classroom?  What is the greatest joke in the history of the world?  (Technically, because humour is subjective, and culturally conditioned, it's not impossible to determine the greatest joke in the history of the world.  But I think we should try anyway.)

            This summer I'm teaching the "Dopamine Trilogy," three courses on the global history of varied expressions of pleasure centres in the brain:  HIST 468 (happiness), HIST 472 (humour), and FASS 224 (meditation).  Each course is fully independent, but complements the others; students taking more than one will have the opportunity to explore parallel questions in greater depth, in different contexts.

 

Grading

  • Seminar attendance and participation 20%
  • Two research papers (4-to-7-page papers, or equivalent) 45%
  • Two research-paper proposals 25%
  • Two oral presentations 10%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

No textbook; readings will be made available online

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.