Outline

Overview

From Trickster to TikTok, this unit charts comedy's negotiations of race, class, gender, and sexuality, and of party and identity politics in the form of parody and satire. Influenced by ethnic, minority, and working-class cultures, comedy challenged and transformed existing norms of American family and institutions, and American identity. Through forms such as literature, television, stand-up, cinema, and new media, students will learn that comedy provided a space for resistance, profit, and community.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	United States Studies Centre
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000 level in American Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Cultural Studies
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Rodney Taveira, rodney.taveira@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 1 September 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Written work	Research essay n/a	40%	Formal exam period Due date: 17 Nov 2025 at 23:59 Closing date: 01 Dec 2025	2500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Portfolio or journal	Blog posts x 3 n/a	30%	Multiple weeks	500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Contribution	Tutorial participation n/a	10%	Ongoing	Ongoing.	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Contribution	Tutorial discussion question - Early Feedback Task Tutorial discussion question - #EarlyFeedbackTask	0%	Week 03 Due date: 22 Aug 2025 at 23:59	-	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Experimental design	Essay proposal n/a	20%	Week 07 Due date: 15 Sep 2025 at 23:59 Closing date: 10 Nov 2025	500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = early feedback task ?

Early feedback task

This unit includes an early feedback task, designed to give you feedback prior to the census date for this unit. Details are provided in the Canvas site and your result will be recorded in your Marks page. It is important that you actively engage with this task so that the University can support you to be successful in this unit.

Assessment summary

500 words essay proposal and annotated bibliography – The proposal + annotated bibliography which is not included in the word count. This assessment task gets you started on your research essay. It requires you to choose a topic, identify/pose research questions, identify your sources, and discuss how you will answer your question.
Blog posts (3 x 500 words) – Students will author three blog posts across the semester on three distinct historical and technological periods of American comedy and humour.
Research essay (2500 words) – Questions will be distributed during semester. This assessment task is your opportunity to research an area of interest to you within the broad scope of American comedy and humour. It builds on work you did for the essay proposal.
Tutorial Participation Notes – Tutorial participation begins, obviously, with attendance, but it requires more than coming to the classroom and sitting in a chair. Each week, you must write a half-page of notes, or roughly five questions or points that arose for you in the course of completing your readings. These questions and/or points should be devised to trigger further discussion about ideas, issues, or events related to the reading/s that week. These questions should be posted in the discussion board for each week.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass<	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction; Native American trickster tales	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 02	Early American humour; Mark Twain; Civil War humour;	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 03	Vaudeville, burlesque; radio; periodicals, modern humorous writing	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 04	The Silent Clowns; early animation; Jewish humour.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Television: variety and sitcoms.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	Stand-up: sick, satirical.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	Women in comedy.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 08	Comedy and (Nuclear) War; Satire; News parody.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	African American comedy and humour.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	Film comedy: screwball, comedian, romantic, cult.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Return of ethnic comedy; Christian and Mormon comedy.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Minority comedy; comedy and the internet.	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	What's next?	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed on the Reading List link available on Canvas.

Required Textbook: Paul Beatty, The Sellout (2015). I say this is a textbook to encourage you to buy a hardcopy, but it is completely fine to access the digital copy via the library's website.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. identify major trends in American comedy and humour, and evaluate the relationships between American comedy and humour and American culture and politics
LO2. display an understanding of the concepts, narratives and methods used by different disciplines to study the United States
LO3. demonstrate a capacity for experimental and problem-solving tasks on the borders between disciplines
LO4. demonstrate a greater ability to pursue genuinely interdisciplinary methodologies in other units
LO5. communicate knowledge in discussion and scholarly writing.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Adjustments have been made to group assignments - they are now individual tasks.

Additional information

More information can be found on Canvas. Please consult Canvas regularly.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

AMST2606: Stand Up USA: American Comedy and Humour

Semester 2, 2025 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links