ENGL 3270: Funny Business

ENGL 3270: Funny Business, a new 3-credit course, will be offered for the first time during the Fall 2026 semester. The course will be offered online and taught by Associate Professor Nate Straight.

Nate says the course was inspired by students. “It’s undeniable that a lot of the beautiful, inspiring, important works we read as English majors deal with heavy topics, so I wanted to take seriously students’ repeated requests for a course that lightens the mood,” he says.  “I hope Funny Business will do that many times over as different faculty bring their own versions to life in future semesters.”

In the class, students will spend time reading, discussing, and mimicking literature in the university satire sub-genre. They will discuss not only the history of comedic literature, but also what makes something funny.

“We’ll find lots of funny in such daily docs as application letters, evaluations, recommendations, hype videos, job announcements, administrative statements, mission and vision statements, course descriptions, and more, and students will have plenty of opportunities to flex their creative and comedic muscles as they write their own versions,” Nate says. “Every new course is an adventure into the unknown, but I can say that I’ve never had more fun putting one together.”