Course Syllabus
Glued to the Screen: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture
Semester & Location: |
Spring 2022 – DIS Stockholm |
Type & Credits: |
Elective Course – 3 Credits |
Major Disciplines: |
Communication, Film Studies, Media Studies |
Prerequisite(s): |
None |
Faculty Members: |
Anne Bachmann, anne.h.bachmann@gmail.com |
Program Director: |
Andreas Brøgger |
Academic support: | |
Time & Place: |
Mondays & Thursdays, 13:15-14:35 Room: 1D-409 |
Description of the Course
From broadcast syndication to Netflix binge watching, our experience with television is dynamic and evolving. Yet, what persists is its power to shape our societies’ gender roles, race relations, class divisions, sexual norms, and values. This course introduces the notion of TV as a cultural forum, a social regulator, and a social critique. Using examples from American, Scandinavian, and also British television, we will analyze how TV operates by working through social issues, and how TV shows mirror societal concerns and assumptions.
Gender roles, race relations, class divisions, sexual norms, and other values in our societies are both reflected in and shaped by TV series and shows like I Love Lucy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or Parks and Recreation. This course critically views the history of, and reflects on the social importance of, TV fiction. The optics of the course are global as well as a national and transnational.
The course offers an introduction to television history in the USA and Europe/Scandinavia, on the one hand presenting the rise of television in its various organizational forms (e.g. BBC in 1936 and NBC in 1939), and on the other, looking at specific television genres and programs in the social contexts from the time in which they were made. Each class will concentrate on one period, theme or aspect of television history and/or analysis and will usually include some viewing material. The approach will be analytical, esthetical, and historical.
Some of the key words investigated are TV and domesticity, intimacy, flow, convergence and quality. We explore ways of pondering the relationship between representations on a screen and real-life society. The shows we study deal with social questions such as crime and guilt, sexuality and reproduction, the nuclear family, matrimony and divorce. Part of the material is Swedish and will partly be used as optics for discussing Sweden.
Tying in with the TV-historical side of the course, in the latter part of the course we will take a detailed look at the revolution in moving images which started with time-shifting devices such as VCR, larger selections of cable channels, and the remote control, and which is now present in streaming services, youtube videos and a convergence between TV and film material. How does television ”after” television maintain its social significance also when watched individually on personal screens?
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, each student will have gained:
- A sound knowledge of the history of television (mainly TV fiction) in the Western hemisphere and its relation to cultural and social conditions.
- An understanding of basic procedures of media analysis.
- The ability to produce an academic research paper demonstrating critical media literacy and the ability to interpret and discuss the history of TV and particularly fiction, in the U.S. and partly in Europe/Scandinavia.
Faculty
Anne Bachmann holds a PhD in Cinema Studies from Stockholm University, and a Master of Studies in European Literature from University of Oxford. She has taught cinema and media studies at several Swedish universities and published in a number of academic journals.
Readings
Course book: Jonathan Gray & Amanda D. Lotz, Television studies, Second edition, Polity, Cambridge, UK, 2019
All other readings are to be found on Canvas. Some key texts:
Anderson, Christopher. “HBO: Producing an Aristocracy of Culture in American Television,” in The Essential HBO Reader, eds., Gary R. Edgerton and Jeffrey P.Jones (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2009), 23–38 plus notes.
Hendershot, Heather. “Parks and Recreation: The Cultural Forum” in How to watch television, eds. Ethan Thompson and Jason Mittell. (New York, NYU Press, 2013). 204–212.
Mittell, Jason. "Narrative complexity in contemporary American television." The velvet light trap 58, no. 1 (2006): 29–40.
Modleski, Tania. “The Rhythm of Reception: Daytime Television and Woman’s Work,” in E. A. Kaplan, Regarding Television (Los Angeles: AFI, 1983), 67–75.
Spigel, Lynn. “Television in the Family Circle”, excerpt from Make Room for TV (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992), 36–50.
Field Studies
This term's field studies will be a combination of staying in and going out: a film screening which we otherwise would not have time for within the constraints of a regular session, and a visit to ABBA The Museum to soak up a bit of music TV history while also having fun playing with the interactive features!
Guest Lecturers
To be confirmed
Approach to Teaching
Teacher's comment: I hold that learning happens not only when attaching new concepts and facts to your individual pre-existing experiences, but also when being challenged by something initially foreign and mystifying, which may force you to re-think what you already knew. So, in class I will on the one side try to make sense of things together with students, and on the other side be ready to supply what I believe to be the missing pieces to that puzzle. Not least, the chance to be challenged in my own knowledge structures and opinions is a great fringe benefit for myself.
Expectations of the Students
Teacher's comment: My basic assumption about students is that you are present because you are interested in the subject on offer. For this reason, I expect that you will wish to prepare in advance, contribute to the learning situation with informed reflections and questions, and try to find out more about anything you realize you do not yet grasp or simply want to follow up on.
To allow for the best possible learning climate, please don't take out your laptops or phones unless called for.
Evaluation and grading
Grading breakdown
Assignment |
Percent |
Midterm |
25 % |
Individual presentation |
25 % |
Final |
25 % |
Engaged and informed participation in class |
25 % |
Midterm
The midterm test is done during class time.
Reflection
Theres is also a reflection assignment which is personal in tone and not to be graded beyond Pass/Fail. Dedicated work here can, however, also inform your participation grade.
Individual presentation
The in-class presentation consists of choosing, presenting and analysing a segment from a TV show in the light of course readings as well as other, individual reading. (The presentation can also be pre-recorded if you prefer not to go live.)
Final
There will be a final test either at home or in class.
Participation grade
Participation in class requires being prepared to discuss the readings and to reflect on them in class. Any attempt at making a point that is relevant in relation to readings and audiovisual material will be welcomed and noted.
Areas for assessment
- Handling of course material
- Scholarly argumentation and analytical abilities
- Command of relevant terminology
Grades
A = Excellent. The assignment is notably elucidative, knowledgeable, inventive and critical.
B = Well above average. The assignment is sound, well-reasoned and independent.
C = Average. The assignment is competently understood with good individual reasoning.
D = Below average but passing. The assignment shows adequate understanding and treatment of course contents.
P = Pass
F = Failure or failure to complete
I = Incomplete (only issued in place of final course grade if an agreement exists for completion
by a definite deadline which is approved by the instructor and the DIS registrar).
Plus (+) and minus (-) grades are used for examinations and home assignments as well as for final grades. For purposes of calculating grade points and averages, the "+" equals 0.3 and the "-" equals minus 0.3 of a grade.
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
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