MEDS 181 - American Television Comedy

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as FILM 181) What have Americans laughed at on television? Why? To what effect? This course explores the history of American television comedy from its roots in early radio to its current multiplicity of forms with a particular emphasis on the role of humor as rhetoric and affect. Students explore the genre as an expression of multiple factors from television’s economic organization and audience conception to larger sociocultural formations. By doing so, they learn about the development of different forms of television comedy, including sitcoms, domesticoms, sketch, and variety programs. Screenings may include I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, All In the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Sanford and Son, M*A*S*H, Saturday Night Live, The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Sex and the City, Will and Grace, The Daily Show, South Park, Tim and Eric: Awesome Show, and Great Job among others. Mr. Scepanski.

Open only to freshmen; satisfies college requirement for a Freshman Writing Seminar.

Two 75-minute periods, plus outside screenings.