Colleges need more comedy
We live in humorless times, and yet the need to laugh seems more vital than ever.
Conversations on college campuses are tense right now, if they happen at all. I have taught on a university campus for close to two decades, but only recently have I started to give some consideration to comedy as a serious source of study.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit and teaching went virtual, I struggled to keep my undergraduates engaged. COVID-19 crippled us to the core, and my students' minds were perpetually elsewhere. Eventually, they felt fatigued by doom and gloom. That's when I decided to test out some humor.
Never a confident comedian, I initially felt awkward. However, the light-hearted laughter came with patience and time. Having learned from my stepson that many members of Gen Z appreciate puns, I started with verbal irony and progressed from there. Certain jokes didn't resonate — and they still don't — but I have learned over time to roll with the punches.
Today, I weave humor into everything and, as an English professor, I find so many promising parallels between jokes and narratives. As the humanities increasingly becomes a target in our data-driven world of deliverables and returns on investment, the study and practice of humor has the potential to enhance and enrich higher education.
Humor studies, an interdisciplinary field that extends from literature and writing to business and health care professions, has grown over the past decade or so. A Google Scholar search reveals that 2010 produced many pieces on pedagogy and comedy. Learning through laughter became a prevalent theme 15 years ago, but nothing that I can find considers humorous healing through higher education during our turbulent times on college campuses.
Still, humor is a subject of widespread interest among both those in academia and the larger public. As the world welcomes Pope Leo, I came across a New York Times opinion piece by his predecessor titled 'There is Faith in Humor.' Pope Francis argues that laughter is central to living, just as humor humanizes us. The piece also emphasizes the centrality of comedy to Catholic faith, interfaith conversations and social justice.
Humor and comedy take courage, of course, and also coincide with creative and critical thinking.
Amidst concerns about campus censorship, the study of humor is central to both the liberal arts and pre-professional programs. Students come to my classes believing that serious literature is dry and grim, but my message to them is that deep learning can come from a serious examination of funny narratives and situations.
This idea often resonates not only with English majors, but with future business leaders and health care professionals who see laughter as crucial to lifelong learning and their future careers. Allison Beard's 2014 Harvard Business Review piece 'Leading with Humor' convincingly argues that a sense of humor in managers and directors can go a long way to diffusing conflict and leading with conviction.
Humor is also tied to human survival, even during the darkest days. Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl writes in 'Man's Search for Meaning' that 'humor was another of the soul's weapons in the fight for self-preservation.' Although Aristotle distinguishes the two in 'The Poetics,' one of the earliest works of literary criticism in the Western tradition, the ancient Greek thinker claims that comedy is never very far from tragedy.
Steve Allen, the first host of 'The Tonight Show,' said that 'comedy is tragedy plus time.' Though it may seem challenging, today's times are appropriate for humor. In this age of artificial intelligence, humor humanizes our writing and teaching. Context is crucial, of course, as is sensitivity to language.
The next generation of learners can certainly benefit from this focus on lifelong learning through laughter, which in many ways is the freest form of expression.
Cara Erdheim Kilgallen is an author and associate professor of English at Sacred Heart University.
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This is a picture of the best espresso shot I pulled on the Stilosa, using artisanal, locally-roasted specialty beans and the Comandante C40 MK4 grinder. As I'm sure you're aware by now, achieving an espresso shot like this is only possible because of a premium grinder and specialty beans. With this extra effort, there's no need to spend $$$ on an espresso machine. You'll need to look for the following specs: While the De'Longhi Stilosa doesn't have a PID (which is a temperature controller built-in to the machine to prevent burning and weak espresso), it is literally $149. At this price point, you can't really ask for much more. It's worth noting that other home baristas have successfully modded the Stilosa with PID controllers, so not all is lost. As the De'Longhi Stilosa I tested has both 9-bar pressure and single-walled portafilters, I was able to pull technically perfect espresso. If you follow my advice, there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to achieve this too. 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These are all fixable problems though. The inherent espresso-making ability of the machine? Off-the-charts good. I'll be the first person to admit that a lot of budget espresso machines are very questionable. But not the De'Longhi Stilosa. With the extra work I discussed earlier, I was able to make $500-machine worthy espresso on the $149 Stilosa. However, without the effort, the espresso will most definitely taste like it was made on a cheap machine. So, if the cheap espresso machine has the following things: 9-bar pressure, single-walled portafilter baskets, a shower screen with even water distribution, and (maybe) a PID controller, then there's nothing stopping it performing like a premium model. With the right tools, coffee, and barista, of course. Although I was really impressed by the Stilosa for the price, I'm not really ready to give up my La Specialista Opera yet. (I actually kind of regret getting the Opera and really want a Breville Bambino Plus, but that's another story.) Steaming milk on the Stilosa requires a little more effort than other machines, because the steam wand can be a little overexcited. Take a look at the latte I made with the Stilosa. This is after 3 1/2 years as a barista, bear in mind. My latte art could still do with some work (I'm yet to master the tulip), but I think a more inexperienced barista might need a little more time to get adjusted to the Stilosa's overexcited steam wand. On top of that, if you're a barista who just wants coffee and doesn't want to spend lots of time and mental effort making that coffee? Then I think the Stilosa might not be for you. I'd recommend something like the De'Longhi Rivelia in that case, but it'll cost you — $1,499. I knew this already, but swapping my La Specialista Opera for the Stilosa reaffirmed my belief that good coffee needs one thing: a good barista who knows what they're doing. 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