Final Project Proposal: A Pedagogical Website on the Rhetoric of Satire

Based on some of the feedback I received regarding my satirical radio assignment, it seems that it might be useful for me to construct a website that would both operate as a resource for a course I may someday teach on the rhetoric of satire and offer some pedagogical justification for such a course (and for the more general rhetorical significance of satire). Thus, this website will present theory of satire as well as various multi-modal examples. Embedded videos, links to comic strips, etc. will allow the site to show examples side-by-side for comparison, and I will be able to illustrate concepts such as the difference between parody and satire (The Family Guy tends to parody whereas South Park tends to satirize). Additionally, while fair use allows for some pedagogical use of copyrighted materials, there is also plenty of satire in the public domain that I can include on the site, such as Twain, Swift, etc.

The site will primarily use HTML, although I may also use some Java script. I've already arranged for access to OU's new server that houses faculty and student websites. The research involved will primarily consist of finding sources that discuss some of the key aspects of satire (irony, invective, the tendency of satire to divide people based on who gets the joke and who is the target of it, etc.). I will also need to find examples of the different kinds of satire the site discusses, and to properly format these examples. The course would require a lot of analysis from the students, so I may also include some resources that would be helpful in that capacity.