WRITING 3102
Modern Humor Writing
This course will analyze and put into practice what makes good humor writing both good and humorous, from subject matter to the mechanics of setting up a punchline, from crafting an unexpected metaphor to perfecting the reversal. We will write and workshop humorous personal essays, commentary, and satire, using as models examples from humorists and humorous writers from the past decade, including writers like Issa Rae, Andy Borowitz, Tina Fey, Samantha Irby, Simon Rich, Mindy Kaling, and David Sedaris. This course counts toward the Creative Writing specialization
Instructors
Reviews
Heather is a hilarious wonderful amazing professor. Just cares SO much about her students. Class is always a little chaotic and all over the place but in the best possible way. Modern Humor Writing was such a joy to have in my schedule and I recommend it to people all the time. If you can take any class with Heather, do it.
7/28/2025
Heather is a great professor and really cares about her students. The class was engaging and I feel like I learned a lot about writing through her great feedback.
5/7/2025
Heather is awesome. Such a fun, intentional professor. Loved this class and learned a lot!
2/10/2025
If you can only take one class at WashU, TAKE MODERN HUMOR WRITING. Heather is incredibly funny and caring and the class is an easy A as long as you do all the work on time. Every single class I felt like I was learning something fun and I was constantly laughing. This class made me feel less stressed every time I was there which is so rare.
12/14/2023
Heather is wonderful and the classes are a joy to attend. She's an incredibly engaged, thoughtful and funny professor who genuinely cares about her students. We were assigned either 1 short essay or a reading/response assignment a week, which weren't too bad for me even as an engineer. I'd take Humor Writing again in an instant.
4/25/2019