Contemporary American Satire: An Overview 3301-KA2523
The course offers a survey of contemporary American satire as a tool of cultural, social, and political criticism. It treats satire as a trans-media form and examines its manifestations across literature, stand-up comedy, television, film, animation, audiovisual media, and digital culture. Special attention will be paid to satire addressing some of the most significant issues in contemporary American public debate, including race, ethnicity, representation, media culture, political polarization, democracy, class, religion, mental health, and civic engagement.
The course combines historical, theoretical, and interpretive perspectives. Students will discuss selected critical texts on the philosophy and theory of humor, satire, irony, parody, and comedy, and will apply these concepts to literary texts, films, television episodes, sketches, stand-up performances, video essays, and online satirical forms. The materials discussed in class will include selected fragments of academic studies, fiction, films, television series, documentaries, interviews, and short audiovisual materials. Students will read or watch selected materials before class and comment on them via Perusall, an online platform for close reading and discussion through comment threads. These materials will then serve as the basis for in-class group and pair discussions.
The list of topics and materials may be modified depending on time, the availability of new or alternative sources, and students’ specific interests.
List of classes
1. Introduction to the course: satire as cultural, social, and political criticism
Overview of the course aims, requirements, key terms, and central questions. Introduction to satire as a trans-media genre in contemporary American culture.
2. Defining satire: forms, traditions, functions, and taxonomies
Selected fragments from The Cambridge Introduction to Satire. Discussion of satire as critique, satire as art, and satire as a mode of public intervention. The class will also introduce major types and taxonomies of satire, including Horatian, Juvenalian, and Menippean satire, as well as the relationship between satire and sociopolitical commentary.
3. Satire and civic life
Selected fragments from Sophia A. McClennen and Remy M. Maisel’s Is Satire Saving Our Nation? Discussion of satire, citizenship, democratic debate, and the possibility of political critique through humor.
4. Humor theory, cleverness, and benign violation
Selected concepts from Steven Gimbel’s Isn’t That Clever?, with additional materials on cleverness theory and benign violation theory.
5. Irony, parody, and pseudo-satire - exercises in identification and interpretation
Verbal, situational, and dramatic irony; parody as repetition with critical distance; selected examples and exercises, including popular and digital forms of irony and parody. The class will also include analysis of examples from The Onion, Reductress, and The Babylon Bee, with attention to satirical intention, ambiguity, audience interpretation, misinformation, and the limits of satire in digital circulation.
6 Literary satire, race, and authorship: Percival Everett and American Fiction
Selected fragments from Percival Everett’s Erasure, contextual materials on Everett, and discussion of American Fiction. Focus on race, literary markets, stereotypes, authenticity, authorship, and the publishing industry.
7. Satire, representation, and cultural appropriation
Selected materials on comedy and the politics of representation, R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface, and Hollywood Shuffle. Discussion of racial representation, cultural capital, authorship, and the satirical critique of cultural industries.
8. Ethnic humor, racial satire, and Hollywood: The Sellout and The Studio
Selected fragments from Simon Critchley’s On Humour, Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, and selected materials from The Studio. Focus on ethnic humor, discomfort, stereotypes, transgression, and the satire of Hollywood and institutional media culture.
9. Television satire and sketch comedy: Saturday Night Live
Selected materials on Saturday Night Live and American television, complemented by a discussion of the film Saturday Night. Discussion of sketch comedy, topical satire, political performance, celebrity culture, television history, and satire as part of mainstream media.
10. Key & Peele, satire, and the politics of racial performance
Selected articles and video essays on Key & Peele, including discussions of race, code-switching, performance, horror, and popular culture. Possible links to Jordan Peele’s Get Out as an example of satire, horror, and racial critique.
11. Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show and satire as the comic public sphere
Selected materials on Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show and satire as the comic public sphere. Discussion of news satire, civic engagement, political performance, media trust, public debate, and the changing role of satirical commentary in contemporary American politics.
12. Simon Rich and Miracle Workers: coming of age, bureaucracy, and metaphysical satire
Simon Rich’s “Glory Days” and selected episodes or fragments from Miracle Workers. Discussion of entering adulthood, institutional absurdity, moral responsibility, and the comic treatment of metaphysical questions.
13. Raphael Bob-Waksberg and BoJack Horseman: satire and alienation
Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s fiction and selected episodes from BoJack Horseman. Discussion of self-reflexive television, sincerity, loneliness, and the limits of irony.
14. George Saunders: satire, new sincerity, kindness, and moral imagination
Possible materials include George Saunders’s Escape from Spiderhead, Love Letter, and Congratulations, by the Way, as well as selected materials on new sincerity and the problem of irony. Discussion of satire, kindness, vulnerability, moral responsibility and the ethical limits of irony.
15. Satire and mental health
Stand-up performances by Gary Gulman, Maria Bamford, Bo Burnham, Rachel Bloom, and Roy Wood Jr., as well as the comedy documentary Group Therapy. Discussion of depression, grief, loneliness, confession, therapeutic discourse, and the ethics of joking about suffering.
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The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the classroom is governed by the rules set forth in Resolution No. 16 of the Teaching Council for the programs English Studies, English Studies – Linguistics, and English Studies – Literature and Culture of 9 December 2025
https://ia.uw.edu.pl/fileadmin/ilustracje/dokumenty/2026/RD_IA_2025_UCHWALA_nr16_narzedzia_AI_nowelizacja_ZAL2_EN.pdf
Course coordinators
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Students will have in-depth familiarity with:
K_W01 advanced terminology, theory and research methods corresponding to the state of the art in the disciplines of literary studies and culture and region studies, in accordance with their chosen specialization (and educational path), with particular emphasis on the humor studies approach, satire analysis, irony, parody, comedy studies, and the study of contemporary American satire as a form of cultural, social, and political criticism
K_W04 concepts and principles concerning the protection of intellectual property and copyright
Abilities
Students will be able to:
K_U01 apply the advanced terminology, theories and research methods of literary studies and culture and religion studies to solve complex and original research problems in accordance with his/her chosen specialization (and educational path), especially in the analysis of contemporary American satire across literature, stand-up comedy, television, film, animation, audiovisual media and digital culture
K_U04 apply the concepts and principles of intellectual property protection and copyright law
Social competences
Students will be ready to:
K_K01 critically appraise their knowledge and content obtained from various sources
K_K02 recognize the importance of knowledge in solving cognitive and practical problems; consult experts when required
Applies to students who began their studies in the year 2022/2023
Knowledge
Students will have in-depth familiarity with:
K_W01 Identify and characterize on an advanced level the place and status of literary and culture studies within the humanities, especially in relation to the study of contemporary American satire, humor, irony, parody, comedy, and their cultural, social, and political functions
K_W02 Describe on an advanced level the current trends in literary and cultural studies research within English studies, with particular emphasis on contemporary satire studies, humor studies, comedy studies, media satire, racial and ethnic satire, representation, authorship, and popular culture
K_W04 Characterize on an advanced level the principles of research design in literary and culture studies with special focus on the application of methods and tools in formulating research problems, especially research problems concerning contemporary American satire, its trans-media forms, and its role in cultural criticism and civic discourse
K_W05 Identify the notions and principles pertinent to intellectual property and copyright
Abilities
Students will be able to:
K_U01 Apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to the discipline (linguistics, literary studies, culture and religion studies), especially in the analysis of contemporary American satire, humor, irony, parody, comedy, stand-up, television, film, animation, digital media, and popular culture
K_U02 Apply advanced research methodology within literary and culture studies and English studies, respecting ethical norms and copyright law, in the analysis of literary texts, critical texts, films, television episodes, sketches, stand-up performances, video essays, and online satirical forms discussed in the course
K_U03 Apply knowledge obtained during the course of studies to account for and solve a problem, thereby completing a research task related to the discipline literary studies and/or culture and religion studies, especially a research task concerning contemporary American satire, its rhetorical strategies, media forms, critical functions, and relationship to public debate
K_U04 Analyze linguistic, literary and cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis in the context of societal, historical and economic factors on an advanced level, especially in relation to contemporary American satire addressing race, ethnicity, representation, authorship, media culture, political polarization, democracy, class, religion, mental health, and civic engagement
K_U05 Discern alternative methodological paradigms within a discipline, especially in relation to satire studies, humor studies, literary analysis, cultural analysis, media studies, performance studies, representation studies, and popular culture studies
K_U06 Find information in various sources and critically assess its usefulness for research related to the topic of the MA project
Social competences
Students will be ready to:
K_K02 Apply knowledge and skills obtained during the course of studies to undertake lifelong learning, as well as personal and professional development
K_K03 Take responsibility for performing one’s professional duties, with due respect for the work of others, obey and develop the ethical norms in professional and academic settings related to the disciplines included on the curriculum of English studies
K_K04 Assess critically one’s own knowledge and skills related to the studies
K_K06 Value cultural heritage and cultural diversity as well as individual opinions
Assessment criteria
- entry tests during each class (easy multiple-choice questions checking familiarity with the materials assigned to read/watch at home) (verification of outcomes: W, U)
- preparation/homework (i.e., reading assignments, commenting, and taking part in class and online discussions on Perusall.com) (verification of outcomes: W, U, K)
- final assignment (term paper, video essay, or a recorded podcast discussion) (verification of outcomes: W, U, K).
Bibliography
Abrams, Sabrina Fuchs. Transgressive Humor of American Women Writers. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
Bamford, Maria. Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere. Gallery Books, 2023.
Beatty, Paul. The Sellout. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.
Bob-Waksberg, Raphael. Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory: Stories. Alfred A. Knopf, 2019.
Caron, James E. Satire as the Comic Public Sphere: Postmodern Truthiness and Civic Engagement. Penn State University Press, 2021.
Critchley, Simon. On Humour. Routledge, 2002.
Dickson-Carr, Darryl. African American Satire: The Sacredly Profane Novel. University of Missouri Press, 2001.
Everett, Percival. Erasure. Graywolf Press, 2001.
Gilmore, John. Satire. Routledge, 2018.
Gimbel, Steven. Isn’t That Clever?: A Philosophical Account of Humor and Comedy. Routledge, 2018.
Greenberg, Jonathan. The Cambridge Introduction to Satire. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Kuang, R. F. Yellowface. William Morrow, 2023.
McClennen, Sophia A., and Remy M. Maisel. Is Satire Saving Our Nation?: Mockery and American Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
Morgan, Danielle Fuentes. Laughing to Keep from Dying: African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century. University of Illinois Press, 2020.
Rich, Simon. Glory Days: Stories. Little, Brown and Company, 2024.
Saunders, George. Congratulations, by the Way: Some Thoughts on Kindness. Random House, 2014.
Saunders, George. “Escape from Spiderhead.” Tenth of December: Stories. Random House, 2013.
Saunders, George. “Love Letter.” The New Yorker, 2020.
Notes
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Term 2026Z:
Two absences are allowed. |