The College of Cartoons?

The Simpsons: Satire and Postmodernism

Course Overview: This course will investigate the longest-running sitcom in America, The Simpsons. As Duane Dudek of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel maintains, "If television stirs primal memories of ancient communal campfires, then The Simpsons is the cave paintings for our times." We will be social anthropologists, exploring the cave paintings to understand what they reveal about our culture. We will pay special attention to how the show functions as a satire -- how it serves as corrective comedy to issues such as consumerism, inequality and political dysfunction. We will also discuss the show as an example of postmodern literature.

Students will:

• Perform active, close viewings of numerous episodes of The Simpsons with a keen eye for particular topics, themes and narrative approaches
• Write a number of journals that show a critical understanding of The Simpsons and the larger culture that creates and enjoys it
• Collaborate with classmates to lead effective class discussions
• Collaborate with classmates to produce a "mini script" of The Simpsons to demonstrate a mastery of the subject and to discover the intricacies of humor composition.

Course Prerequisite: Introductory composition (or placement test equivalent)