JS 2100 - History of Jewish Humor

Explores the rich universe of Jewish humor. We will trace its evolution from the Yiddish culture of the 19th- century shtetl all the way to 21st-century cinema and television, where Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Brooks, and others have made American humor Jewish and Jewish humor American. We will probe the significance of the schlemiel, the schlimazel, and the schnorrer, and why these cultural archetypes which emerged centuries ago in Eastern Europe still have such resonance today.

Requisites: Soph or Jr or Sr
Credit Hours: 3
General Education Code (students who entered prior to Fall 2021-22): 2HL
Repeat/Retake Information: May be retaken two times excluding withdrawals, but only last course taken counts.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 3.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:

Oral presentations are clear and comprehensive.
Student’s work demonstrates critical use and proper citation of both primary and secondary sources.
Student’s work employs the formal styles of writing, argumentation, and presentation that historians use.
Student’s work reflects an understanding of the intellectual, political, economic, social, and cultural history of the United States, Europe, classical civilization, the Near-East, or one Non-Western area.
Student’s work reflects an understanding the roles of race, class, gender, or ethnicity in history.

Ohio University

Ohio University

JS 2100 - History of Jewish Humor