Go to this linkLinks to an external site. to watch a slideshow presentation of the rise of Puck magazine in the latter half of the 19th century. (40minutes)

For over 40 years Puck was the preeminent humor magazine in American. It was the first successful humor magazine in the United States with colorful cartoons, caricatures and political satire of the issues of the day. The weekly magazine was founded by Joseph Ferdinand Keppler in St. Louis. A typical 32-page issue of The weekly magazine contained a full-color political cartoon on the front cover and a color non-political cartoon or comic strip on the back cover. There was always a double-page color centerfold, usually on a political topic. There were numerous black-and-white cartoons used to illustrate humorous anecdotes. A page of editorials commented on the issues of the day.

Lectures and readings are an integral part of understanding the nature of satire. you should write up your “reflection” in 300 words or so online (no longer than a standard page). You can cover a single topic or idea you were presented with that resonated with you, or a quick overview of the session and why you think it might be important to the understanding of satire or what you have learned.

TOPICS in the 40 minutes lecture that you will watch:

• The rise of the satire magazine.
• American Imperialism re-imagines democracy, for other countries
• Imperialism and racism: two sides of the same coin?
• A country of immigrants or something else?

Read: the readings that you need

• The brief histories of important illustrated newspapers and satire magazines of 19th century on the IMAGES (Links to an external site.) page of this site.
• A Splendid Little War (a brief look at the Spanish-American War and its consequences)

• Cartoons and Conquest (Puck magazine takes on the conquest of the Philippines)