Professor: Corinne Bayerl
4 credits
This course will look at how writers and filmmakers have used satire as a weapon, resorting to irony and laughter in order to address serious issues that their societies were facing: social inequality, changing gender roles, abuse of religious authority, misuse of science, participation in war, and racism. We will be discussing satirical texts and films ranging over two millennia, exploring the ways in which satire may occupy spaces more commonly thought to be reserved for earnest argument and debate. Our main question will be whether satire can be effective as a form of political and social activism that triggers reflection and calls on its audience to effect social change.