Teaching Documents
What is television today? In what ways are television's aesthetics and economics changing in the age of the mobisode and video iPod? How have representations of gender, race and class changed due to television’s transformation from a three-channel mass medium to a multi-channel niche-oriented medium? These and many other issues regarding television’s past and present role as a cultural, social, political and industrial force will be explored over the course of the semester.
This course has two primary goals: First, we will trace the development of television studies from a humanistic perspective, exploring a variety of critical approaches which have been taken in the study of the medium. We will look at some of the “canonical” texts from the last three decades and consider the ways in which they have continued to shape ideas in this still young and emerging field of study.
Second, we will look at recent work in television studies as a means of assessing both the changing nature of television and of television studies as an area of inquiry. The readings for the class will explore the range of industrial/institutional, sociocultural, textual and audience analyses, approaches and issues presently being discussed by television studies scholars.
LikeHow do the contemporary media industries work? How did they develop in this fashion? How can an analysis of the “business of entertainment” enable a greater understanding of contemporary media aesthetics and culture? In other words, why does it matter that News. Corp. owns Harper Collins publishing, Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News, the FOX network, myspace.com, the New York Post and many, many other entities around the world?
Three main objectives will guide us throughout the semester:
• First, we will trace the development – and increasing interrelatedness – of the media industries from the early twentieth century to the present. We will consider the ways in which regulatory and technological shifts, as well as growing impulses toward globalization, have intersected with industrial changes.
• Second, we will look at the range of theoretical and critical approaches which have been taken toward the media industries. In the process, we will read several “case studies” that provide examples of each of these theoretical approaches.
• Third, we will explore the emerging field of “media industry studies.” This field, which incorporates work in film, media, communications and cultural studies, argues for the importance of integrating analysis of media structures with consideration of cultural and textual matters.
This course will prove useful not only to media studies students but also to filmmakers and screenwriters interested in understanding how and why certain media products do (and do not) get produced and distributed. Although our readings will focus most heavily on the film and television industries, students are encouraged to explore such areas as video games, comic books, publishing, and radio in their final projects.
Add Comment