Original Query from Ara Rodgers, USF Senior Program, University South Florida, Tampa
The USF Senior Program in Tampa, Florida is thinking of developing a new course entitled "Let's All Have a Good Laugh." It would involve videos and readings from humorists like Mark Twain, Ogden Nash, Neil Simon, Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Shakespeare, etc. Has your program ever offered such a course? If so, how did you cover this topic and how successful was it? Thanks for your help.

From Rita Wuehrmann, OLLI, Yavapai College, Prescott, AZ
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Prescott Arizona has done several humor-based groups and they have been extremely popular. They have ranged from the scientific approach about how humor affects us physically and psychically, to the laughter club approach, to a whole group filled with viewing the Three Stooges, Red Skelton, etc., sharing jokes, dressing in funny costumes, etc.

From Jon Cheston, Senior College, University of Maine, Hutchinson Center, Belfast
We've offered such a course here in Belfast and it was so popular we're doing an encore this spring. Would be happy to share info.

From the Sharon Simson, Legacy Program, University of Maryland, College Park
The United States has a serious health problem. Studies indicate poor eating habits, beginning in childhood, contribute to the development of obesity, diabetes, health disease and stroke. Legacy Leadership Institute on Humor Practices seeks to address this problem. The Institute provides volunteer community service by training people age 50+ to use a unique vehicle, humor practices, to deliver a message about healthy living to children. This Institute is based on an international model combining lifelong learning and civic engagement and is one of the Legacy Leadership Institutes developed by the Center on Aging under the direction of Laura B. Wilson, PhD. The Institute is a partnership between the University of Maryland Center on Aging and the Gliner Center for Humor Studies, under the direction of Lawrence E. Mintz, in the Department of American Studies. A generous donation by Art Gliner has made it possible to translate humor research and studies into practice.

From Sandra Kerr, LIFE Institute, Ryerson University, Ontario
Interestingly we have done a similar program...and in fact we are doing a much more direct program this winter. In the past we have looked at comedy as an art form, and had a few sessions on developing your own comedic monologue. We have also studied comedy through literature - but I don't believe it has been an extensive survey, more specifically on one or two humourists. Because we live within hailing distance of the home of Stephen Leacock, and since he was such a noted Canadian humourist, we have also studied him in particular. This winter we are presenting a course entitled: Laughter fit: Being like a Kid again, Laughing Like I Did Again. Here's the writeup: There are two universal languages: one is music and the other is laughter. Modern science continues to confirm the benefits of laughter. Just as it is difficult to be in two places at once, so is it difficult to be with your stress and suffering at the same time as you have given yourself over to belly laughter. Come join Arnie Allice, a certified laughter facilitator who will help guide you through delightful and mirthful two hour sessions. Absolutely no sense of humour required. Lots of class participation.
It has a full house, so it will be interesting to see what happens in class!!

From Nancy Schweingruber, LIR, Bluffton University, Ohio
Yes, the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio, offered a class called "Laughing Matters" in the fall of 2004. Following is the description of the course: "A believer that laughing is good for what ails you, Ted Bunn will present a program about men who have helped millions to laugh. Your chuckles and laughter will be hard to control as you experience an overview of Ted's favorite comedians illustrated by film, audio, and video samplings. The works of Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Victor Borge, Johnny Carson, and Bob and Ray will be plentiful. See how comedians can be classified as reactors, aggressors, storytellers, or critics. Join in and laugh out loud. See how much better you feel!" The course was extremely successful.

From Patricia Edie, OMNILORE, Redondo Beach, CA
About two years ago our organization offered a course on Humor. We called it "What's So Funny About That?" We use a peer-learning format for our Study/Discussion Groups where each member who signs up for the class researches a subject related to the topic we are studying and then teaches it to the rest of the class on a predetermined date...so we teach each other. In this course, we all also read a book that analyzed humor. We did not care for the book and decided that analyzing humor was like dissecting a frog...no one likes to do it and the frog dies. Humor, when under in deep scrutiny, also dies. However, the class was a success, in spite of the book. Members did research on the following topics: British Wartime Humor, Ernie Kovacs, The Humor of Will Rogers, Political Humor and Satire, Healing with Humor, Cartoons, Humor in Advertising, Humor and Creativity, "A Fish Called Wanda," and Jewish Humor. We came to appreciate various types of humor and realized that being able to see the humor in life and personal situations is a form of "cognitive restructuring," a way to get your thoughts back under control. We did lighten up, we learned about the dynamic of humor and we laughed.

From Mickey Henriquez, Duke ILR, Duke University, NC
My name is Mickey Henriquez. I have been a member and teacher at The Duke Institute for Learning in Retirement for the last 18 years. Sara Craven, our director, forwarded your request for information about a humor course being considered at an institute in Tampa. (my hometown!) Although I generally teach classes in literature, history, and philosophy, I have taught a favorite course a number of times during my tenure at DILR. It has always appealed to a number of our members. I repeat it from time to time. Some students even return for an encore. The course is an adaptation of a course I used to teach as an elective to seniors in high school. I called it “The Gift of Laughter." I used to tell my students that a good HQ (Humor Quotient) is just as necessary as a good IQ if they hoped to make it past 40 in this world of stress. They especially needed to laugh at themselves from time to time. Now speaking to real seniors in retirement, I remind them, as many scientists are now verifying, that laughter is good medicine for whatever ails them. The course has varied in content each time I taught it, but there were some common denominators: 1. A discussion of the elements of humor," what makes us laugh": (exaggeration, the unexpected, violation of taboos, etc.) 2. Illustrations of the different faces of humor (word play, satire, comics, political cartoons, pantomime, bloopers, humorous verse, etc.) 3. Videos and recordings of classic and modern humorists and comedians who have kept us sane through the ages 4. Opportunities for the students to present monologues or comedy routines before the class. (The last session of the class is often a comedy variety show to give students a chance to display their HQ) 5. A serious discussion of how laughter is being used as therapy by doctors at Duke and elsewhere. The last time I taught my course on humor was at the end of the 20th century. I called it "A Celebration of a Century of Comedy". In this course I emphasized the evolution of comedy from Chaplin and Keaton to Abbott and Costello to the Marx Brothers all the way to Burns and Allen, Benny, and Lucy. There are many videos available to accomplish this. We found a course in Humor very successful with our members at DILR. It is particularly needed by seniors. Our common humanity is rooted in our capacity to cry and to laugh. Chaplin said it best: "Through humor, we see in what seems rational, the irrational; in what seems important, the unimportant. It also heightens our sense of survival and preserves our sanity."

From Rose Arthur, RISE Program Rivier College, NH
In Spring 2004 RISE did the course: Hunting for Humor: Increase your heart rate with laughter. Humor broadens our perspective, reduces stress and makes a difficult situation more manageable. Come and explore humor in action as we review comedy videos and films. It was a smashing success and we will repeat it with different materials this Spring 2005.

From Rebecca Rousch, Lifetime Learners Institute, S. FL Community College, Avon Park
Our Lifetime Learners Institute hired a local man last year to do a mini-series on humor. His name is Bob Kenney; his address is 1132 Shadow Ridge Drive, Sebring, FL 33872; 863-385-3066. He is an accomplished speaker, he did a lot of research for the program, and he has several other programs that he has presented to our LLI group and to school districts in Connecticut. I recommend him highly. Please feel free to tell him that I referred him to you.

From Mary Burkhart, Academy for Lifelong Learning, Auburn University, AL
The Auburn University Academy for Lifelong Learners has offered a number of study groups on humor. Titles have been "Humor," "Humor in Life," and "Humor in Society and Its Place in the Aging Process." All have been successful. Would be happy to share info.