Fall 2024 Honors 175 syllabus
Satire and Society
Tuesday/Thursday 3:00-4:30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Professor Anne H. Stevens
e-mail: [email protected]
office phone: 920-424-1302
Office Hours: by appointment
Room 128, Swart Hall
This course will examine the role of satire in commenting upon social and political issues. From antiquity to the present day, satirists have used humor, irony, parody, and other tools to call attention to political corruption, injustice, and hypocrisy. In this class we will study some memorable works of verbal and visual satire while also drawing upon a range of contemporary examples.
 Having completed HNRS 175, students will be able to: Â
Access the resources and facilities available to them within the university community in general and the Honors College in particular, as a means of promoting success in their scholarly and extracurricular pursuits
Understand the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to both a university education and engaged citizenshipÂ
Think critically about central issues related to the course theme from an interdisciplinary perspective, recognizing the unique contributions afforded by the course instructorsâ diverse disciplinary purviews
Elaborate their interdisciplinary insights in writing that is clear, correct, ethical, and purposeful.
 In this particular section of HNRS 175, you will
read a variety of satirical works and criticism related to satire from antiquity to the present day.
learn some key terms for discussing the techniques and genres of satire.
develop skills needed to understand and analyze literary texts and to make connections among different authors, genres, and literary movements
practice writing about satirical texts through informal response papers and a longer paper
lead a class discussion, presenting a summary of an outside text and getting others involved in the conversation.
Quest: The University Studies Program (USP):
This course satisfies your Quest 1 requirement. (Honors 275 will satisfy your Quest 2 and Quest 3 requirements.) As you take these Quest courses, you will encounter Signature Questions:
How do people understand and engage in community life?
How do people understand and create a more sustainable world?
How do people understand and bridge cultural differences?
We will focus on the first signature question in this course.
Required Texts (available at bookstore):
           Jonathan Swift, Major Works
           Alissa Nutting, Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
            Evelyn Waugh, The Loved One          Â
Additional readings posted on Canvas     Â
Disclaimer about readings:Â Many of the readings this semester will depict sexual situations, bodily functions, grotesque scenarios, and offensive language. It comes with the satirical territory. If you have any concerns about any of the readings please let me know.
Course requirements:Â Â Presentation, 10 short response papers, 2-3 page film paper, 4-6 page longer paper, and in-class participation. Grading will be weighted as follows: presentation = 20%, responses = 20%, film paper = 20%, longer paper = 25%, participation = 15%.
Response papers:Â You are required to turn in ten response papers over the course of the semester. Response papers are brief but thoughtful reactions to the dayâs materials. You shouldnât summarize the reading or provide background information; rather, you should focus on a particular passage you found interesting, a question that the reading raised, a way to connect one or more of the readings, or some other narrowly focused question or problem that you think will help to generate class discussion. These should be a paragraph or so in length. I will comment on these responses but will not assign them a letter grade. I will only accept response papers on the dayâs reading if you are present in class that day. No late responses and no turning in a response if you didnât come to class â thatâs why you only have to do ten of them.
Presentation:Â Each of you will be expected to present to the class on a work of satire outside of the syllabus. You can choose whatever you want, provided you can make a good case that the work youâre presenting is satirical. You could pick a text from any period of history and any national tradition or another work by one of the authors weâre reading. You could also pick a nonliterary work, something from contemporary culture, such as a film, a work of journalism, a work of visual art, a website, or an episode of a TV show. Because this is an election year, you shouldnât have trouble finding examples. If appropriate you should use visual aids including video clips. In your presentation, you should briefly describe the work you have chosen and why you have chosen it. You should explain why you consider it to be satire, what the objects of its satire are, what sort of effects it is trying to produce, how it attempts to achieve those effects, and whether or not you think the work is successful. Talk about the work in relation to the critical readings, if appropriate.
Film paper: You must view one satiric film (I have provided links to a variety of trailers on Canvas, or you can pick something else) and write a 2-3 page review. Your review should address the ways in which the film uses satiric techniques and whether or not they are successful.
Final paper:Â At the end of the semester you must complete an 4-6 page paper on a topic of your choosing but related to the course topic. You must submit a paragraph describing your topic in class by November 26. I will hand out more information about this assignment later in the semester.
Other class policies:
Class attendance is mandatory. You are allowed three unexcused absences; more than that will result in a reduced grade. If you know you will miss class because of travel, illness, or another reason you must let me know ahead of the class time (via email is fine) for it to count as excused.
Over the course of the semester, there may be extra credit opportunities for attending and writing a short response to university events such as lectures and readings.
The Importance of Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is essential to the mission of The Honors College. It requires that Honors students maintain high standards and conduct their work with honesty. It is only within a framework of academic honesty that students can fulfill their intellectual promise and develop a range of abilities and talents needed to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and community leaders.Â
The Honor Pledge
As a reminder of the importance of academic integrity, Honors students are required to write and sign the following pledge on all assignments:
âOn my Honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this [exam/paper/etc.]â
The pledge serves as a reminder that the assignment is covered under the Honors Integrity Policy and that the work put forward is expected to be representative of oneâs own ideas and efforts.
Sanctions
In cases in which it is clear that an Honors student has violated the Honors Integrity Policy, the student may be removed from The Honors College.
In cases in which an Honors student accused of violating the Honors Integrity Policy wishes to appeal, the matter will be subject the Universityâs academic misconduct process as detailed in Chapter UWS 14: Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures.
Based on the outcome of a student appeal, The Honors College may institute additional sanctions up to and including removal from The Honors College.
Schedule of readings and assignments:
September 5: introduction to course
September 10: Gilbert Highet, introduction to The Anatomy of Satire; Horace, satires 1.1, 1.10, 2.1
September 12: Northrop Frye, âThe Nature of Satireâ; Juvenal, satires 1, 10
September 17: Lucian, A True Story
September 19: no class
September 24: Swift, The Battle of the Books; Wayne C. Booth, âIs It Ironic?â from A Rhetoric of Irony
September 26: Swift, âA Modest Proposal,â Wayne C. Booth, âEssays, Satires, Parodyâ from A Rhetoric of Irony
October 1: Swift, âA Description of a City Shower,â âVerses on the Death of Dr. Swift,â âA Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bedâ; Rochester, âA Satyr Against Reason and Mankindâ; Dorothy Parker, selections
October 3: Waugh, The Loved One
October 8: Waugh, The Loved One
October 10: Waugh, The Loved One (watch movie)
October 15: Gray, Jones, and Thompson, introduction to Satire TV; Stephen Colbert White House Correspondents Dinner
October 17: Satiric TV (Veep, Ziwe)
October 22, 24: Alissa Nutting, Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
October 29: Day on visual art (Hogarth, Komar & Melamid, political cartoons)
October 31: Day on other media (music, internet, etc). Listen to Malcolm Gladwell, "The Satire Paradox".
November 5: Election Day;Â film paper due
November 7: no class
November 12: Day on activism: watch some of The Yes Men
November 14: no class, reading day
November 19, 21: George Saunders, âSea Oak,â âIn Persuasion Nation,â âThe Tenth of Decemberâ
November 26: Percival Everett, âThe Appropriation of Culturesâ;Â submit paper topics
November 28: Thanksgiving holiday
December 3, 5: Simon Rich, âSell Outâ
December 10: Study week
December 12:Â Final papers due

















