TCF 311 Critical Studies in Television

The objective of this course is to introduce the student to television critical studies, or what is commonly called, within academics, "television studies" (a parallel with film studies).

We will seek, first of all, to understand television as a unique meaning-producing medium -- dissecting television's narrative and non-narrative structures and its uses of mise-en-scene, cinematography / videography, editing, and sound. Second, we will confront the critical methods that have been applied to the medium over the past 20 years: semiotics, genre study, ideological criticism, cultural studies, and so on.

Our goal is to become more intelligent, alert, critical viewers of television.

TCF 311's learning outcomes:

Students will learn to understand the shaping of television history and the impact of diverse groups on that history; to understand professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity; to write correctly and clearly (evaluating their work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, appropriate style, and grammatical correctness); to evaluate concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and narratives; and to think critically, creatively, and independently.

• 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 25 points each.
• Extra Credit Option: An extra credit option, worth 3 points and due 5 December, is explained here.
  
  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.

Numerous TV programs will be shown on 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.

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, Third Edition (Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007). See the companion Website at TVCrit.com.

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.