All Reading & Composition courses must be taken for a letter grade in order to fulfill this requirement for the Bachelor’s Degree. This course satisfies the second half or the “B” portion of the Reading and Composition requirement.

Satire flourished during the eighteenth century when heavy-hitting writers across Europe penned droll attacks on superstition, intolerance, and vice. In this course, we will explore how the satirical mode functioned as part of the Enlightenment project. Particular emphasis will placed on the literary history of Sweden and Denmark-Norway from 1720 to 1792. Guiding questions in the course include: when is satire subversive and when does it reinforce the status quo? How do Scandinavian satires differ from their contemporaries in Great Britain, France, and colonial America/the United States? Is there a taxonomy of satire and what formal elements are ubiquitous across satirical sub-genres? We will engage with scholarship on satire and the Enlightenment and students will write a term paper that incorporates scholarship, historical material, and one or more of the course texts. All readings are in English.

Texts to Purchase:
Ludvig Holberg, Niels Klim, 978-0803273481

Voltaire, Candide, 978-0140440041

Ogborn & Buckroyd, Satire, 978-0521787918

Course Reader with readings of various authors

Prerequisite: Successful completion of the “A” portion of the Reading & Composition requirement or its equivalent. Students may not enroll in nor attend R1B/R5B courses without completing this prerequisite.