What is comedy? How does it work? How has it changed over time? This course traces the history of comedy from antiquity to the present day. Students read plays by authors such as Aristophanes, Plautus, Molière, Gay, Wilde, and Stoppard, as well as selections from secondary sources such as Hutcheson, Thoughts on Laughter, and Freud, Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. Students may also read short stories and watch films.