“Laughter in a group has a social control function as well. Through laughter the emotional climate of the group may be controlled. Hence, laughter must have evolved to change the behavior of others. For example, in an embarrassing or threatening situation, laughter may serve as a conciliatory gesture or as a way to deflect anger.”
“Social hierarchy is involved too. According to superiority theory, we laugh at jokes that focus on someone else's mistakes, stupidity or misfortune. We feel superior to this person, experience a certain detachment from the situation, and so we are able to laugh at it, schadenfreude.” (from: Jeffrey E. Nash, “Using Laughter and Humor to Teach Furtive Sociology”, Michigan Sociological Review, Vol. 34 (Fall 2020), pp. 106-128
Laughter – as a phenomenon that is both biological and cultural – can be friendly or aggressive, inclusive or marginalising, harmonising or subversive. It can express relief, a compliment or schadenfreude. In a space like the theatre, which mirrors the audience to itself in the fiction enacted on stage, laughter is even more complex. What is the relation between laughter, the genre of comedy and social order and social discipline in early modern English theatre? What kind of laughter was it that greeted the magically induced sexual intercourse between Titania, the Fairy Queen and a weaver-turned-ass, when all the world knew that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I styled herself ‘Titania’? How does society control a man who embarrasses himself and his wife with his jealous rages? How do men and women laugh with and about each other when love and marriage are at issue?
Comedy is the genre that demonstrates to the audience how social conflicts can be resolved so that society can survive. We will analyse how Shakespeare did this in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
We are going to read (most of) three plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream (c. 1595); The Merry Wives of Windsor (c. 1597) and Much Ado About Nothing (c. 1598/99). You need to read these plays in the form of annotated critical editions, preferably from the New Cambridge, Oxford or New Arden series. Under NO circumstances can you use just any old online version of the plays, or - *shudder* - school editions or German translations. -
Rhythmus | Tag | Uhrzeit | Format / Ort | Zeitraum |
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Modul | Veranstaltung | Leistungen | |
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23-ANG-AngPM2_a Profilmodul 2: British Studies | 2.3 Literature and Culture | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
- | benotete Prüfungsleistung | Studieninformation | |
23-ANG-Profil4 Profilmodul 4: Advanced British and American Studies | Profil4.1.Theories and Methods | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation |
Profil4.2 British Literature and Culture OR American Literature and Culture | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation | |
Profil4.3 British Literature and Culture OR American Literature and Culture | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation | |
23-ANG-Profil4_G Profilmodul 4_G: Advanced British and American Studies | Profil4.1_G Theories and Methods | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation |
Profil4.2_G British Literature and Culture OR American Literature and Culture | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation | |
Profil4.3_G British Literature and Culture OR American Literature and Culture | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation | |
23-ANG-Profil7 Profilmodul 7: Literary Studies, Cultural Studies and Linguistics in Educational Contexts | Profil7.1 Literature and Culture in Educational Contexts I | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation |
Profil7.3 Literature and Culture in Educational Contexts II | Studienleistung
benotete Prüfungsleistung |
Studieninformation | |
23-LIT-BM1 Basismodul 1: Gattungsperspektiven | Gattungen und ihre Grenzen | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
- | benotete Prüfungsleistung | Studieninformation | |
23-LIT-LitP8 Englischsprachige Literaturen | Englischsprachige Literaturen in exemplarischen Lektüren 1 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Englischsprachige Literaturen in exemplarischen Lektüren 2 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation | |
Englischsprachige Literaturen: Traditionen, Gattungen, Motive | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation | |
- | benotete Prüfungsleistung | Studieninformation |
Die verbindlichen Modulbeschreibungen enthalten weitere Informationen, auch zu den "Leistungen" und ihren Anforderungen. Sind mehrere "Leistungsformen" möglich, entscheiden die jeweiligen Lehrenden darüber.
You must have passed the Language Proficiency Test (= Basis1 module exam) in order to enrol and participate in this class. No exceptions.
Zu dieser Veranstaltung existiert ein Lernraum im E-Learning System. Lehrende können dort Materialien zu dieser Lehrveranstaltung bereitstellen: