Expect to laugh and learn when you join us for a fascinating exploration of the development of comedy in film! Discussed will be four films, outlined below, that take us from the beginning with silent comedy and moving forward.
Basic ideas explored will include (1) that laughter derives from a sense of superiority over what we laugh at; (2) that it derives from an unexpected incongruity between our concepts or expectations and the facts of experience that contradict them; (3) that it results from the sudden release and consequent unmasking of repressed impulses; and (4) that it is a means of correcting mechanically rigid forms of behavior that threaten our human flexibility.
Class will meet for four sessions: 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8 at 2 pm, in the Library's Komansky Room.
PLEASE REGISTER HERE, CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED.
Upon registration, you will be provided links to view the films, listed below. It is requested that the films be viewed prior to class. If there are additional readings, participants will be notified and supplied with links to those readings.
The class will be taught by Professor Van Hartman, recently retired from his position as a Professor of English at Manhattanville College, where he taught literature and film studies. Van earned an undergraduate degree in history from Stanford University and a doctorate in English from UNC at Chapel Hill.. He resides in Norwalk with his wife, Laurel Peterson, a professor at Norwalk Community College. Van is also a published poet.
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Verso University is the Library’s lifelong learning and education initiative, serving up year-round offerings of classes, workshops, and lectures designed to further education and learning. Offerings run the gamut of educational opportunities, ranging from one-time lectures to ongoing courses to classes that meet weekly or perhaps monthly.
Verso University programs are made possible by the generous support of the Nancy J. Beard Lifelong Learning and Education Fund.
