126-364/464 Ich lach' mich tot! German Humour - contradictio in adiecto?

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Objectives:

Students who complete this subject will:

• have an acquaintance with the most important European traditions of humour as far as they are echoed in the German traditions;

• have a familiarity with linguistic and literary techniques of humorous communication;

• have the capacity to analyse forms of humour that are specific to a certain culture a certain epoch according to their respective cultural backgrounds;

• have an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of cultural studies;

• have laughed several times (hopefully).

Content:

It may not be a mere coincidence that on the one hand Beethoven's music to Schiller's 'Ode an die Freude' is one of the international evergreens of popular classical music (and has even been declared the anthem of the European Union), but that on the other hand they do not have a reputation for being a particularly funny bunch, at least not in English-speaking countries, and that the only English loan word from the German vocabulary of joy and fun is 'Schadenfreude' of all words, which signifies one of the meanest possible varieties of joy. Some of the topics to be discussed in the subject are: What do Germans consider funny? How does the concept of humour change over time on a European and on a German scale? Are there things like humorous universals that are being laughed at in all cultures? And what is so funny about them anyhow?

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

A reader to be provided at the beginning of the course.