One of the most fascinating and most difficult things for a student of a foreign culture is to understand the “national humor,” as it is manifested in puns and idioms, literary works, films, and TV shows. The course examines Soviet and post-Soviet cultural history through the vehicle of Russian humor: What was considered funny in various historical periods? What are the peculiarities of the Russian comic tradition? What are the fixed settings and characters of the popular “anecdotes”? Class discussions will be supplemented by video and music presentations.
