Syllabus

FYS – Seriously Funny

Instructor: Bryan Furuness

Email:  bfurunes@butler.edu

Office Hours: by appointment

 

Required Materials:

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-Up Comedy

A Pocket Style Manual by Diane Hacker

Netflix account (spring semester only-3 discs at a time + streaming)

 

List of Readings:

On the Craft of Reading, Writing, Speaking:

Selections from The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing

“Freewriting” by Peter Elbow

Selections from Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

“Shitty First Drafts” by Ann Lamotte

Comic Insights: the Art of Stand-Up Comedy

 

Fiction and Creative Nonfiction:

“Cavemen” by Stacy Richter

“Fatso” by Etgar Keret

“Super Goat Man” by Jonathan Lethem

“Kids’ Guide to Divorce” by Lorrie Moore

“Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot” by Robert Olen Butler

“Mick Jagger Wants Me” by Susan Jane Gilman

“Poor Me” by Victor LaValle

“Price of Pain” by John McNally

“Up, Up, and Away” by Lewis Nordan

“Let it Snow” by David Sedaris

“Civilwarland in Bad Decline” by George Saunders

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

 

Cultural Analysis

“Ken Sent Me: Lost in the Land of the Lounge Lizards” by Matt Bell

“All Aboard the Bloated Boat: Arguments in Favor of Barry Bonds” by Lee Klein

“The Great Escape” by Pete McDonald

“Mooning: A Short Cultural History” by Daniel Nester

“Crack Addiction: the Gentle Art of Mooning” by Judith Levine

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

 

Satire

Selections from The Onion

Selections from The Daily Show

Selections from The Colbert Report

Selections from “The Devil’s Dictionary” by Ambrose Bierce

“In a Manner That Must Shame God Himself” by Kurt Vonnegut

“Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One” by Benjamin Franklin

“The War Prayer” by Mark Twain

“Manifesto: A Press Release from PRKA” by George Saunders

 

Course Description:

Comedy can be serious stuff, as rich and dark and heartbreaking a path toward meaning as anything more sober. When it’s done right, the ridiculous is the sublime. In this course, we’ll look at serious stuff in a funny way, and funny stuff in a serious way, all to explore the question of whether comedy is a valid way to create meaning, raise serious questions, and make social commentary.

Ultimately, though, this course is less about a subject, and more about developing college-level skills. Like every other first-year seminar, the focus here is on writing, reading, research, and oral communication. Unlike other sections, we’ll develop these skills through the lens of comedy.

 

Student Learning Outcomes:

 

The following are shared by every FYS section:

 

In FYS, first year students will:

1. Listen and read critically – texts, speech, media and other cultural productions – in order to examine, challenge and reshape themselves and the world in which they live.
2. Express themselves clearly and persuasively in exposition and in argument, in both written and oral forms.
3. Carry out research for the purpose of supplying evidence and support for claims made in exposition and argument.

 

The following are specific to my class:

 

By the end of the year, here’s what I want you to understand:

 

ABOUT LEARNING

• How to become an active, self-driven learner, an idea generator, a problem solver, and a contributor to the class.
• The importance of deep and sustained engagement.
• How to take creative risks.

 

ABOUT READING AND WRITING AND SPEAKING

• To broaden your idea of what stories & essays are, and what stories & essays can do.
• To articulate how reading and writing and speaking are not separate components, but in fact are all woven into the same web.

 

ABOUT COMEDY

• To broaden your idea of what comedy is, and what comedy can do.
• How comedy and gravity can not only be compatible, but complementary.  By gravity, I mean any kind of serious business, from tragedy to analytical thought.  Fitted together properly, gravity and comedy can be like two flints, sparking.
• How comedy is a valid and valuable way to make meaning, to raise questions, and to make social commentary.

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Attendance

A seminar is a collaborative project; the students are the collaborators. This model only works if you show up and contribute.  Therefore, every time you’re absent or unprepared, you’ll lose a point from your contribution & learning summary (more about this on the course blog). Tardiness or less-than-great preparation will cost a half-point each time.

 

The only exception to this policy is a university-excused absence (i.e. for university-sanctioned games & performances, not doctor-excused absences, or absences caused by conflicting obligations for other classes or extracurricular stuff) which must be presented in advance of the missed class.

 

Some Notes on Assignments

We have two kinds of assignments in this class:  buy-in assignments and big projects (the big ‘uns are listed on the course blog).  The buy-in assignments are designed to help you prepare for class, so if you miss one, you can’t turn it in late.

 

Big projects are due at the beginning of the class period in the form of a hard copy (in other words, don’t say, “I’ll email it to you later.”). You can turn a big project in late, but you lose five points a day. If it’s due at the beginning of class, and you turn it in later that day, it counts as one day late.

Here’s a tip:  machines will choose your weakest moment to screw you over.  Printers break when you try to use them just before class, and computers will crash the one time you skip a back-up, so you’ll really help yourself out by backing up your work regularly, printing stuff ahead of time, and setting a back-up alarm clock.  Because, in the end, no matter how excellent and legitimate your excuse for missing class or handing stuff in late, I will stick to my policies.

Reading assignments:  make sure you complete the reading before class, and bring an annotated copy of the assignment so you can refer to it during discussion.

 

Writing assignments:  in addition to writing a bunch of buy-in assignments, you’ll write two essays each semester (see course blog for details).  On the first round, these essays will be assigned a placeholder grade, but if you revise them for your final portfolio, they’ll be re-graded. The higher grade will be your final one.

Oral assignments:  in addition to conversation in class, you’ll get to create oral projects each semester.  In the first semester, that will be a digital satire project; in the second semester, you’ll get to do a set of stand-up comedy.

 

Grading

 

Big Projects                                                       20 points each x 3 projects = 60 points

 

Contribution & Learning Summaries                      10 points each x 3 = 30 points

 

Total: 90 points per semester

 

 

There aren’t a lot of points in here, so each small buy-in assignment counts.  As you can probably tell, this class is designed to encourage you to do the work, contribute to class, and stay engaged.  You’ll help yourself out by staying on top of everything early, because you will get sick late in the semester (everyone does) and you don’t want to be sitting on several absences when that happens.

 

The key to success in this class (and, in my opinion, life) is showing up, on time, prepared.

 

Grading Scale (percentage-based)

 

95-100   A                                              75-77                C

91-94                A-                                             71-74                C-

88-90                B+                                            68-70                D+

85-87                B                                              65-67                D

81-84                B-                                             61-64                D-

78-80                C+                                            60 & below        F

Electronic Communications Policy

 

Response time: I answer email once a day.  You can expect a response within twenty-four hours (not ten minutes).

 

If you’re going to miss class, you don’t need to email me to let me know: One, because I don’t know how to respond to these emails (Okay? Duly noted? I’m sorry you have tuberculosis?). And two, because the only “excused” absences are university-excused ones; doctor’s notes and excellent alibis don’t make an absence excused.

 

However: if it looks like you’re going to miss a bunch of classes, please do let me know. Also let me know if you’re going to miss a conference, so I’m not waiting around in my office like a mook.

 

With emails, as with all writing, keep your audience in mind: for a more concrete description of what I mean, take a look at M. Leddy’s “How to Email Your Professor”. While it’s okay to be pretty casual with me—especially after we get to know each other—you should get in the habit of thinking about the audience for your writing, and adjusting your tone and level of formality accordingly. Also, email etiquette is an important twenty-first century skill that can really help you in the professional world.

 

The Teacher Sanity Four-Pack

 

Repeating myself makes me tired and sad.

If you miss a class, check with a classmate and use resources like the assignment schedule to find out what you missed, and what’s coming up next.  Even if you missed class for an excellent reason, the responsibility is on you to get caught up, not on me to teach the class a second time in the form of an emailed synopsis.

 

I don’t argue about grades.  

My focus is on learning and improvement.  My hope is that you, too, care about discovery, challenging yourself, and creating interesting things more than about your G.P.A.

 

I don’t give extra credit.  

 

Requests for Academic Accommodations

It is the policy and practice of Butler University to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. Written notification from Student Disability Services is required.  If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice.  Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the accommodation can be received on a timely basis.  Students who have questions about Student Disability Services or who have, or think they may have, a disability (psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, medical, etc.) are invited to contact Student Disability Services for a confidential discussion in Jordan Hall 136 or by phone at extension 9308.

 

Plagiarism

When we create new work for the purpose of aesthetic enlightenment and proceed to share said work in a regular community, there is no room or excuse for any kind of plagiarism. Any student found guilty of presenting as their own the written work of someone else will be immediately removed from the class and receive a failing grade for the semester.  So that I am not guilty of plagiarism, let me just note that the last two sections come straight from the university, and are not my original words or ideas.

 

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What I Believe about Teaching and Learning

 

• Teachers should tell students about their philosophy of teaching and learning. 

 

Which is why I put it on the syllabus.  Here’s my theory: the more clearly I lay out what we’ll be doing in this class and why we’ll be doing it this way, the greater the chance that you’ll buy into it.  Or that you’ll transfer out to a class that better fits your learning philosophy (though, let me be clear, scaring you away is not my intent here).  At the very least, after you read this, you won’t find yourself wondering, mid-semester, when I’m going to break out the powerpoint slides and start lecturing.

 

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Before I talk about instructional methods, let me discuss the purpose of education, which should be the cornerstone of any teaching philosophy.

 

• The purpose of education is to prepare you to make a good living, and a good life. 

 

Most Americans believe that the primary purpose of education is for career preparation.  A smaller number (much smaller, I think) believe that education should teach a person how to live, how to be in the world.  But why do we have to choose between these purposes?  Butler’s ex-President, Dr. Fong, recognized that these two philosophies don’t have to be at odds when he said that Butler prepares students not only to do well, but to do good.  I’ll take my cue from Dr. Fong, and mash these purposes together.  But what does it mean to prepare someone for a good living and a good life?

 

Let’s address the career preparation side first.  To begin, I’ll list the “twenty-first century skills” said to be valued by most employers.

o   Critical thinking

o   Problem solving

o   Communication

o   Collaboration

o   Creativity

o   Innovation

 

These skills are not developed by listening to lectures, memorizing facts, or bubbling in standardized tests.  They can, however, be developed by actively contributing to a learning community.  In this course, you will contribute to conversation, come up with interesting and original ideas, and make big projects.  In this course, in other words, you will strengthen your twenty-first century skills.

 

Addressing how to make a good life is a little more slippery.  I imagine that each of you has your own vision of a good life, and that those visions vary widely.  My own idea of a good life would include figuring out who you are (and getting comfortable with yourself), striking a work/life balance, and connecting to a community.  Fortunately, everything we’ll do in this class supports those aims.

 

• I believe that experience is the best teacher. 

A lot of students come into college with passive learning habits.  These students don’t want to talk much, or to hear their classmates talk; they want the instructor to pour knowledge directly into their brains, because, after all, that’s what they’ve paid for.  Paolo Freire calls this the “banking model” of education.

 

This model, while popular, doesn’t seem to be based on any actual educational philosophy.  More than anything, it seems to be based on the philosophy of consumerism.  I’ve paid for knowledge, now give it to me!

 

Lectures may work just fine in a math or science class where you have to absorb a lot of agreed-upon facts, but in a class like this, I strongly believe that students learn best through hands-on experience.

 

My role is to guide you through the experience, offering support throughout the process.  And you’ll have plenty of learning experiences, as you’ll see in this next point.

 

• I believe that deep and sustained engagement is the key to learning. 

 

Classes occasionally seem designed for disengagement.  Lectures and whole group discussions create opportunities for students to tune out.  A course that asks a student for only two or three assignments per semester builds in spaces for long periods of coasting—hardly the ideal model for true engagement.

 

Not every student will coast or tune out in these classes, of course.  But for students who are inclined to fall through the cracks, the cracks are there, and they’re big as canyons.  Because I believe that learning happens best through sustained engagement, my aim is to close these cracks as tightly as possible.

 

In class, this means using instructional methods like peer meetings, small group discussions, station work, and in-class writing.  Between classes, you’ll do a small assignment for nearly every meeting to give you an opportunity to engage with a text, process your thoughts, and prepare for conversation.  Another form of engagement will come through democratic practices in the classroom.

 

• I believe in classroom democracy.

 

The model of classroom democracy I practice is built on CHOICE and VOICE.

 

• Choice:  students have the freedom to make choices within the parameters of the course.  Through choice, you should be able to connect this course to your own interests and learning goals.  Learning is optimized when it is student-chosen, and student-driven.
• Voice:
• Dialogue in class:  I don’t mean to talk at you (not much, anyway); I want us to talk with each other.  This means fewer lectures and other teacherly monologues, and more interaction and student presentations to elevate the student voice.
• Dialogue about the class:  course evaluation will be constant and ongoing, and the course will change as it goes along to better drive student learning and better fit student needs.  Democratic classrooms must invite students into power, and into a shared ownership of the course.  I will make all final decisions, but you will have a voice in shaping the course, solving problems, and coming up with innovations and improvements (see how all of this fits with 21^st century skills?).

 

I practice classroom democracy for two reasons.  If you have shared ownership of the course, you’re more likely to be engaged in it.  And what better way to prepare you for a life of active participation in the democracy of our country than to invite you into a democratic experience now?

 

You’ll not only have a voice in evaluating and shaping the class; you’ll also have a voice in evaluating your own work.

 

• I believe that assessment should be largely formative (mid-process) and should be co-constructed by the student and teacher together. 

 

The first time you swing a bat, you probably won’t hit a home run.  The first time you write a short story, it probably won’t win a Pushcart Prize.  The first time you try anything, for that matter, you’re probably not going to nail it.

 

Lovie Smith, the coach of the Chicago Bears, doesn’t like to dwell on a player’s first performance on the field, even if he’s done well; he’d rather talk about the leaps he expects the player to make between his first and second game, and the gains he expects him to make in the offseason.  Like Lovie, I believe that improvement tends to happens after a learner is able to step back, look at what she’s done, make some adjustments, and try again.

 

Summative assessment (at the end of a project) tells you how you’ve done, but in my view, it doesn’t actually lead to a lot of learning.  If you don’t incorporate the suggestions right away, you’re not likely to remember them when it comes time for your next project.  Or, to put it another way:

 

Actually making an improvement > Hearing about an improvement

 

In this class, we’ll engage in a lot of formative assessment, and a lot of re-trying so you can make those big leaps in learning.  You and I will both take part in these formative assessments.  For each essay, you’ll fill out a guided reflection letter, which is a series of questions designed to help you think about your work, to articulate what you’ve learned, and to point out where you struggled.

 

Summative assessment also comes from the student and the teacher.  A final reflection will give you an opportunity to talk about what you’ve learned, and to cast questions toward future projects.  Moving from experience to reflection—from doing to thinking about—is a crucial part of the learning process (as I’ve discovered, yet again, in writing this teaching philosophy).

 

As you can see, I view the student and teacher as co-constructors of the entire learning experience.  Together, we design the experience; we both evaluate the project in mid-process; we reflect and assess at the end.  In short, we are both fully invested and engaged—with the work, the class, and each other.

 

Thank you for choosing this course.  I look forward to getting started, and I hope you do, too.