Honors 202, Spring, 99

Popular Culture: Television Criticism

Instructor: Hakanen

Television is our dominant cultural medium, and although it saturates our daily lives, few stop to consider its messages, images, and structure of representation in any critical depth. In this course we will explore formal approaches to television criticism. Each student will use a major critical approach to a television program, genre, or series. The course serves both narrow and broad education goals: Students will develop critical thinking and writing skills. At another level, they will learn formal methods for analyzing popular culture. Broadly speaking, students will explore and analyze the television world from which our society gets most of its information.

Objectives

The student will:

• learn various textual and contextual devices for critiquing and analyzing television programming, series, or genre,

• read and critique previously written pieces using various approaches,

• study the differences between various approaches,

• develop means to choose an appropriate approach,

• judge the value of particular approaches over others,

• understand the dynamic relationship between the criticism and texts,

• evaluate their own biases through their choices,

• appreciate the value of criticism,

• discover previously hidden "angles and dimensions" of television,

• have fun.

Outcomes

The student will:

•exhibit an understanding of approaches to textual analysis through:

• discussions in class,

• course project which includes a:

• written proposal of a final project, emphasizing the approach to be used,

• presentation of an analysis,

• written critique of a program, series, or genre.

Texts

Vande Berg, L. R., Wenner, L.A., & Gronbeck, B. (1998). Critical approaches to television. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. (re: Crit)

Newcomb, H. (1994). Television: The critical view. New York: Oxford. (re: Tele)

Evaluation

As honors student, you will keep up with the readings, prepare an engaging discussion, and write a provocative paper.

Attendance 50 pts

Discussions 50 pts x 2

Paper 100 pts

Proposal 25 pts

Presentation 25 pts

300

Attendance-- For each class missed, you will receive a 10 pt reduction in your grade.

Discussions -- At two points in the term, you will lead the discussion of an assigned reading.

Paper -- You will write a criticism of a television program genre, or trend using an identifiable approach.

Proposal -- You will give me a written proposal for your paper topic by the fifth week of the course. It should be an informal narrative on the topic and approach.

Presentation -- You will present your paper to the class during finals week. The class will have read the paper after your distribution of it the week before.

Schedule

Week Topic Reading

1 • Introduction Crit chapters 1, 2

• What is TV Criticism Tele 3-14, ix-x, Newcomb & Hirsch

2 • Writing Crit chapters 3, 4

• Auteur-Centered Approaches Crit chapter 5

3 • Text-Centered Approaches Crit chapter 6

• Guest Discussant Prof. Al Stegeman

4 • Discussions Crit chapter 6 (2), Tele Barker,

Mayerle, Schulze

• Guest Discussant Dr. Ron Bishop

5 • Audience-Centered App. Crit chapter 7

• Discussions Cit chapter 7 (3)

6 • (Con)text-Centered App. Crit chapter 8

• Discussions Crit chapter 8(3), Gitlin

7 • Culture-Centered App. Crit chapter 9

• Discussions Crit chap. 9(3), Meehan, Saenz

8 • Guest Discussant Dr. Eva Thury

• Institution-Centered App. Crit chapter 10

9 • Discussions We will choose from Tele Williams, Gray, Rowe, Lewis, Timberg, White, Campbell, and Dayan and Katz

• Guest TBA

10 • Memorial Day

• Distribution of Papers