• Four open book, open note exams, which will mostly consist of analytical essays of TV programs and be based on the principles in Television. The fourth exam will be held during the Final Exam period and will focus on Channels of Discourse. Worth 20 points each.
   
• A final paper that analyzes a single TV program or commercial in depth. Worth 20 points.
  
  This analysis must be word-processed and will be graded based on conceptual rigor and fluency of writing style. Any use of outside sources must be properly cited (that is, use footnotes). A bibliography and the credits (principal cast and crew) for the programs analyzed must be provided. (Two online sources for TV credits and episode information are the Internet Movie Database [www.imdb.com] and EpGuides.com. See links below to credits for programs used in class.)
  
  Please note: This is a seminar class which depends heavily upon students having done the readings and being prepared to discuss them in class. If the majority of the class fails to do a reading assignment then an in-class essay may be assigned and factored into the grading as part of the exam scores. Scooby Gangs.

Numerous TV programs will be shown on videotape/DVD in class. There will be no other screenings of the programs, but local video stores do carry a few of the titles, and two or three of them are available in the audio-visual section of the Gorgas Library.

Credits are available from the Internet Movie Database. Follow the links below to find credits.

Grades will be posted online via WebCT:

www.webct.ua.edu

Grading scale:

A+ 97-100   C+ 77-79    F  59 and below
A  93-96    C  73-76
A- 90-92    C- 70-72
B+ 87-89    D+ 67-69
B  83-86    D  63-66
B- 80-82    D- 60-62

Available at Local Bookstores:

1. Robert C. Allen, Channels of Discourse, Reassembled, second edition (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992).
2. Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications, Second Edition (Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001). See the companion Website at TVCrit.com.

(Note: The above listings follow the guidelines for footnotes specified in Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Citations in a bibliography use a slightly different format. You must use Turabian or another recognized style guide when creating citations in your papers. For Web or other online citations, use a guide such as The Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor [Columbia UP, 1998].)

All acts of dishonesty in any work constitute academic misconduct. The Code of Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Procedures will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.

The College of Communication & Information Sciences requires that all students enrolled in upper division courses (300/400 level) have a 2.0 GPA overall. Students who do not have the 2.0 GPA may be administratively disenrolled on the first day of class.

Students must earn a "C" or better in all required and elective courses in a C&IS major. A "C" or better is required in all external courses required by the major whether they serve as a prerequisite to a major course or are simply required by the major. This means a "C" of any kind.