Winter 2014
English 110: Introduction to Television Studies (CRN: 23349)
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4-5:50PM, McKenzie 214
syllabus also available in Google Drive
Instructor: Chelsea Bullock
cbullock [at] uoregon [dot] edu
Office: PLC 530
Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30-4:00PM and by appointment
Course Website: eng110win2014.wordpress.com
Course hashtag: #eng110uo
Twitter handle: @chelsea_bullock
I reserve the right to change/adjust/add to/delete from the schedule below. For complete course policies, click here.
Class Calendar
I may change, add, or substitute assignments and readings. Please make note of announcements made in class and via email as it is your responsibility to remain aware of when and what assignments and readings are due.
|
DATE |
READINGS DUE + SCREENINGS |
ASSIGNMENTS DUE |
| Week 1 – Mise-en-Scene/Staging | ||
|
Tues. 1/7 |
Course introduction; group presentation sign-up; Mittell, “Why Television” | |
|
Thurs. 1/9 |
Mittell, “Staging” section (176-183); Klein, “The Hills, Jersey Shore, and the Aesthetics of Class”, staging presentation | |
| Week 2 – Cinematography/Camerawork | ||
|
Tues. 1/14 |
Group presentation; The Hills (S03E01 and E02); Smith, “It’s Just a Movie” | |
|
Thurs. 1/16 |
Mittell, “Camerawork” section (183-194); Jersey Shore (S04E06) | Exam 1 |
| Week 3 – Editing | ||
|
Tues. 1/21 |
Group presentation; Mad Men (S05 finale) | Exam 1, part B questions due |
|
Thurs. 1/23 |
Mittell, “Editing” section (195-202); Greif, “You’ll Love the Way It Makes You Feel”; Scandal pilot | |
| Week 4 – Sound | ||
|
Tues. 1/28 |
Group presentation; Paperman; Mittell, “Sound” section (205-212); Yale film resource on sound | |
|
Thurs. 1/30 |
Scandal S01E02; Nussbaum, “Primary Colors” | Exam 2 |
| Week 5 – Narrative and Plot | ||
|
Tues. 2/4 |
Group presentation; The Bachelorette; Feuer, “Why I’m Embarrassed to be a Bachelor Fan” | Exam 2 questions due |
|
Thurs. 2/6 |
Arrested Development; Portlandia (clips); Butler chapter 2 excerpt (pages 55-71); Mittell, “An Arresting Development” | |
| Week 6 – Cable and Distribution | ||
|
Tues. 2/11 |
Group presentation; The Wire; Nussbaum, “When TV Became Art”; Butler, “An Introduction to Television Structures and Systems: Ebb and Flow in the Postnetwork Era” (3-18) | |
|
Thurs. 2/13 |
Real Husbands of Hollywood; Lindsey, “Cable’s Number One Sitcom?: Real Husbands of Hollywood”; Mittell, “All in the Game: The Wire, Serial Storytelling, and Procedural Logic” (from Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives) | Exam 3 |
| Week 7 – Genre | ||
|
Tues. 2/18 |
Group presentation; Mythbusters; Staiger, “It’s a Myth So Let’s Blow It Up: The Pleasures of Mythbusters” | Exam 3 questions due |
|
Thurs. 2/20 |
Mittell on Television Genres; presentation, genre part 2; The Price is Right (clip 1 and full episode); Modern Family (S05E04) | |
| Week 8 – Star Texts (resource) | ||
|
Tues. 2/25 |
Group presentation; semiotics + star texts presentation; The Cosby Show (pilot); Butler chapter 3 excerpt (pages 80-92) | |
|
Thurs. 2/27 |
“The Cosby Show, audiences and the myth of the American dream” by Jhally & Lewis; Real Housewives of Atlanta clips | Exam 4 |
| Week 9 – Commercials and Advertising (resource) | ||
|
Tues. 3/4 |
Group presentation; Top Chef; Jenkins, “Buying into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold on Reality TV”; Butler, excerpts from “The Television Commercial” (150-3, 204-5) | Exam 4 questions due |
|
Thurs. 3/6 |
Bercovici, “Can Twitter Save TV? (And Can TV Save Twitter?)”; Watercutter, “Twitter TV Ratings Are Here, But No One Knows What They Really Mean”; Shah, “Nielsen’s New Twitter Ratings Are a Scam”; Jimmy Kimmel Live | |
| Week 10 – Conclusions | ||
|
Tues. 3/11 |
Friday Night Lights pilot, RIP, FNL by Subramanian | |
|
Thurs. 3/13 |
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo | Exam 5 |
Our scheduled final exam time (when your final written assignment must be submitted) is: Thursday, March 20 at 1:00PM
