I was one of three faculty selected from a national call to educators to submit proposals to teach in the highly selective Hamilton College Summer Program in Philosophy.
Here is an abstract of my course/lecture series:
Philosophy and Comedy, Prof. Ashley Pryor (University of Toledo)
In this course, we will explore four major philosophical theories of comedy: Play, Relief, Superiority, and Incongruity. Not only will we consider what Aristotle and Kierkegaard had to say about incongruity or what Kant and Shaftesbury considered comedic relief to be, but we will also have the opportunity to examine the work of our favorite comedians and create our comedic work in the forms of joke-writing, improv, satire and sketch to produce a comedy showcase. Finally, we will learn ways to transfer the skills of comedic writing (creating a strong point of view, editing and revising work for clarity and force of expression, and doing quick but effective and ethically responsible research for a short satiric publication) to improve the effectiveness of our writing for other contexts.
For a more detailed account of the program and my contribution to it, please view the linked URL.
