This class considers theories of humor in relation to contemporary performance. After tracing the development of classic theories of comedy, the course then explores recent writings that use comic genres and sensibilities to analyze larger structural and cultural forces. The class focuses on a set of contemporary artists whose performance practices are shaped by their use of humor (Autumn Knight, Morgan Bassichis, New Red Order, Ligia Lewis, Alex Tatarsky). The course also considers other contemporary artists (Martine Syms, Nina Katchadourian, Martin Creed, David Leggett, Christine Sun Kim) and canonical artists (William Pope.L, Cindy Sherman, Bruce Nauman) for whom humor is essential. Together, the class asks what humor creates, investigates comedic form, and explores what might not be able to be expressed otherwise. A slippery subject: writing and thinking about the comic are not easy. As such, most important will be the class as a group, and how students function together with their idiosyncratic sensibilities for what is funny and how that shapes how they act and exist in the world.