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Draft Syllabus
Glued to the Screen: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture Fall 2017 Stockholm 3 Credits Major Disciplines: Communications. Media Studies. Film Studies. Faculty Member: Anne Bachmann, [email protected] Program Director: Iben de Neergaard, [email protected] Assistant Program Director: [email protected] Program Assistant: Jenny Han, [email protected]
Description of Course:
TV shows and sitcoms like Game of Thrones, Glee, Welcome to Sweden, The Office, Modern Family, I Love Lucy; and characters like Cosby, Homer Simpson, and Will and Grace both reflect and shape our societies’ gender roles, race relations, class divisions, sexual norms, and values. This course critically analyzes the history and importance of this TV genre in the U.S., England, and Scandinavia as mirrors of society and culture.
The course offers an introduction to television history in the USA and Europe, on 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 concrete television genres and programs, and analyzing them as sociological mirrors or portraits of 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 often include a related viewing of a concrete program. The approach will analytical, aesthetical, and historical.
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 2
Draft Syllabus
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, each student will have gained:
• A sound knowledge of the history of American and European television and its relation to cultural and social conditions. • An understanding of the basic facts and methods 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 American and European television.
Required texts:
All readings are to be found on Canvas
Excerpts from, among others, these books:
Anthony Smith (1998): Television: An International History
Gorman & McLean (2003): Media and Society in the Twentieth Century (Blackwell)
Steven D. Stark (1997): Glued to the Set (Dell Publishing)
Gerard Jones (1992): Honey I’m Home. Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream (St. Martin’s Press)
Edward Buscombe (2000): British Television. A Reader (Clarendon Press)
John Corner (ed., 1991): Popular British Television. Studies in Cultural History (BFI)
Christopher Anderson (1994): Hollywood TV (University of Texas Press)
Robert C. Allen (2009): Channels of Discourse, Reassembled (Routledge)
Neil Postman (1985, 2005): Amusing Ourselves to Death (New Edition, Penguin, 2005)
Method: The course will include lectures, discussions of shows and required readings, and viewings of individual shows.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance at all scheduled classes is required, and each student is responsible for all material covered or assigned in class. All papers and exams must be completed in order to pass the course. Included in the computation of the final grade in the course is participation. Participation extends to all class sessions, film viewings, as well as activity in class discussion and a general contribution to the progress of the class. If you miss two classes, the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student affairs will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well.
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 3
Draft Syllabus
Laptop Computer Policy:
While most students find that taking notes by hand in class is quite sufficient for review purposes, you are allowed to use a computer in class for writing lecture/discussion notes. However, you are asked not to use your computer in class to write emails, connect to social media, surf the internet or other such activities as this is quite disrespectful and distracting for both the teacher and your fellow students. Failure to show this courtesy will result in a reduction of your participation grade.
Field studies, practicum and/or study tour: Explain the purpose of the field study, study tour, or practicum sessions and indicate what form they will take for this class, and when they will take place. Outline study tour or practicum locations/requirements.
Grades:
The grades used by DIS instructors are as follows:
A = Excellent = 4
B = Well above average = 3
C = Average = 2
D = Below average but passing = 1
P = Pass
F = Failure or failure to complete = 0
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).
Evaluation
Short Paper 10 %
Midterm 30 %
Research paper (incl. draft) 40 %
Class Participation (incl. ‘TV Moment’) 20 %
Midterm:
The test consists of questions of relatively simple facts (e.g., who is the artist behind this or that program?), questions of more complex character (like: mention the characteristics of this or that genre), and questions to be answered with a short essay. The answers will be weighted differently.
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 4
Draft Syllabus
Research Paper Draft: You are to prepare a draft of your Research Paper, which will be discussed in groups in class, and handed in afterwards. The draft should indicate the topic of your paper, the issue/question/problem you wish to investigate/discuss, a detailed outline, and the sources you intend to use. When grading the final version of the research paper, the draft will be considered.
Research Paper: The topics for the research paper are decided by the student and the instructor together. Normally, it would be on (or relate to) subjects and television programs dealt with in the course. It is possible to write about other topics by agreement with the instructor.
Suggested structure of your paper:
1. Table of contents. 2. Introduction: Presentation of the subject to be investigated. An overview of the contents. A comment on the methodology. 3. Description: Summaries, observations, references. 4. Analysis: Comments, discussions, comparisons. 5. Summary and conclusion. 6. Notes & Bibliography.
The paper should be based on the required reading, the additional reading found in the DIS library and/or the Danish Film Institute Library, the programs seen in class, the class lectures and discussions. In the Introduction and Description, the factual material is presented. The main emphasis, though, should be on the analysis - that is, your personal discussion of the material. It is necessary to present the substance of the topic through paraphrasing and quotations (remember, always to footnote sources of direct quotations), but it is not sufficient only to paraphrase. The analysis of the material - your personal understanding and interpretation - is the important part of the paper. The paper should normally include a relatively detailed analysis of one of the concrete programs you have seen within the subject.
Length: Approx. 12 type written pages, or approx. 3600 words.
Draft schedule of class:
The shaping of television in the 1950s
1. Introduction to the course.
The history and development of Radio and Television, c. 1922 - 1950
Organization: Commercial vs. Public Service
Public Service Television. Case Study: BBC
Case Studies: The Hindenburg Crash (May 1937)
War of the Worlds (October 1938)
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 5
Draft Syllabus
Lit.: Gorman&McLean: The Growth of Radio Broadcasting
Anthony Smith: Television as a Public Service Medium
Ken Sanes: War of the Worlds
Alan Bellows: The Hindenburg and Humanity
2. The transition from Radio to Television c. 1950
Case Study: The Goldbergs (Radio 1929-1949, TV 1949-1954)
The Golden Age of American Television
Live Television Drama – ambitious, creative, controversial
Case Study: Marty (1953)
Class Viewing: Marty (1953)
Lit.: Boddy: The Origin of American Television
http://www.museum.tv/eotv/goldbergsth.htm
Hey: Marty: Aesthetics vs. Medium in Early Television
Chayefsky: Marty. Two Choices of Material
(Gerard Jones: Without Sanka, No Marriage)
Political climate in the 1950s and censorship problems
The Quiz Scandal and the Loss of Innocence
The emergence of television genres / Genre study/theory
Disneyland – total merchandising
Lit.: Feuer: Genre Study and Television
Stone & Yohn: Introduction: Mere Entertainment?
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 6
Draft Syllabus
Steven S. Stark: Twenty-One, the Quiz Scandal, and the
Decline of Public Trust
(Anderson: Hollywood TV - Disneyland)
View before class: An episode of I Love Lucy (episode tba)
View before Class : An episode of Leave It to Beaver (episode tba)
3. Central Case Study: The Situation Comedy
Establishing the Situation Comedy
I Love Lucy: In a class of its own
Lit.: Mintz: Situation Comedy
Steven D. Stark: I Love Lucy: The Woman as TV Superstar
Gerard Jones: Why Love Lucy?
The 1950s – From ethnic urban to WASP suburban
Creating the suburban ideal
Ethnic urban: The Goldbergs, Amos ‘n Andy
WASP suburban: Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver
Lit.: Steven D. Stark: Leave It to Beaver and the Politics of Nostalgia
Gerard Jones: Meeting in the Middle
The 1960s – Modernity / Symbolic politics
JFK & Jackie in the White House /
Modern couples: The Dick Van Dyke Show
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 7
Draft Syllabus
Monsters and Aliens – Fantasy a cover allowing the media to tell the truth
Single fathers and their children
A first: Women with (real) jobs: That Girl
Lit.: Steven D. Stark: The Dick Van Dyke Show and the Rise of Upscale TV
Steven D. Stark: Mister Ed: How Real Were TV’s Escapist Comedies?
Gerard Jones: Homesteaders of the New Frontier + Fantasyland
+ Cracks in the Pot
CORE COURSE WEEK (SEPTEMBER 12-16)
View before Class (date): An episode of The Cosby Show (episode tba)
4. The 1970s – Sit Com revolution
(date TBD) Real people – real issues /MTM, All in the Family, MASH
Class viewing: All In the Family
Lit.: Steven D. Stark: All in the Family and the sitcom revolution
Gerard Jones: Affirming the Worst
Gerard Jones: Enduring the Worst
The 1980s – Father Knows Best - again
Family Values dysfunctional families (Bill Cosby Al Bundy Homer Simpson)
Lit.: Steven D. Stark: How Roseanne Made trash TV respectable
Steven D. Stark: The Forgotten Promise of The Cosby Show
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 8
Draft Syllabus
Gerard Jones: Believing Because we want to believe
The 1990s – Single, Urban, no kids, - maybe even gay
Seinfeld, Ellen, Friends, Frazier, Will & Grace
Class viewing: Ellen (The Puppy Episode)
The 2000s – Very Modern Families, - or not?
Modern Family, Happily Divorced
Lit.: Steven D. Stark: A Tale of Two Sitcoms
Bob Lapham: Petition Against Ellen
Wikipedia: “The Puppy Episode”
5.
on Gender Roles based on (among others) these sit coms:
50s: I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver
60s: The Dick Van Dyke Show, That Girl
70s: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family
80s: The Cosby Show, Roseanne
90s: Friends, Seinfeld, Ellen
Class viewing: Modern Family
Lit.: TBA
LONG TOUR I (OCTOBER 8-16)
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 9
Draft Syllabus
3. Media critique / Television documentaries
6. Amusing Ourselves to Death? - A discussion of Neil Postman’s view
on show business and television’s influence on politics and life
Lit: Neil Postman: Amusing Ourselves to Death. Public
Discourse in the Age of Business.
Television documenting the real world / Drama Documentary
Edward R. Murrow: Harvest of Shame (CBS TV, 1960)
Ken Loach: Cathy Come Home (BBC TV, 1966)
Lit: Cathy Come Home: Drama Documentary
Cathy Come Home: Still Important Today
+ tba
+ MIDTERM
4. Television Drama in Europe
7. Literary prestigious drama tradition:
Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, etc.
British quality drama:
Upstairs Downstairs, Brideshead Revisited, Downton Abbey
British quality crime shows:
Sherlock, Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect, Midsomer Murders,
Death in Paradise, Broadchurch
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 10
Draft Syllabus
British Situation Comedies
Til Death Do Us Part, Yes Prime Minister, Absolutely Fabulous
Lit.: tba
David McQueen: Situation Comedy . The Development
of British Situation Comedy
TRAVEL BREAK (OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 6)
8. Top European Film directors embrace television
Quality Television Drama
Ingmar Bergman: Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980)
Krzysztof Kieslowski: Dekalog (1988)
Lars von Trier: The Kingdom/Riget (1994)
Claude Lanzmann: Shoah
Dennis Potter: The Singing Detective & Lipstick on your Collar
Lit.: Jesse Kalin: Scenes from a Marriage.
Riget/The Kingdom text
NOTE: For this class you are to prepare a draft of your Research Paper.
9. Recent Scandinavian Television Fiction
The Killing/Forbrydelsen
Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc)
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 11
Draft Syllabus
Borgen, The Bridge/Broen, Legacy/Arvingerne
Class Viewing: Borgen.
Lit.: Eva Novrup Redvall on Danish television series
Vicky Frost, The Killing, a slow-moving drama with subtitles…
Gary Day, TV review: The Killing II
Gerard Gilbert, Nothing like a Dane: New Thriller Borgen
Centres on a Trailblazing Female Politician
Lauren Collins: Danish Postmodern. (The New Yorker).
5. The Second Golden Age of American Television
10. Quality Television Drama: USA
Case Study: Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
Class Viewing: Twin Peaks (pilot)
Lit.: Andrew Anthony: Twin Peaks….. the Rebirth of TV Drama
Adam Karabel: Nightmare Aesthetics in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks
TRAVEL BREAK (NOVEMBER 23-27)
11. Modern Television Drama
"Narrative structures in recent American television drama series”
Guest lecture by Sophie Engberg Sonne
Lit.: Jason Mittel: Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 12
Draft Syllabus
12. Drama in the 1990s and 2000s
+ CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY
HBO/Cinemax: Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under,
The Wire, Game of Thrones, The Newsroom, Veep, Girls,
Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, True Detective, Silicon Valley,
Utopia (tba), The Knick
Showtime: Dexter, Californication, The L Word, Shameless,
Nurse Jackie, Homeland , The Affair, Twin Peaks (2016)
AMC: Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Hell On Wheels, The Killing,
Better Call Saul
NBC: Welcome to Sweden
Netflix: Lilyhammer, House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black
Class Viewing: Breaking Bad - Episode 1
Lit.: Allen St. John: Why ‘Breaking Bad’ Is the Best Show Ever.
Breaking Bad (The New Yorker) + TBA
This syllabus is subject to change.
Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS