Russian Comedy

This course is a genre-based study of Russian comic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Through the readings we will examine the nature and functions of comic forms such as satire, parody, farce, jokes and anecdotes, and the absurd. Discussion of how comic literature relates to comic theory (Plato, Freud, Bergson, et al.) will attempt to answer the burning question, “But is it funny?” All readings, discussions, and assignments are in English.