English 369: Satire

Dr. Caroline Schwenz

Monday/Wednesday 1:00-2:15PM
Callaway TBA
Office Hours
Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday
2:15-4:00PM
Callaway N104
cschwen@emory.edu

Course Description:

In a March 2017 news article, BBC journalist James Ballardie asked, “Are we living in a golden
age of satire?” The following month, NPR reported that the ratings for late night comedy shows
were in—Jimmy Fallon’s “safe” game-show comedy falling while the likes of Stephen Colbert
and his infamous ridicule rose.  This course aims to articulate what satire is and how English-
language writers from the Restoration and Enlightenment period to the present have used it. If
we are living in the age of satire, we should know precisely what we mean by that. Students
should expect to compose a midterm podcast project and complete a final essay, along with
having to lead a formal discussion with partners. Students must post one short piece (500 words)
to Canvas and read about 80 pages a week.

Course Outcomes:

By the end of this course students will:

 Engage with the concept of satire through literary scholarship and works.
 Demonstrate knowledge of different definitions of satire through writing and in
presentations.
 Analyze, summarize, and synthesize literary and critical texts in order to forward an
argument in writing.
 Practice critical thinking skills through reading and writing about texts.

Required Texts:

 Dustin Griffin’s Satire: A Critical Re-Introduction, ISBN-13: 978-0813108292

(available for free online and at the library)
 Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, ISBN-13: 978-1250083258
 Anthony Winkler’s The Duppy, ISBN-13: 978-1933354330
 Mohsin Hamid’s How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, ISBN-13: 978-1594632334
 All other readings will be available on course reserves

Assignments:

Weekly Blogging Assignment

Each week you will complete a short blogging assignment (about 500 words) that responds to the
readings we have done that week. In some cases, you will have to answer a prompt and in other
cases, the topic of each assignment will be open. Most of the time, I will expect that your
blogging assignments are short literary analyses.

Midterm Satirical Podcast Project

For you midterm, I would like you to select a satirical piece that we discussed in class and
compose a script that riffs off of the style, tone and/or the content of that piece. You will then
record a reading of that script as a podcast. For example, you might be inspired by Samantha
Bee's political discussion and want to make your own satirical feminist podcast episode. Or you
might be interested in the social satire of Alexander Pope and want to criticize some social aspect
of college life. You will turn in the podcast recording along with a script (please notate the script
with citation information like an essay, including a works cited). Your podcast recording should
be about 3-5 minutes in length. You will write up a short 3-4 page reflective paper describing the
rhetorical choices you made in creating your podcast.

Discussion-Leading Assignment
In lieu of a second term paper, I would like you to work in a group of 3-4 people to prepare
material for a class discussion. On your group's discussion leading day, I will turn over the reins
of the class and expect that you have prepared notes on course readings to share with your
classmates. You will be expected to prepare questions to ask the class as well as a handout. You
must lead discussion for 30-40 minutes. One week prior to your discussion-leading day, your
group will meet with me to discuss your plans.

Final Literary Analysis

Your final will be a traditional literary analysis of one of the course readings. You will be
expected to compose an essay that argues for a particular interpretation of a text and marshals
evidence appropriately (quoting, paraphrasing and citing). In this essay, you will be expected to
produce a reading that adds to the class discussion; you should not simply re-state ideas that
come up in class. The essay should be 6-8 pages in length.

Participation
In addition to written projects, you final grade will reflect your participation in class. Part of your
participation grade will be calculated based on attendance and tardiness. You will also be
evaluated on how often you participate in class discussion, if you are being attentive during
class, and if you violate course policies, such as the electronics policy.

Assignment Weights:

Weekly Blogging Assignment 25%

Midterm Podcast Project 20%
Discussion-Leading Assignment 20%
Final Essay 25%
Participation 10%

Policies:
Electronics Policy: Each term I teach I struggle with the question of electronics. As you all know
electronics can be a great tool for learning but they can also be a distraction that inhibits learning.
This class will allow the use of computers and tablets in the classroom with the caveat that if I
notice inappropriate uses (checking Facebook, chatting to friends, etc.) your participation grade
will suffer. Cell phones are not allowed. Be mindful that participation is 10% of your grade so
regular electronics violations will prevent you from receiving an A in the course. Furthermore,
generally students who are distracted in class will see their grade suffer in other places such as
homework because they miss important information discussed.

Attendance and Participation: Because this class is a discussion-based class, I do expect regular
attendance. That said, we all have days when for one reason or another we cannot make the time
commitment to class. You will be allowed to miss up to 2 classes this term without penalty. If
you miss more then 2 classes, I will start taking percentage points off your final grade. 1
percentage point will be taken for each additional missed class. This means if you have a 94 in
the class and miss 4 classes, your grade will slip down to a 92 giving you and A- instead of an A.
If you have to miss class for sports, campus events or because of a disability, you will not be
subject to the same attendance rules. Please discuss with me at the beginning of the term if you
know you will miss more than 2 classes. If something arises in the middle of the term that is
causing you to miss classes, please come to me so we can work out a new policy for you.

Participation in this class is key to the course’s success. Each of you have something to
contribute and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to hear what you have to say. Participation is
measured in many ways. I am looking for students who speak in class discussion, who are
attentive to what other classmates are saying, and who are willing to interact and work with their
peers.

Late Work: In life we will always be subject to and oppressed by deadlines. Developing time
management skills is essential to your success in the working world. For that reason all deadlines
in this class will be enforced. You cannot ask for an extension once a deadline has passed unless
you have a significant reason for needing one—You find yourself in the hospital after breaking
an arm, a family member falls ill suddenly, your dorm catches fire with your computer in it, etc.
BUT, I will grant extensions to those who ask for it 48 hours prior to the due date of an
assignment and who provide me with a new deadline. If you have enough forethought to know
you won’t make a deadline, you can have your extension. If you procrastinated, then things
might not work out so well for you.

Accommodations and Resources:

Emory Writing Center: The Emory Writing Center offers 45-minute individual conferences to
Emory College and Laney Graduate School students. It is a great place to bring any project--
from traditional papers to websites--at any stage in your composing process. Writing Center
tutors take a discussion- and workshop-based approach that enables writers of all levels to see
their writing with fresh eyes. Tutors can talk with you about your purpose, organization,
audience, design choices, or use of sources. They can also work with you on sentence-level
concerns (including grammar and word choice), but they will not proofread for you. Instead, they
will discuss strategies and resources you can use to become a better editor of your own work.
The Writing Center is located in Callaway N-212. Visit writingcenter.emory.edu for more
information and to make an appointment.

ESL Tutoring: If English is not your first language, you may benefit from working with
specially trained ESL Tutors. The tutors are undergraduates who will support the development of
your English language skills. Like Writing Center tutors, ESL tutors will not proofread your
work. Language is best learned through interactive dialogue, so when you come to an ESL
tutoring session, be ready to collaborate! ESL tutors will meet with you in designated locations
across campus (visit the ASST program to view the list), and they will help you at any stage of
the process of developing your essay or presentation. You may bring your work on a laptop or on
paper. Each regular appointment lasts 50-55 minutes. Please note that you may only schedule
two ESL tutoring appointments per week (Sunday-Saturday).

For more information and to schedule a regular appointment via ASST, please view our
website:http://college.emory.edu/oue/student-support/esl-program/esl-tutoring.html.

Disability Accommodation: Emory University makes reasonable accommodations for persons

with disabilities. Students should provide documentation to the Access, Disabilities Services and
Resources Office in 110 Administration Building of their disability related needs.  For guidelines
and information, please contact by email: adsrstudent@emory.edu.  Any student eligible for
academic accommodations based on a disability should bring the formal accommodation
communication (letter or email) to the attention of the instructor. Note that accommodations are
NOT granted retroactively. Please arrange a meeting with your instructor at the start of the
semester or as soon as the accommodation plan has been finalized.
Class Schedule:

Week 1
Wednesday (8/23)
 Syllabus Introduction
 Reading Homework: Satire "Introduction" (1-5), "Theories
of Satire in Polemical Context" (5-34)
 Blog 1 Due Friday @midnight
Week 2
Monday (8/28)  Satire: An Introduction
CIRCULATE  Reading Homework: Horace Satire "IV" and "X," Pope's
DISCUSSION Satire i and ii (190-198), and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's
LEADING SIGN- "Verse Addressed to the Imitator of the First Satire of the
UP SHEET Second Book of Horace"
Wednesday (8/30)  Horace, Pope, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
 Reading Homework: Juvenal's Satire X, Stephen Colbert’s
“Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda,” “People Who Are
Destroying America,” and “Inquiry and Provocation (35-52)
 Blog 2 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 3
Monday (9/4) NO CLASS-LABOR DAY
Wednesday (9/6)  Provocative Insults in Juvenal and Colbert
 Reading Homework: "Inquiry and Provocation" (52-70).
The Duppy (1-80)
 Blog 3 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 4
Monday (9/11)  Inquiry and Provocation in The Duppy
 Reading Homework: The Duppy (80-120)
Wednesday (9/13)  Ethics in The Duppy
 Reading Homework: The Duppy (120-175), “Display and
Play” (71-83)
 Blog 4 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 5
Monday (9/18)  Entertainment in The Duppy
 Reading Homework: Watch Mean Girls (on Netflix or
Emory Course Reserves), Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll,"
“Display and Play” (84-94)
Wednesday (9/20)  Feminine Inquiry and Provocation
 Reading Homework: Watch Heathers, Samantha Bee’s
"Persisting 101 with Elizabeth Warren," Lady Gaga's "You
and I"
 Blog 5 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 6
Monday (9/25)  Satire and Adolescent Performance
 Reading Homework: "Satiric Closure" (95-114), Swift's "A
 Modest Proposal"
Wednesday (9/27)  Swift and Closure
 Reading Homework: Start The Sellout (optional)
 Blog 6 (Podcast Genre and Technical Worksheet), Due
Friday @ midnight
Week 7
Monday (10/2)  In-Class Podcast Tech Day with David Morgen
 Homework: Prepare draft of podcast script for workshop
day
Wednesday (10/4)  Script Workshop
 Homework: Work on Podcast, Submit draft of script and
audio Friday @midnight
Week 8
Monday (10/9) NO CLASS-FALL BREAK
Wednesday  Film Screening: Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop
(10/11) Worrying and Love the Bomb
Screening will be in the Cox Amphitheater, can also watch on
Netflix or in Library
 MIDTERM PODCAST DUE FRIDAY @ MIDNIGHT
Week 9
Monday (10/16)  Satirical Endings, The Bomb
 Reading Homework: The Sellout (1-70)
Wednesday  Synthesis and The Sellout
(10/18)  Reading Homework: The Sellout (71-140), "Satiric Fictions
and Historical Particulars" (115-123)
 Blog 7 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 10
Monday (10/23)  History and Textual Gestures in The Sellout
 Reading Homework: The Sellout (141-230)
Wednesday  African American Satire and The Sellout
(10/25)  Reading Homework: The Sellout (231-304), "Satiric
Fictions and Historical Particulars" (123-133)
 Blog 8 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 11
Monday (10/30)  Authorial/Narrator Stance and The Sellout
 Reading Homework: The Rover (1-40) (on Course Reserves
or available online)
Wednesday (11/1)  Restoration Plays and Gender
 Reading Homework: "The Politics of Satire" (133-149), The
Rover (41-88)
 Blog 9 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 12
Monday (11/6)  Behn and Restoration Politics
 Reading Homework: How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
 (1-60)
Wednesday (11/8)  Globalization and Satire
 Reading Homework: How to Get Filthy Rich (61-120), "The
Politics of Satire" (150-160)
 Blog 10 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 13
Monday (11/13)  Globalization, Entrepreneurs, and Satirical Change
 Reading Homework: How to Get Filthy Rich (121-180)
Wednesday  Satire and Romance
(11/15)  Reading Homework: How to Get Filth Rich (181-240), "The
Pleasures of Satire" (161-184)
 Blog 11 Due Friday @ midnight
Week 14
Monday (11/20)  Pleasurable and Satirical Globalization
 Reading Homework: "Conclusion: Prospects and Further
Investigations" (185-198), Lady Susan (1-80)
Wednesday NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING
(11/22)
Week 15
Monday (11/27)  Lady Susan and Social Satire
 Homework: Final Project Proposal
Wednesday Final Project Workshop and Wrap-Up
(11/29)
Finals
Monday (12/4) CONFERENCES
LAST CLASS
Wednesday FINAL ESSAY DUE @ MIDNIGHT
(12/13)