Course Description

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Workplaces are dynamic and ever-changing. New ways of doing things and new norms are constantly replacing the old. Laughter in the workplace is no different, as new humor styles and norms constantly emerge. This course explores this dynamic area, giving participants a chance to delve into laughter’s positive benefits and potential pitfalls. Participants examine the ideas of brilliant thinkers and works of art to explore different sides or aspects of laughter. A central part of the course is the chance to interact online with the instructor and course participants to share insights, different points-of-view, and experiences from a variety of workplaces. This creates part of the course’s rich exchange. Students learn the nature of destructive forms of laughter and how to avoid them while learning how to embrace the sort of workplace laughter that builds, lifts, and encourages.

Course Outline

The course is divided into six, two-hour online discussions. Learners prepare for each discussion on their own beforehand. Below is a breakdown of the six class discussions:

• Session 1: Discussion of the “Pilot” episode of M*A*S*H (Season 1, Episode 1); Discussion of the chapter “Popular 70’s Television Show or Human Resources Training Video?” from Can Laughter Make the World a Better Place?
• Session 2: Discussion of Thomas Ford, Christie Boxer, Jacob Armstrong, and Jessica Edel’s article “More Than ‘Just a Joke’: The Prejudice-Releasing Function of Sexist Humor”; Discussion of the “Golden Ticket” episode of The Office (Season 5, Episode 19) as well as the “Boiling it Down” assignment
• Session 3:  Discussion of the chapter “Edged Tools and the Death of a Branch Manager” from Can Laughter Make the World a Better Place?; Discussion of the “Burning Man” episode of Malcolm in the Middle (Season 7, Episode 1)  
  Session 5: Discussion of the chapter “Edged Tools and the Death of a Branch Manager” from Can Laughter Make the World a Better Place?; Discussion of the “Burning Man” episode of Malcolm in the Middle (Season 7, Episode 1) 
• Session 4: Discussion of the chapter “Malcolm and a Dead Russian Go to Burning Man” from Can Laughter Make the World a Better Place?; Discussion of Roberto Benigni’s film Life is Beautiful as well as the “Boiling it Down” assignment
• Session 5: Discussion of the chapter “The Dad Jokes Chapter with a Secret at the End” in Can Laughter Make the World a Better Place?; Discussion of Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special Nanette
• Session 6: Discussion of the chapter “Nobody Here is Leaving this Room a Better Person” in Can Laughter Make the World a Better Place?; Discussion of each student’s “Greatest Human Resources Laughter Training Ever!” 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

• Describe the pitfalls of prejudicial, sexist, and other harmful forms of laughter that are destructive to a workplace environment.
• Describe neutral forms of laughter and how they may or may not contribute to a workplace environment.
• Describe different forms of positive and uplifting laughter that may make substantial contributions to a workplace environment.
• Develop and refine their thinking about laughter in the workplace through interactive discussions with other participates to hear and share a wide variety of perspectives and experiences.
• Develop the students own thinking with “Boiling it Down” assignments where students document and analyze key principles.
• Synthesize and creatively respond to course content with a final presentation in the form of the “Greatest Human Resources Laughter Training Ever!”

About the Instructor

Dr. Shawn Tucker, who holds the PhD in Humanities from Florida State University, began teaching at Elon in 2000. He has spent over a decade teaching courses related to laughter. One of his courses introduces the Humanities with the theme of laughter. A second course is a seminar that explores different theories of why we laugh as well as the ethics of laughter. Over that time, Dr. Tucker has done extensive research on laughter. He has presented his findings at scholarly conferences in places like Oxford, Prague, London, Paris, Washington DC, and Orem, Utah. He has authored scholarly articles and book chapters dealing with laughter. In 2022 Wipf & Stock published his book Can Laughter Make the World a Better Place?