FILM 4210 Syllabus

Critical History of Television

Fall 2001, Professor Mittell

FILM 4210 – Tues/Thurs 5:30 – 6:45, 315 General Classroom

Dr. Jason Mittell jmittell@gsu.edu

740 One Park Place Office Hours: T/Th 4:00 – 5:00 & by appointment

(404) 463-9524 Communication Dept.: (404) 651-3200 / fax 651-1409

Television is probably the most powerful and important form of communication within contemporary society, binding together the globe with shared knowledge and experiences, and molding our opinions and outlook on the world. This course will trace the history of television as a medium from its origins in radio to its future in technological convergence. Throughout the course, we will focus on television as a communications and cultural medium, focusing on the structure of the television industry, television’s role within American society, and television as a site of cultural representation. We will look at multiple histories of television, employing a "critical perspective" to not only learn why TV is what it is today, but how it might be different. We are less interested in memorizing facts about television’s past than using television history as a way to understand America’s social history and cultural present.

Although this course may be an elective for many of you, it is designed as an upper-level course in the Film/Video major – while no courses serve as prerequisites, it is in your best interest to treat it as an upper-level advanced course! This course contains a good deal of reading, with two contrasting histories of television along with a selection of critical essays providing more in depth analysis of specific moments and facets of TV history. We will explore an approach to history that looks at the past critically, and considers how multiple historical perspectives might address the same historical moment. Additionally, the course’s major assignment will provide you with the opportunity to research and explore an aspect of media history of your own choosing.

Recommended Prerequisite: FILM 2700, History of the Motion Picture

This syllabus is the general plan for this course – deviations may be necessary as the semester progresses.

Required Texts & Readings:

Books available at GSU Bookstore:

Erik Barnouw, Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television (2^nd Revised Edition), New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media, New York: Times Books, 1995.

Note: If the GSU bookstores have run out of these titles, it is the student’s responsibility to get access to a copy for assigned readings. All titles are on reserve at Pullen Library and easily available at both local and online bookstores.

Reading Pack (labeled RP on your schedule) available at The Printshop, 6 Decatur Street

Weekly readings must be completed by the Tuesday meeting of each week. All readings are required for this course – you must have your own copy of the readings to keep up with the course. Numerous books will be on reserve at Pullen Library to assist you with your own research projects – details on these texts will be available on the course WebCT page.

The WebCT page for this class will contain important information throughout the semester, as well as providing a place for student discussion and sharing information. It is an important facet of the course, and thus is not optional. Throughout the semester, all students are required to check WebCT for information and updates, as well as reading and contributing to online discussions. It is expected that each student will post at least two responses to class materials (readings, lectures, discussions, screenings, etc.) on WebCT discussion boards and at least two reactions to other student comments as well. Students who do not participate in WebCT discussions at this minimal level will be penalized in their participation grades, while active students will be rewarded.

Course Requirements:

All of the following requirements must be completed in order to pass this course. If you do not complete both exams, the paper proposal, and the final paper, you will automatically fail the course:

Weekly Quizzes 20%

Midterm Exam 20%

Final Exam 20%

Paper Proposal 5%

Research Paper 25%

Class Participation/Attendance 10%

Weekly Quizzes:
Each week, there will be a brief quiz at the beginning of Tuesday’s course period. These quizzes will consist of very straightforward questions that are designed to check that you have done that week’s reading. They will each consist of four points and there will be 13 quizzes. At the end of the semester, the quizzes will be totaled, dropping your three lowest-scoring quizzes – this will result in a 40 point score, which will convert to a 4.0 grade (e.g. a total of 34 points = a grade of 3.4, roughly a B+). This quiz score will comprise 20% of your grade.

It is the student’s responsibility to be present at the beginning of each class period to take the quiz. There will be no make-up quizzes – if you are not in-class to take a quiz, you get a zero on that quiz. Illness or other unplanned absences will not be given an opportunity to make-up quizzes – remember you have 3 "free" quizzes to drop. If there are extenuating circumstances which make it impossible for you to take quizzes on a regular basis, you must make arrangements with the professor in advance. Arrangements for university excused absences (religious holidays, GSU events, etc.) or prolonged illnesses can be made with the professor. If a student misses 6 or more quizzes without prior arrangements, they will automatically receive an F for their quiz grade.

Midterm and Final Exams:
There will be two lengthy in-class examinations, which will test the readings and in-class materials. They will be primarily short answer and essay exams, testing your ability to understand and synthesize course material, not your ability to memorize facts. Students who do the readings, attend class meetings, and think about the material should do quite well on these exams. The midterm will be in-class on October 9^th. The final exam will be on December 11^th at 5:00 p.m. The midterm and the final will both be worth 20% of your grade. Make-up exams will only be offered in the most extenuating circumstances – students who need to make alternative testing arrangements must arrange this with the professor as early in the semester as possible.

Research Paper and Paper Proposal:
This will be the most challenging (and hopefully interesting) assignment during this class. A more detailed description of this assignment will be presented in class during the third week of class, but this is a brief overview. The paper will be a 9-10 page research paper that examines a moment in television or radio history, focusing on the relationship between a specific television or radio program (a "text") and some aspect of the television or radio industry, or some aspect of the social context in which the text was produced. The specific topic is up to each student (subject to professorial approval).

This research paper will consist of a number of steps to be detailed further in-class. An ungraded paper topic list will be due September 11^th. An in-depth paper proposal will be due October 2^nd, which will be graded and count as 5% of your final grade. An optional first draft of your research paper can be turned in anytime up to November 6^th —these drafts will not be graded, but the professor will provide detailed feedback and meet with students to discuss ways to improve the final draft. A rough draft may be turned in after November 6^th, but there are no guarantees that they will be returned in time for you to make significant revisions for your final paper. The final draft of your research papers will be due during class on November 29^th. All assignments must be typed and double-spaced. The research paper assignment is worth 25% of your final grade.

LATE POLICY: Late papers are highly discouraged, as they throw off schedules for both student and professor. If you know that you will need to hand in any assignment later than the deadline, please contact the professor in advance as soon as the situation becomes apparent – together arrangements can be made, often without penalties. If a paper is not turned in on time without making arrangements with the professor prior to the due date, the paper will be penalized by .5 grade points (e.g. an A- becomes a B+) for each day of lateness. If papers are not handed directly to the professor, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure the professor receives the paper. If a paper is left at the Communication departmental office or sent via email or fax, do not assume that it has been received – Professor Mittell will notify you via email when a paper has been received. Unless you have received such a notification, you should phone him to ensure that the paper was in fact received. Please do NOT slip papers under the door to Professor Mittell’s office – deliver them to the Communication Office (1040 One Park Place). As stated below, late reading response papers will never be accepted.

Class Participation & Attendance:
You are expected to attend all class meetings on time, having done the readings, thought about the material, and prepared the necessary written assignments. Attendance will not be regularly taken in this course – it is the individual student’s responsibility to attend class in order to gain the most from their education. If a student misses a class, it is up to them to find out what they missed from their classmates and make-up the necessary material.

This component of your grade (10%) will be reserved to reward students who do actively participate in class, meet with the professor during office hours, participate in online discussions on the WebCT site, and otherwise demonstrate their engagement with the material. Likewise, this grade will be used to downgrade students who are clearly disengaged with the class or fail to uphold their end of the course policies. Students who are repeatedly tardy or disruptive in class may be asked to leave.

Grades:

You will be graded based on the following scale, using a 4.0 scale on all assignments:

A (4.0) is reserved for students who truly excel on assignments, demonstrating mastery of the material and dramatically surpassing the expectations of the assignment.
B (3.0) is for students who do above-average work, clearly achieving the course goals and completing all assignments in a strong fashion.
C (2.0) is for students who satisfactorily meet the course requirements in an adequate fashion.
D (1.0) is for students who do not achieve course goals and whose work does not adequately meet expectations.
F (0.0) is for students who dramatically fail to meet course goals and do not fulfill course expectations.

Grades of Incomplete will only be given under the circumstances detailed in the Undergraduate Catalog. The last day to withdraw from this course to receive a W is October 12^th. If you are contemplating withdrawing, contact the professor immediately.

General Course Policies:
This course operates under the assumption that all participants are adults who are responsible for their own choices and priorities. If you find any of these course policies or expectations unclear, it is up to you to discuss these matters with the instructor. It is also up to you to clearly review this syllabus and all assignments as early in the semester as possible, so you can understand what the course’s expectations are up front.

The basic expectations for taking this course are:

You will attend class on-time, prepared, and ready to participate
You will treat everyone in class with civility and respect
You will take responsibility for your own work
All work you submit will be your own and you will not inappropriately assist other students in their work beyond the confines of a particular assignment (please see attached guidelines on academic misconduct)

There is a no-tolerance policy for academic misconduct in this course! The minimum penalty for academic misconduct will be a failing grade (F) for the course – further academic and disciplinary penalties may be assessed.

If you are having any difficulties with this or any other class, important GSU resources include Disability Services (3-9044), Counseling Center (1-2211), Student Support Services (1-3357), and the Writing Center (1-2906). Any student with a disability or who otherwise needs accommodation or other assistance should make arrangements with the professor as soon as possible.

Hopefully all students will be able to accomplish the goals and requirements of the course with no major problems. Should a situation arise where you find yourself behind in the course’s workload or having problems meeting expectations, please contact Professor Mittell as soon as possible. Any problem can be resolved satisfactorily with enough advanced warning. Please try to anticipate problems so that we may nip them in the bud – trying to resolve problems that have been allowed to linger too long becomes much more difficult. While the course requirements are quite strict and challenging, Professor Mittell will be flexible with students particular needs and situations, but can only respond to issues that are made known openly. Please do not hesitate to make contact throughout the semester, if only just to check in.

Each student is encouraged to meet with the professor during his office hours or by appointment, to communicate with him via email, and to actively pursue any questions, comments, or concerns you might have about this course. Professor Mittell generally checks email daily, from Monday through Friday – if you email him asking for a response and do not receive one within one working day, assume that your email may not have been received. If you attempt to email an attached document, please use either MS Word or RTF file formats.

Weekly Schedule

Week of August 20 – What is History?

For first week only, read for Thursday’s class!

READINGS: RP – Mittell, "Media History & Cultural Historiography"

Douglas – Introduction (3-20)

Week of August 27 – The Origins of Broadcasting

READINGS: Barnouw – 1-60

RP – Streeter, "A Revisionist History of Broadcasting"

Week of September 3 – Rise of Commercial & Network Radio

READINGS: Barnouw – 61-96

RP – Hilmes, "Who We Are, Who We Are Not"

Week of September 10– The Origins of Television: Technology & Society

READINGS: Barnouw – 97-148

RP – Spigel, "Installing the Television Set"

ASSIGNMENT: Turn in Research Paper Topic Sheet, September 11^th.

ASSIGNMENT: Prepare "Television Family History" questionnaire, September 13^th.

Week of September 17 – 1950s Television: Politics & Industry

READINGS: Barnouw – 149-229

HANDOUT – Meehan, "Why We Don’t Count"

Week of September 24 – 1950s Television: Gender & Audiences

READINGS: Douglas – Chapters 1 & 2 (21-60)

RP – Lipsitz, "The Meaning of Memory"

RECOMMENDED: RP – Haralovich, "Sitcoms & Suburbs"

SPECIAL MEETING (9/27): Library Instruction, Pullen North 2^nd floor seminar room

Week of October 1 – Establishing Network Domination

READINGS: Barnouw – 229-281

RP – Boddy, "The Seven Dwarfs and the Money Grubbers"

ASSIGNMENT: Turn in Paper Proposal, October 2^nd.

Week of October 8 – Midterm / 1960s Television Industry

READINGS: Barnouw – 281-340 (reading for Thursday – not for midterm!)

RP – Alvey, "The Independents."

No quiz this week – you’re responsible for these readings for October 16^th quiz.

EXAMINATION: Midterm exam, in-class, October 9^th.

Week of October 15 – 1960s Television: Gender Politics

READINGS: Douglas, Chapters 3-6 (61-138)

RP – D’Acci, "Nobody’s Woman?"

Week of October 22 – 1960s Television: Racial Politics & Cultural Upheaval

READINGS: Barnouw – 341-422

RP – Bodroghkozy, "Smothers Brothers and Youth Rebellion"

Week of October 29 – 1970s Television: The Turn Toward Relevance

READINGS: Barnouw – 422-490

RP – Gitlin, "The Turn Toward Relevance"

Week of November 5 – 1970s Television: Representing Gender & Race

READINGS: Douglas – Chapters 7-9 (139-219)

RP – Tucker & Shah, "Race & the Transformation of Culture"

ASSIGNMENT: Deadline to turn in optional research paper draft, November 6^th.

Week of November 12 – 1980s Television: Industrial Transformations

READINGS: Barnouw – 490-547

RP – Parsons & Frieden, "Brief History of Cable & Satellite TV"

Week of November 19 – 1980s TV: Representation & Politics

READINGS: Douglas – Chapters 10-Epilogue (220-307)

RP – Gray, "The Politics of Representation in Network TV"

11/22: NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)

Week of November 26 – 1990s Television: Prospects for the Future

READINGS: RP – Becker, "Prime-Time Television in the Gay Nineties."

RP – Freedman, "Producing (Queer) Communities."

ASSIGNMENT: Final draft of research paper due, November 29^th.

Week of December 3

12/4: NO CLASS (Reading Day)

12/6: Wrap-up; review for final exam

FINAL EXAMINATION: Tuesday, December 11^th, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Readings for Film 4210, Mittell, Fall 2001

BOOKS:

Erik Barnouw, Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television (2^nd Revised Edition), New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media, New York: Times Books, 1995.

READING PACKET:

Jason Mittell, "Media History and Cultural Historiography."

Thomas Streeter, "A Revisionist History of Broadcasting, 1900-1934," from Selling the Air, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996, pages 59-110.

Michele Hilmes, "Who We Are, Who We Are Not: The Emergence of National Narratives," from Radio Voices, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997, pages 75-129.

Lynn Spigel, "Installing the Television Set: Popular Discourses on Television and Domestic Space, 1948-1955," from Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel & Denise Mann, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1992, pages 3-38.

Eileen Meehan, "Why We Don’t Count: The Commodity Audience," from Logics of Television, edited by Patricia Mellencamp, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990, pages 117-137.

George Lipsitz, "The Meaning of Memory: Family, Class, and Ethnicity in Early Network Television," from Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1990, pages 39-75.

William Boddy, "The Seven Dwarfs and the Money Grubbers: The Public Relations Crisis of US Television in the Late 1950s," from Logics of Television, edited by Patricia Mellencamp, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990, pages 98-116.

Mark Alvey, "The Independents: Rethinking the Television Studio System," from Television: The Critical View, Sixth Edition, edited by Horace Newcomb, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, pages 34-51.

Julie D’Acci, "Nobody’s Woman? Honey West and the New Sexuality," from The Revolution Wasn’t Televised: Sixties Television and Social Conflict, edited by Lynn Spigel and Michael Curtin, New York: Routledge, 1997, pages 72-93.

Aniko Bodroghkozy, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and the Youth Rebellion," from The Revolution Wasn’t Televised: Sixties Television and Social Conflict, edited by Lynn Spigel and Michael Curtin, New York: Routledge, 1997, pages 201-219.

Todd Gitlin, "The Turn Toward ‘Relevance,’" from Inside Prime Time, New York: Pantheon Books, 1985, pages 203-220.

Lauren Tucker & Hemant Shah, "Race & the Transformation of Culture: The Making of the Television Miniseries Roots," from Critical Approaches to Television, edited by Leah Vande Berg, Lawrence Wenner, & Bruce Gronbeck, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998, pages 405-416.

Patrick Parsons & Robert Frieden, "A Brief History of Cable and Satellite Television," in The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1998, pages 19-67.

Herman Gray, "The Politics of Representation in Network TV," from Watching Race: Television and the Struggle for ‘Blackness,’" Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995, pages 70-92.

Ron Becker, "Prime-Time Television in the Gay Nineties: Network Television, Quality Audiences, and Gay Politics," The Velvet Light Trap #42, Fall 1998, pages 36-47.

Eric Freedman, "Producing (Queer) Communities: Public Acces Cable TV in the USA," from The Television Studies Book, edited by Christine Geraghty and David Lusted, London: Arnold, 1998, pages 250-261.