Television Storytelling: The Conditions of Narrative Complexity
ANTH 308
Spring 2012 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 316, FILM 319 |
This course examines the industrial and cultural conditions for the development of complex forms of storytelling in commercial U.S. television. Narrative complexity is a cross-generic phenomenon that emerged over the 1980s and has proliferated within an increasingly fragmented media environment. In class discussions and individual research projects, students will analyze particular programs in-depth, with attention to their industrial and social conditions of production, their aesthetic and ideological appeals, and the cultural tastes and practices of their viewers. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Interpretation
This course explores the industrial and cultural conditions of possibility for an aesthetic shift in television storytelling. It understands a move toward more complex narrative forms as multiply conditioned by producers' strategies, audience tastes, and new technologies. Interpretation, as pursued in the course, thus encompasses processes of production and reception.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS ANTH |
| Course Format: Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
Robert Thompson, TELEVISION'S SECOND GOLDEN AGE
Jason Mittell. TELEVISION AND AMERICAN CULTURE
Roberta Pearson, ed., READING LOST
Dana Polan, THE SOPRANOS
Jeremy C. Butler, TELEVISION: CRITICAL METHODS AND APPLICATIONS
Course packet (including texts by Jeffrey Sconce, Horace Newcomb, Jane Feuer, Julie D'Acci, Janet McCabe, Kim Akass, David Lavery, Amanda Lotz, and others)
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Examinations and Assignments:
weekly research journal
short (5-7page) midterm paper
class presentation and final research paper
students will also take turns facilitating class discussions over the semester. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
We may occasionally hold screenings of assigned episodes on Monday evenings, 7-9PM. In most cases, however, the assigned episodes will be accessible via netflix, iTunes, amazon.com, video on demand, or other sources. |
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