Film & Television Studies: History of Television

Introduction to basic television history, theory and analysis. An historical overview of television from its invention to the present.

Open to Degree and PACE students; Crosslisted with FTS 1400 B; Total combined enrollment = 100

Course Description The class will study the history of television from its origins in radio broadcasting to the latest transformations in digital television. We will focus on television as a communications and cultural medium by analyzing the structure of the television industry, television’s role within American society, and television as a site of cultural production. The class will also consider fundamental theoretical issues in television studies. The primary objective of this class is to provide the basic analytic skills necessary to use television history as a way to understand America’s social and cultural history and identity. At the end of this course, you should be able to… • Describe and analyze how television shapes, and is shaped by, American culture at key historical moments • Learn the terminology and skills necessary to analyze television technology, industry, formal representations and texts, and audiences and their receptions in their historical contexts • Learn foundational concepts in television and how to apply those concepts to specific examples • Connect broadcasting history to contemporary media • Analyze how social and cultural identity (e.g. gender, race, class, sexuality) are implicated in television historically and how those histories implicate contemporary television • Explore the dominant methodological approaches utilized in the study of television and television history This course fulfills the Catamount Core Arts & Literature (AH1) requirement, including the following objectives: • Learn to recognize selected forms, genres, and traditions of artistic work • Practice the creation of artistic works and/or the analysis of creative works, in each case using methods appropriate to the form • Develop critical thinking skills needed to examine artistic works as they relate to social formations, practices, and/or problems Required Texts: Textbook: Hilmes, Michelle. (2014). Only Connect: A Cultural History of Broadcasting in the United States, 4th Edition. Wadsworth Publishing; ISBN-10: 1133307302 (Available at the Bookstore) Additional Readings: Additional readings beyond the textbook are available on Brightspace. Screenings: You will have to purchase some individual episodes of TV shows to watch. Each week there are assigned viewings of TV series episodes. These screenings help to give life to and apply the course readings and concepts and are therefore an important part of the course. Some episodes are free and easily viewable online. However, there are a few episodes that will require purchase, access to a streaming service, or checking out a copy of a DVD from your local (or UVM’s) library.