Jewish Humor
Examines the notion of Jewish humor through jokes, stories, films, websites, art, and kitsch, tracing techniques from Eastern and Central Europe to North America with focus on Jewish American humor.
Summary
What you’ll be able to do
Discern and integrate divergent and contradictory perspectives, identify and question assumptions, and assess evidence and methods
Demonstrate close-reading skills with which to analyze humor and American ethnicity, question assumptions about the popular representation of Jewish identity, and explore how humor manages and mobilizes questions of race, ethnicity, and religion
Engage in reflective writing practices, respond critically to feedback, and assess one’s own communicative strengths
Engage in deep discussion with peers in a respectful and empathetic manner, ask each other constructive questions, develop a shared vocabulary with which to speak about Jewish humor, and, in doing so, explore preconceived notions about identities “inside” and “outside” students’ social circles
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2
Grade history
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Prerequisites
Course mapSophomore standing
- Sophomore standing
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Prerequisite text tree
- Sophomore standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
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Student experience
the class
What is humor? Why and when do people tell jokes? And what do we make of the fact that a certain form of humor has come to be labeled "Jewish"? Examine the notion of "Jewish humor" by reading a variety of texts (jokes, short stories, films, websites, conceptual art, and cultural kitsch). Begin by considering theoretical explorations of humor and "Jewish humor." Then trace techniques of Jewish humor from eastern Europe to central Europe to North America, paying specific attention to Jewish American humor. Themes to be examined include: in-group vs. out-group humor; humor and ethnicity; performance and "Jewface"; Jewish-Christian difference; humor and the Holocaust; gender and ethnicity; the notion of self-hatred; American popular culture; and the relationship between humor, repetition, and innovation. The general goal is to answer the question: Is there such a thing as "Jewish humor"? (Hint: The answer may be "no.")
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- In-group vs. out-group humor, humor and ethnicity, Jewface, Jewish-Christian difference, Holocaust, gender, self-hatred, American popular culture, and humor/repetition/innovation
- Theoretical explorations of humor and Jewish humor
- Geographic tracing of Jewish humor techniques from Eastern/Central Europe to North America
- Questioning the existence of a distinct category of Jewish humor
Skills
- Close-reading analysis of humor and American ethnicity
- Integrating divergent perspectives and questioning assumptions
- Reflective writing and critical response to feedback
- Peer discussion and shared vocabulary development on Jewish humor
Grades
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Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
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Model & dataset provenance
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