Television is perhaps the most ubiquitous and overlooked of all media. In its various forms—as commercial broadcast receiver, video playback unit, surveillance agent, art object, gaming and computer screen—it has come to shape our reality, yet few have stopped to examine the medium in any depth. This is because the medium appears transparent to us. We take its narratives, images, and effects for granted because they appear to be “harmless entertainment.” The problem is compounded by the fact that we live with the receiver, arranging our rooms around it and casually talking to it as to a friend. This course will begin, therefore, by “making television strange,” deliberately shifting our assumptions about it so that we can see it for the powerful social medium that it is. We will work to instill the notion that entertainment is never neutral. Instead, it teaches us to comprehend and even arrange our existence in certain ways but not others. By actively refusing the impulse to take TV for granted, we will establish a critical vantage point from which to question the social positions that television invites us to occupy, especially the positions of consumer and couch potato. This course will be conducted through lecture and discussion with weekly screenings of relevant TV programming unavailable outside of class. Evaluation will consist of 10 on-line discussion postings, 1 essay (5-10 pages), 1 group project, and 2 exams.

Attendance and Participation: Students are expected to attend every class and participate actively in class discussions, both real and virtual. I want to be able to remember each and every one of you from something you have said in class, office hours, e-mail, or on-line that makes a constructive contribution to the class. 

Group Project: With a partner, you will construct a historical timeline for a single year of television during either the 1970s or 1980s. Your presentation should identify key programs and/or genres for the year, important developments in the TV industry for that year (including technological innovations, regulatory rulings, and/or business mergers), and central historical events of the year as these relate to TV. Your grade will derive from a 10-15 minute oral presentation of your timeline, and a brief (1-2 page) written explanation of how television developed as a technology and a cultural form over that year. I will provide a list of possible resources to aid you in this assignment, but it will require you to do additional independent research in the library (I will strictly limit the amount of internet material you can use for this assignment). Consult the ASSIGNMENTS folder of Blackboard for details of the assignment, and the Schedule of Readings for the due date.

Essay: You will write one extended analytical essay (5-10 pages) as your final for this course. The selection of topics will be provided to you as the assignment nears. Again, this assignment will require you to do independent research and analysis using the library's resources. Consult the Schedule of Readings for the due date. No late papers will be accepted under any circumstances--don't even ask!