First-Year Seminar: Just Kidding:

The Nature of Humor & Its Place in the Good Life

Fall 2019
MWF 12:30am–1:20pm
East College 301

Prof. James (Jim) Sias

siasj@dickinson.edu
Office phone: TBD
Office location: East College 206
Office hours: Th 12:00–2:30pm; or by appt

1 Description
The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces students to Dickinson as a “community of inquiry” by
developing habits of mind essential to liberal learning. Through the study of a compelling issue or
broad topic chosen by their faculty member, students will:
• critically analyze information and ideas in the texts we discuss;
• examine issues from multiple perspectives;
• discuss, debate and defend ideas, including one’s own views, with clarity and reason;
• learn to find, evaluate, and correctly incorporate outside sources so as to avoid plagiarism;
• create clear academic writing.
In this particular seminar, we’ll examine the nature of humor and its place in the good life. What
is it, exactly, that makes something funny? If humor, like beauty, is supposed to be “in the eye of
the beholder,” why do so many people agree on who or what are the best comedies, comedians, or
comedic actors? What is the purpose of humor or comedy? Is it merely to entertain? Or should
it do something more than this? And is there such a thing as an “ethics” of humor? When is it
okay, or not okay, to laugh? The seminar will be divided into three sections: the first focuses on the
main philosophical theories of humor; the second focuses on the aesthetics of humor; and the third
focuses on the ethics of humor. Our readings will be mostly philosophical, spanning from Plato and
Aristotle to present day.

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2 Required Texts
1. The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor, edited by John Morreall (SUNY Press, 1987)
2. Beauty: A Very Short Introduction, by Roger Scruton (Oxford University Press, 2011)
3. Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin (Scribner, 2007)
4. Modern Romance, by Aziz Ansari (Penguin, 2015)
5. Bossypants, by Tina Fey (Back Bay Books, 2012)
* Additional readings will be posted online

3 Assignments
The good news is that you won’t be taking any tests in this course. The bad news is that you’ll be
so busy writing that you won’t have time to appreciate that fact. Since one of the main purposes
of the FYS is to introduce students to college writing, you should expect this to be a relatively
writing-intensive course. However, the assignments are all quite different from one another, in order
to foster different skills. Instructions for each assignment will be provided to students in due time.
Here is how the grades will be distributed:

Grade distribution
Attendance & Participation 10%
Journals 10%
Reaction Paper 10%
Comparative Analysis 20%
Proposal/Annotated Bibliography 20%
Research Paper 30%

4 Course Policies & Procedures

4.1 Academic conduct & integrity
Academic misconduct of any form will not be tolerated. All cases of suspected academic miscon-
duct will be reported to the College. This includes plagiarism and other forms of cheating, as well
as the re-use of work submitted for credit in another course. And according to the “Community
Standards” page on Dickinson’s website, “The typical sanction for academic misconduct is an F in
the course and stayed suspension.” If students have any questions about the standards for academic
conduct and integrity at Dickinson College, they are encouraged either to consult with the profes-
sor or to review the college’s full policies, which are available online. For the record, plagiarism
is a form of cheating that involves any kind of presentation of someone else’s ideas as your own.
Students should note that this includes more than just direct quotation without proper citation.
See the “Community Standards” page on Dickinson’s website for descriptions of different forms of
plagiarism, as well as a list of examples of other forms of academic misconduct.
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4.2 Academic integrity tutorial

All incoming Dickinson students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Tutorial posted
on Moodle by Monday, September 9, 2019 (no later than 8am). The entire process takes most stu-
dents less than an hour to complete. Students who do not complete this instruction by the deadline
will have a hold placed on their accounts that prevents them from requesting courses during the
mid-fall registration period for spring courses.

To access the tutorial, click “Academic Integrity Tutorial - 2019” on Moodle.

Students receive credit only after completing the entire tutorial, answering all questions, and clicking
the “Finish attempt” button, followed by “Submit all and finish.” The “Submit all and finish” button
must be clicked at the end of the tutorial in order for students to receive credit for completing the
tutorial. Please direct questions about the Academic Integrity tutorial to Christine Bombaro in the
Waidner-Spahr Library at bombaroc@dickinson.edu.

4.3 Attendance & participation

While I do not take attendance at each class meeting, I do keep track of who attends regularly and
who does not. I also keep track of the frequency with which students participate in class discus-
sion. Full credit (10%) is reserved for those students with perfect or near-perfect attendance, and
who regularly participate in class discussion. Students who attend regularly, but rarely or never
participate in class discussion, will receive a grade of 7% or lower.

You do yourself a huge favor by keeping up with the readings—i.e., finishing every assigned reading
before its corresponding class meeting. Contrary to what is commonly assumed, class meetings
are not supposed to be a time for me to summarize the readings for you. Students who make
this assumption often do not come to class prepared to participate. Instead, our class meetings
are supposed to be a time for us to discuss the readings as a group. But of course, it’s hard to
participate in this kind of discussion when you have not done the reading. (And for the record,
it is usually obvious to professors—often painfully so—when students are trying to contribute to
discussion without having done the reading ahead of time.)

4.4 Late work

Late work will be accepted without penalty only if the student can provide compelling evidence
that the tardiness is due to illness, hardship, or required attendance at a school-sponsored event.
Students must notify the professor (via email) as soon as they become aware of one of these possible
causes of tardiness. In all other cases—i.e., cases in which a student’s work is late for reasons that
are not recognized as valid excuses—the student will be penalized one-third of a letter grade for
each day (including weekends) that the assignment is late—e.g., from a B+ to a B, then from a
B to a B-, etc. (And for the record: New days are counted from the end of class on the day the
assignment was due. So, for instance, if an assignment is due in class on a Friday, and that class
period ends at 1:20pm, the assignment will be considered one day late as of 1:21pm on the same
day.)
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4.5 Disabilities
Dickinson values diverse types of learners and is committed to ensuring that each student is afforded
equitable access to participate in all learning experiences. If you have (or think you may have) a
learning difference or a disability – including a mental health, medical, or physical impairment –
that would hinder your access to learning or demonstrating knowledge in this class, please contact
Access and Disability Services (ADS). They will confidentially explain the accommodation request
process and the type of documentation that Dean and Director Marni Jones will need to deter-
mine your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. To learn more about available supports, go to
www.dickinson.edu/access, email access@dickinson.edu, call (717) 245-1734, or go to ADS in Old
West (lower level), Room 005.

If you’ve already been granted accommodations at Dickinson, please let me know as soon as possible
so that we can meet to review your Accommodation Letter and complete your Blue Forms. If you
will need test proctoring from ADS, remember that you will need to provide them with at least one
week’s notice.

4.6 Other notes of varied importance

• Noisy or otherwise distracting electronic devices are not to be used in class. This applies
especially to cell phones. Computers are allowed, but if I think that your use of a computer
has become a distraction to anyone (yourself included), you’ll be told to put it away or leave
the classroom.
• Do not talk with other students while either the professor or a fellow student is speaking.
If you have a question or comment related to the material, raise your hand and you will be
given an opportunity to speak. If you have a question or comment that is not related to the
material, keep it to yourself (unless, of course, there’s some sort of emergency).
• “Aren’t 100-level courses supposed to be easy?” I’ve heard this question (or something like
it) often enough to justify addressing it formally, here in the course syllabus. I do not believe
there is any such thing as a college course that is “supposed to be easy.” You’re supposed to
be challenged in college, and, as your professor, I intend to make sure that happens.
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4.7 What grades mean

Below you will find “definitions” of the five main letter grades.

A Mastery of course content at the highest level of attainment that can reasonably be expected
of students at a given stage of development. The “A” grade states clearly that a student has
shown such outstanding promise in the aspect of the discipline under study that he/she may
be strongly encouraged to continue.
B Strong performance demonstrating a high level of attainment for a student at a given stage
of development. The “B” grade states that the student has shown solid promise in the aspect
of the discipline under study.

C A totally acceptable performance demonstrating an adequate level of attainment for a stu-

dent at a given stage of development. The “C” grade states that, while not yet showing
unusual promise, the student may continue to study in the discipline with reasonable hope of
intellectual development.
D A marginal performance in the required exercises demonstrating a minimal passing level of
attainment. A “D” grade indicates that the student has given no evidence of prospective
growth in the discipline, and would be well advised not to continue in the academic field.
F An unacceptable performance. The “F” grade indicates that the student’s performance in the
required exercises has revealed almost no understanding of the course content, and little or
no proficiency with the skills required for success in this particular discipline.