AFRI134 PO - Black Comic Cultures

When Offered: Each Spring
Instructor(s): J. Finley
Credit: 1

African American humor can be traced to the period of enslavement, largely an underground phenomenon until the middle of the 20th century when performers like Richard Pryor and Dick Gregory brought it to the mainstream. The global rise of black comedy as a commodity and marker of identity in the 21st century demands that we reconsider how black cultural formations like comedy are embodied, evaluated, and critiqued within American culture. This seminar serves as an introduction to the history and practices of black comic cultures, and focuses on major themes, styles, and historical events that inform contemporary genres of black comedy. We will use comedy as a means to help us think about how American cultures and identities have been shaped, challenged, and transformed by way of performance. Letter Grade Only.

Satisfies the following General Education Requirement(s), subject to conditions explained in the Degree Requirements section of this Catalog:
Area 3