A Course that Answers My Pursuits.

I'm currently taking a course entitled "Shakespeare and Humor." It is very pleasing to find out that the course focuses on humor theories. When Professor Westbrook managed to give a quick run-down on the history of humor theories, I was really impressed that she came so prepared for the first meeting, and was really surprised that we were offered this treat (I see it as a treat, and I'd kill for the transparencies she showed us in class.). Here are the recommended reference books for the class:

(picture taken from: http://hudsonshakespeare.org/Shakespeare%20Library/Ful%20Play%20Text/text%20-%20comedies/comedies.htm)

 ※ The following list is taken intack (except that I do the numbering so I can see how many of them are there) from the syllabus for this course. The choice and layout are made by and belong to Professor Vivienne Westbrook. This list will be immediately removed from my blog post on her request.

1. Barton, Anne. “The King Disguised.” William Shakespeare’s Histories and Poems. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
2. Billig, Michael. Laughter and Ridicule: Towards a Social Critique of Humour : London: SAGE, 2005.
3. Brigden, Susan. New Worlds, Lost Worlds: the Rule of the Tudors 1485-1603. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 2000.
4. Briggs, Julia. This Stage-Play World: Texts and Contexts, 1580-1625. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
5. Callaghan, Dympna. Shakespeare Without Women. London and New York: Routledge, 2000.
6. Dollimore, Jonathan, and Alan Sinfield. Political Shakespeare: Essays in Cultural Materialism. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996.
7. Dubrov, Heather and Richard Strier. Eds. The Historical Renaissance : New Essays in Tudor and Stuart Literature and Culture. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
8. Foakes, R.A. Shakespeare & Violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
9. Gay, Penny. Introduction to Shakespeare’s Comedies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
10. Goldberg, Jonathan. James I and the Politics of Literature. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1989.
11. Gruner, Charles R. Understanding Laughter: The Workings of Wit and Humour. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1978.
12. Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespearean Stage: 1574-1642. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992; 2009.
13. Halliwell, Stephen. Greek Laughter: a Study of Cultural Psychology from Homer to Early Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
14. Hattaway, Michael. Ed. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s History Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
15. Holland, Peter. English Shakespeares. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1997; 2000.
16. Howard, Jean. and Phyllis Rackin. Engendering a Nation: a Feminist Account of Shakespeare’s English Histories. London: Routledge, 1997.
17. Joughin, J.John. Philosophical Shakespeare. London and New York: Routledge, 2000.
18. Kastan, David. Scott. Shakespeare and the Shapes of Time. London: Macmillan, 1982.
19. Kuller Shuger, Debora. Political Theologies in Shakespeare’s England. London: Palgrave, 2001.
20. McDonald, Russ. Shakespeare and the Arts of Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
21. Marx, Stephen. Shakespeare and the Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
22. Maslin, Robert W. Shakespeare and Comedy. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2005.
23. Miola, S. Robert. Shakespeare’s Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
24. Orgel, Stephen. The Illusion of Power: Political Theater in the English Renaissance. London: University of California Press, 1975.
25. Richman, David. Laughter, Pain and Wonder: Shakespeare’s Comedies and the Audience in the Theatre. London: University of Delaware Press, 1990.
26. Teague, Frances. Acting Funny: Comic Theory and Practice in Shakespeare’s Plays. London: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1994.

※ taken from Dr. Vivienne Westbrook's syllabus for the course "Shakespeare and Humor."