Philosophy of Humor (PHIL 369) - Now AH GEP Eligible PHIL 369 Now Fulfills the Arts & Humanities GEP Requirement

Description

Philosophy of Humor - What makes something funny? Can humor be defined and understood? If so, how? This summer, explore these questions and more in PHIL 369, as you examine various psychological and philosophical theories of humor and the causes of laughter. Examples from different media, including stand-up comedy, podcasts, television, and film, will be used to test competing theories.

"I try to change the content up a little every time I teach the course," says professor James Thomas, "but I will show clips from Dave Chappelle, Norm MacDonald, Buster Keaton, Chris Rock, Jim Gaffigan, Anthony Jeselnik, and John Mulaney. There will probably be some Monty Python and SNL stuff in there as well." 

Special attention will be paid to the ethical implications of offensive humor. Readings will be drawn from historical and contemporary sources, such as Charles Portis, Philip Roth, Kurt Vonnegut, and Paul Beatty.

PHIL 369 fulfills the Arts & Humanities GEP requirement.

Class Details

Instructor: James Thomas
Meets: MoWeFr 9:00am - 12:10pm
Dates: July 8 - August 2
Instruction Mode: In-Person
Credits: 3

Registration Now Open!

]]> Description Philosophy of Humor - What makes something funny? Can humor be defined and understood? If so, how? This summer, explore these questions and more in PHIL 369, as you examine various... https://highpoint-prd.ps.umbc.edu/app/catalog/classsection/UMBC1/2196/2709 https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/82655/guest@my.umbc.edu/7f14542eeda4c5fa66c42e1f29500ce1/api/pixel comedy humor phil philosophy summer Summer & Winter Sessions https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/summerwinter https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xsmall.png?1738583645 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/original.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xxlarge.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xlarge.png?1738583645 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/large.png?1738583645 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/medium.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/small.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xsmall.png?1738583645 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xxsmall.png?1738583645 Summer Session 2019 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/082/655/ab05c0c39b83be3c42373db54c0263ab/xxlarge.jpg?1551887289 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/082/655/ab05c0c39b83be3c42373db54c0263ab/xlarge.jpg?1551887289 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/082/655/ab05c0c39b83be3c42373db54c0263ab/large.jpg?1551887289 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/082/655/ab05c0c39b83be3c42373db54c0263ab/medium.jpg?1551887289 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/082/655/ab05c0c39b83be3c42373db54c0263ab/small.jpg?1551887289 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/082/655/ab05c0c39b83be3c42373db54c0263ab/xsmall.jpg?1551887289 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/082/655/ab05c0c39b83be3c42373db54c0263ab/xxsmall.jpg?1551887289 4 0 true Wed, 06 Mar 2019 11:07:05 -0500 Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:46:15 -0400 Featured Faculty: Greg Ealick Teaching PHIL 248 and PHIL 251 this winter!
“Winter courses tend to be slightly ‘off-the-wall-er’ than those offered in Spring and Fall, so they ought to appeal to students motivated by curiosity above and beyond the obvious goal of satisfying degree requirements.”
– Greg Ealick, UMBC Department of Philosophy

I have been teaching for something like 25 years. I have master’s degrees from The William Marsh Rice Institute and from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Philosophy Shapes Young Minds
 
One thing Philosophy students get really good at is expressing their feelings, guesses, intuitions, etc. clearly and developing and defending them. This turns out to be an incredibly valuable skill in the “real” world.

Workplaces are like other places; some conflict is inevitable. The person who can shape that conflict constructively tends to win it.

Winter Session 2018

I am teaching two courses: PHIL 248 – Introduction to Scientific Reasoning and PHIL 251 – Ethical Issues in Science and Engineering. I think both courses are unique in that they encourage thinking about things that most of us take for granted most of the time.

“Science is not some monolithic world view that comes complete with a creed. It’s a process, and we’ll appreciate it better if we can understand the process better.”
 
Winter courses are highly efficient, of course. They also tend to be much smaller, which allows for individual attention in a way that simply can’t be offered the rest of the year. There’s something rewarding about one class having all of your attention. It’s a very different mode of learning, and one worth trying.
]]> “Winter courses tend to be slightly ‘off-the-wall-er’ than those offered in Spring and Fall, so they ought to appeal to students motivated by curiosity above and beyond the obvious goal of... http://gritgoing.umbc.edu/featured-faculty-greg-ealick-2/ https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/72243/guest@my.umbc.edu/ef4fd7add96a3eea7160c9c81097bd1a/api/pixel ealick phil umbc winter Summer & Winter Sessions https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/summerwinter https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xsmall.png?1738583645 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/original.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xxlarge.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xlarge.png?1738583645 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/large.png?1738583645 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/medium.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/small.png?1738583645 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xsmall.png?1738583645 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/443/2c0a14f47c0bfaff93c1357e41161244/xxsmall.png?1738583645 Winter Session 2018 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/072/243/94eec984eaa329b8d2c98d137a7bf432/xxlarge.jpg?1511286371 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/072/243/94eec984eaa329b8d2c98d137a7bf432/xlarge.jpg?1511286371 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/072/243/94eec984eaa329b8d2c98d137a7bf432/large.jpg?1511286371 https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/072/243/94eec984eaa329b8d2c98d137a7bf432/medium.jpg?1511286371 https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/072/243/94eec984eaa329b8d2c98d137a7bf432/small.jpg?1511286371 https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/072/243/94eec984eaa329b8d2c98d137a7bf432/xsmall.jpg?1511286371 https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/072/243/94eec984eaa329b8d2c98d137a7bf432/xxsmall.jpg?1511286371 9 0 true Tue, 21 Nov 2017 12:49:51 -0500 Tue, 21 Nov 2017 12:50:10 -0500