Module Identifier |
TF23820 |
Module Title |
AMERICAN POPULAR TELEVISION |
Academic Year |
2005/2006 |
Co-ordinator |
Dr Mikel Koven |
Semester |
Semester 2 |
Pre-Requisite |
TF10420 |
Course delivery |
Lecture | |
|
Seminars / Tutorials | |
|
Other | SCREENINGS |
Assessment |
Assessment Type | Assessment Length/Details | Proportion |
Semester Assessment | Essay | 60% |
Semester Exam | | 40% |
|
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
-
PARTICIPATE IN THE CRITICAL DEBATES WHICH INFORM THE STUDY OF POPULAR TELEVISION
-
BE ABLE TO USE THE TELEVISUAL TEXT AS SUPPORT FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION WITHIN THOSE DEBATES
Content
Lecture topics and illustrative shows (subject to change):
"Must-See-TV": American network television (Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier); Ideology (ER, 24, Law and Order); Gender (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena: Warrior Princess); Ethnicity and Race (The Sopranos); Exploitation and Reality TV (Cops, Mounties, Rescue 911); Satire (The Simpsons, South Park, The Family Guy); Postmodernism (Twin Peaks, Firefly); Fandom (Star Trek); Folklore (The X-Files); American TV: globalization or colonization?
Seminar topics (subject to change):
Textual analysis; Representational analysis; television as cultural discourse; postmodernism and self-reflexivity; colonialism.
Brief description
This module examines American popular television as a dominant force within the discourse of contemporary television studies. Through examining some of the various theoretical debates within television studies, using American popular television shows as illustrative texts, this module focuses on developing students' abilities in textual analysis of the television text and their understanding of the relevant critical theory debates.
Reading Lists
Books
Casey, N, Casey, B, Lewis J, Calvert, B and French, L (2001) Television Studies: The Key Concepts
Routledge
Creeber, G ed. (2001) The Television Genre Handbok
BFI
Fiske, J (2003) Reading the Popular
Routledge
Fiske, J and Hartley, J (2003) Reading Television
Routledge
Geraghty, C and Lusted D (eds) (1997) The Television Studies Book
Arnold
Jancovich, M and Lyons, J (eds) (2003) Quality Popular Television
BFI
Kaveney, R (ed.) (2002) Reading the Vampire Slayer
Tauris Parke
Laverey, D (ed.) (2002) THis Thing of Ours: Investigating THe Sopranos
Wallflower
Lavery, D (ed.) (1995) Full of Secrets: Critical Approaches to Twin Peaks
Wayne State UP
Lavery, D. Hague, A . and Cartwright, M. (eds.) (1996) Deny All Knowledge: Reading the X-Files
Faber and Faber
Miller, T ed. (2002) Television Studies
BFI
Morley, D (1992) Television, Audiences, and Cultural Studies
Routledge
Neale, S and Krutnik, F (1990) Popular Film and Television Comedy
Routledge
Wilcox, R and Lavery, D (eds.) (2002) Fighting the Forces
Rowman and Littlefield
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5