COURSE SECTION INFORMATION
SCHOOL OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
A Sense of Humour
General Education Elective
Instructor:
Justin Yu
Course Number:
GED 6022
Email:
Yuj1@algonquincollege.com
Course Sections:
350
Office Hours:
Thursdays 10-11am in B139
Course Delivery:
Online only
Term:
Academic Level:
Winter 2011
General
SECTION SPECIFIC LEARNING RESOURCES
Textbook - Available in bookstore
Ferguson, Will, editor. The Penguin Anthology of Canadian Humour. Toronto: Penguin, 2006.
Other readings –
Electronic version of the Canadian Encyclopaedia at www.canadianencyclopedia.ca
Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy article on humour at http://www.iep.utm.edu/humor/
Wikipedia.org entry on Aesthetics
Online readings, clips & videos - Available Online
Visual and creative examples of Canadian art (clips, segments) will also be used.
All clips and episodes suggested are available on the internet.
Material for the Unit 5 Assignment may have to be found in a library or movie rental store.
SCHEDULE
Wk Dates
Topic
Unit 0 – The Nature of Humour
1
Jan 10-14
Online reading: Internet
Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
(4 Theories of Humour)
Unit 1 – What Humour is Made Of
2
Jan 17-21
Reading: Penguin pp. 254 - 265
(McLean)
Assignment
Due
Important Date
Quiz 1
(5%)
Friday,
January 21
Jan 21
Last day to
withdraw
without
financial
penalty
Blog Post 1
(5%)
Friday,
January 28
Assignment
1 (10%)
Friday,
February 4
Covered in
Unit 1
Penguin pp. 374 - 383 (Ritter)
3
Jan 24-28
4
Jan 31-Feb 4
Look up Terms: Irony, Parody,
Satire, Sarcasm, Hyperbole, Double
entendre, Farce, Physical humour,
Pun, Self deprecation, Deadpan
Unit 2 – Where Humour is Found
5
Feb 7-11
Reading: Penguin pp. 3 – 14 (Bidini) Quiz 2
(5%)
Penguin pp. 47 – 53 (Coupland)
Friday,
February 11
Penguin pp. 448 – 452 (Torgov)
6
Feb 14-18
Online Reading: The Canadian
Encyclopaedia (Comedy in Canada)
7
Viewing: Corner Gas, Season 1,
Feb 28-Mar 4 Episode 2, “Tax Man”
Unit 3 – Reception and Acceptance of Humour
8
Mar 7-11
Reading: Penguin pp. 245-254
(Martin)
9
10
Mar 14-18
Mar 21-28
Terms: Blackboard
(Unit 3 Terms Reading)
Online Reading: Wikipedia.org
(Aesthetics)
Blog Post 2
(5%)
Friday,
February 18
Assignment
2 (10%)
Friday,
March 4
Quiz #3
(5%)
Friday,
March 11
Blog Post #3
(5%)
Friday,
March 18
Assignment
3 (10%)
Friday,
March 28
Feb 21
Family Day
College Closed
Feb 21-25
Study Break
Mar 18
Assignments 1
and 2 become
unavailable
Mar 24
Last day to
withdraw
without
academic
penalty
Unit 4 – Humour Then and Now
11
Mar 28-Apr 1 Reading: Penguin pp. xiii-xviii
(Introduction)
Quiz 4
(5%)
Friday,
April 1
Assignment
4 (10%)
Friday,
April 8
Blog Post 4
(5%)
Friday,
April 15
Essay for
Assignment
5 (15%)
Blog Post for
Assignment
5 (5%)
Thursday,
April 21
Penguin pp. 24 – 36 (Braithwaite)
12
Apr 4-8
Penguin pp. 390 – 400 (Shamas)
Penguin pp. 401 - 416 (Sileika)
13
Apr 11-15
Online Reading: The Canadian
Encyclopaedia (Humorous Writing
in English
Apr 8
Assignment 3
becomes
unavailable
The Canadian Encyclopaedia
(Humorous Writing in French)
Collections Canada
(Decoding Political Cartoons)
Unit 5 – Humour
14
Apr 18-22
15
Analysis: One reading, film, or
episode that was not yet covered
previously in the course.
Apr 25-30
A list of pre-approved material is
provided in the unit overview.
End of Course
Friday,
April 30
Apr 22
Good Friday
College Closed
Apr 30
All remaining
Assignment and
Communication
functions
become
unavailable
EVALUATION
Graded Work
Value of Each
4 Quizzes
5 Blogs
5 Assignments
5%
5%
10%
Value of Category
20%
25%
55%
Total: 100%
(Except for Assignment 5, worth 15%)
SUBMITTING WORK
1. Submit all of your quizzes, blogs, and assignments by 11:59pm (23:59) on the due date indicated.
Quizzes and Blog functions will become unavailable after their due date.
Assignment functions become unavailable on the date specified in the course schedule.
Late Penalties
 Before Closing Date: half a mark deducted per day, up to 2 marks deducted
 After the Closing Date: unsubmitted work is graded as zero
2. Use your own ideas to complete all written assignments. If you build on someone else’s ideas,
document the source of those ideas, or you will be accused of academic dishonesty.
3. Conduct yourself in a manner which respects and promotes the dignity of others, and interact with
others in the class in a spirit of cooperation, goodwill, and mutual respect or you will removed from the
course.
4. All work is to be submitted through the assignment tools on blackboard. Emailed work will not be
accepted.
INTERACTION WITH INSTRUCTOR
Communicating with Instructor



Email messages are usually answered within 24-48 hours.
Assignments cannot be accepted through email.
Please note that non-college emails may be blocked by the system.
Feedback
 Feedback on assignments will be provided with marks in the assignment function, accessible
through your grades on blackboard.
Course Survey
 An evaluation of the course becomes available during week 14 of the course. Students are
encouraged to take time to answer the survey. Instructor will remind students when the survey
becomes available.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Assessed Work
Unit 1 Quiz
(5%)
Unit 1 Blog
(5%)
Unit 1
Assignment
(10%)
Unit 2 Quiz
(5%)
Unit 2 Blog
(5%)
Unit 2
Assignment
(10%)
Unit 3 Quiz
(5%)
Unit 3 Blog
(5%)
Learning Objective
 Outline the varieties of humour found in visual and creative arts. [CLR1]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Outline the varieties of humour found in visual and creative arts. [CLR1]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems and contributions of
others. [EES8]
 Outline the varieties of humour found in visual and creative arts. [CLR1]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Analyse, evaluate and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.
[EES7]
 Describe the occurrences and varieties of humour in Canadian visual and
creative arts in terms of their linguistic, regional, and social characteristics.
[CLR2]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Describe the occurrences and varieties of humour in Canadian visual and
creative arts in terms of their linguistic, regional, and social characteristics.
[CLR2]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems and contributions of
others. [EES8]
 Describe the occurrences and varieties of humour in Canadian visual and
creative arts in terms of their linguistic, regional, and social characteristics.
[CLR2]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Analyse, evaluate and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.
[EES7]
 Discuss the roles of decorum and taste and their impacts on the creation and
reception of humour. [CLR3]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Discuss the roles of decorum and taste and their impacts on the creation and
reception of humour. [CLR3]
 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
 Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems and contributions of
others. [EES8]
Unit 3
Assignment
(10%)



Unit 4 Quiz
(5%)


Unit 4 Blog
(5%)



Unit 4
Assignment
(10%)



Unit 5
Synthesis
Assignment
(20%)






Discuss the roles of decorum and taste and their impacts on the creation and
reception of humour. [CLR3]
Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
Analyze, evaluate and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.
[EES7]
Analyse historical and contemporary patterns of humour in the broader
Canadian cultural context. [CLR4]
Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
Analyse historical and contemporary patterns of humour in the broader
Canadian cultural context. [CLR4]
Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems and contributions of
others. [EES8]
Analyse historical and contemporary patterns of humour in the broader
Canadian cultural context. [CLR4]
Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
Analyse, evaluate and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.
[EES7]
Outline the varieties of humour found in visual and creative arts. [CLR1]
Describe the occurrences and varieties of humour in Canadian visual and
creative arts in terms of their linguistic, regional, and social characteristics.
[CLR2]
Discuss the roles of decorum and taste and their impacts on the creation and
reception of humour. [CLR3]
Analyse historical and contemporary patterns of humour in the broader
Canadian cultural context. [CLR4]
Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures
effective communication. [EES2]
Analyse, evaluate and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.
[EES7]