1 Draft Syllabus This syllabus is subject to change. Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture Fall 2017 Stockholm 3 Credits Major Disciplines: Communications. Media Studies. Film Studies. Faculty Member: TBD Program Director: Iben de Neergaard, [email protected]Program Coordinator: Louise Bjerre Bojsen, [email protected]Program Assistant: Jenny Han, [email protected]Description of Course: TV shows and sitcoms like Game of Thrones, Glee, Welcome to Sweden, The Office, Modern Family, I Love Lucy; and characters like Cosby, Homer Simpson, and Will and Grace both reflect and shape our societies’ gender roles, race relations, class divisions, sexual norms, and values. This course critically analyzes the history and importance of this TV genre in the U.S., England, and Scandinavia as mirrors of society and culture. The course offers an introduction to television history in the USA and Europe, on one hand presenting the rise of television in its various organizational forms (e.g. BBC in 1936 and NBC in 1939), and on the other, looking at concrete television genres and programs, and analyzing them as sociological mirrors or portraits of the time in which they were made. Each class will concentrate on one period, theme or aspect of television history and/or analysis and will often include a related viewing of a concrete program. The approach will analytical, aesthetical, and historical.
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1
Draft Syllabus
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture Fall 2017
Stockholm 3 Credits
Major Disciplines: Communications. Media Studies. Film Studies. Faculty Member: TBD
TV shows and sitcoms like Game of Thrones, Glee, Welcome to Sweden, The Office, Modern Family, I Love Lucy; and characters like Cosby, Homer Simpson, and Will and Grace both reflect and shape our societies’ gender roles, race relations, class divisions, sexual norms, and values. This course critically analyzes the history and importance of this TV genre in the U.S., England, and Scandinavia as mirrors of society and culture.
The course offers an introduction to television history in the USA and Europe, on one hand presenting the rise of television in its various organizational forms (e.g. BBC in 1936 and NBC in 1939), and on the other, looking at concrete television genres and programs, and analyzing them as sociological mirrors or portraits of the time in which they were made. Each class will concentrate on one period, theme or aspect of television history and/or analysis and will often include a related viewing of a concrete program. The approach will analytical, aesthetical, and historical.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, each student will have gained:
• A sound knowledge of the history of American and European television and its relation to cultural and social conditions.
• An understanding of the basic facts and methods of media analysis. • The ability to produce an academic research paper demonstrating critical media literacy and the ability to
interpret and discuss the history of American and European television.
Required texts:
All readings are to be found on Canvas
Excerpts from, among others, these books:
Anthony Smith (1998): Television: An International History
Gorman & McLean (2003): Media and Society in the Twentieth Century (Blackwell)
Steven D. Stark (1997): Glued to the Set (Dell Publishing)
Gerard Jones (1992): Honey I’m Home. Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream (St. Martin’s Press)
Edward Buscombe (2000): British Television. A Reader (Clarendon Press)
John Corner (ed., 1991): Popular British Television. Studies in Cultural History (BFI)
Christopher Anderson (1994): Hollywood TV (University of Texas Press)
Robert C. Allen (2009): Channels of Discourse, Reassembled (Routledge)
Neil Postman (1985, 2005): Amusing Ourselves to Death (New Edition, Penguin, 2005)
Method: The course will include lectures, discussions of shows and required readings, and viewings of individual shows.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance at all scheduled classes is required, and each student is responsible for all material covered or assigned in class. All papers and exams must be completed in order to pass the course. Included in the computation of the final grade in the course is participation. Participation extends to all class sessions, film viewings, as well as activity in class discussion and a general contribution to the progress of the class. If you miss two classes, the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student affairs will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS
Laptop Computer Policy:
While most students find that taking notes by hand in class is quite sufficient for review purposes, you are allowed to use a computer in class for writing lecture/discussion notes. However, you are asked not to use your computer in class to write emails, connect to social media, surf the internet or other such activities as this is quite disrespectful and distracting for both the teacher and your fellow students. Failure to show this courtesy will result in a reduction of your participation grade.
Field studies, practicum and/or study tour: Explain the purpose of the field study, study tour, or practicum sessions and indicate what form they will take for this class, and when they will take place. Outline study tour or practicum locations/requirements.
Grades:
The grades used by DIS instructors are as follows:
A = Excellent = 4
B = Well above average = 3
C = Average = 2
D = Below average but passing = 1
P = Pass
F = Failure or failure to complete = 0
I = Incomplete (only issued in place of final course grade if an agreement exists for completion by a definite deadline which is approved by the instructor and the DIS registrar).
Evaluation
Short Paper 10 %
Midterm 30 %
Research paper (incl. draft) 40 %
Class Participation (incl. ‘TV Moment’) 20 %
Midterm:
The test consists of questions of relatively simple facts (e.g., who is the artist behind this or that program?), questions of more complex character (like: mention the characteristics of this or that genre), and questions to be answered with a short essay. The answers will be weighted differently.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS
Research Paper Draft: You are to prepare a draft of your Research Paper, which will be discussed in groups in class, and handed in afterwards. The draft should indicate the topic of your paper, the issue/question/problem you wish to investigate/discuss, a detailed outline, and the sources you intend to use. When grading the final version of the research paper, the draft will be considered. Research Paper: The topics for the research paper are decided by the student and the instructor together. Normally, it would be on (or relate to) subjects and television programs dealt with in the course. It is possible to write about other topics by agreement with the instructor. Suggested structure of your paper: 1. Table of contents. 2. Introduction: Presentation of the subject to be investigated. An overview of the contents. A comment on the methodology. 3. Description: Summaries, observations, references. 4. Analysis: Comments, discussions, comparisons. 5. Summary and conclusion. 6. Notes & Bibliography. The paper should be based on the required reading, the additional reading found in the DIS library and/or the Danish Film Institute Library, the programs seen in class, the class lectures and discussions. In the Introduction and Description, the factual material is presented. The main emphasis, though, should be on the analysis - that is, your personal discussion of the material. It is necessary to present the substance of the topic through paraphrasing and quotations (remember, always to footnote sources of direct quotations), but it is not sufficient only to paraphrase. The analysis of the material - your personal understanding and interpretation - is the important part of the paper. The paper should normally include a relatively detailed analysis of one of the concrete programs you have seen within the subject. Length: Approx. 12 type written pages, or approx. 3600 words.
Draft schedule of class:
The shaping of television in the 1950s
1. Introduction to the course.
The history and development of Radio and Television, c. 1922 - 1950