CTCS 504 SYLLABUS (spring 2013)

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CTCS 504 SYLLABUS (spring 2013) TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA, and CONVERGENCE CULTURE SPRING 2013 Wednesdays, 6-10pm in SCA 110 Instructor: Dr. Suzanne Scott ctcs504@gmail.

1 CTCS 504 SYLLABUS (spring 2013) TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA, and CONVERGENCE CULTURE SPRING 2013 Wednesdays, 6-10pm in SCA 110 Instructor: Dr. Suzanne Office hours: Wednesdays 4-6pm in SCA 318 (or by appointment) TA: Patty Ahn Please direct any logistical issues pertaining to the course to the TA. Patty is also available to meet and discuss any of the course readings, screenings, and assignments. Please her to schedule an appointment. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides an introduction to the history and critical analysis of American television, paying particular attention to how media convergence and digital technologies are impacting television production and consumption. Beginning with a survey of the industrial, technological, and cultural changes that have shaped television since the 1950s, we will also explore television genres, advertising, audiences, brands, representations, and auteurs. The course will conclude with an extended unit on transmedia television, framing this trend towards multi-platform storytelling through a discussion of conglomeration, paratextuality, and fandom. As their final project, students will design a transmedia extension for a contemporary television series, allowing them to reflect on shifts in television form and content while interrogating the future(s) of television. Whether you are embarking on a career as a media scholar, a media producer, or simply wish to be a more informed television viewer, this course will provide you with the contextual and critical tools to engage with television as a medium in transition. REQUIRED READINGS: TEXTBOOK (available at University bookstore) Amanda D. Lotz. The Television Will Be Revolutionized (New York: New York University Press, 2007). ARTICLES (available through Blackboard, or linked below) Readings are listed below on the course schedule; assigned articles are to be read before the class date under which they are listed. 1

2 COURSE REQUIREMENTS: All assignments must be handed in on time, and turning in assignments late will be detrimental to your grade. Exceptions will be made and extensions will be given only for medical or family emergencies (provided you can offer documentation). All assignments will be docked one full letter grade for each week they are late, so lock in these due dates and plan your schedule accordingly. Grading breakdown: Attendance/Participation = 20% Reading Presentation = 15% (Over) Flow Assignment = 20% Flow Comments = 15% Final Project = 30% COURSE ASSIGNMENTS: Attendance and Participation + Two Sets of Discussion Questions (20%) It is vital to the course s success, and your success in the course, that you come to class each week on time, and prepared to actively engage with course readings and content. This is a discussion-based class, so while you should bring your opinions and personal engagement with television to bear on our course material, you must also be respectful of other perspectives. I m all for lively debate, but keep it civil. Documented medical or family emergencies will be excused, and you have one free pass for when you need a personal day. All other absences will negatively impact your grade, and you are responsible for any materials you miss when you are absent. Ample time will be allotted to discuss your response to the readings and their correlation to the course screenings, and you re encouraged to or tweet me any additional material you come across that you think might be relevant to the class (blog posts, videos, articles, etc.). As part of your attendance and participation grade you MUST submit discussion questions to me via (ctcs504@gmail.com) at least TWO TIMES during the semester. Each set of discussion questions must include one question for each essay (3 total) that reflects an understanding of the readings, and suggests potential points of conversation. Your questions MUST be submitted by Monday at noon or they will not count towards your grade. (e.g. questions on the readings for Week 2, would need to be submitted by 1/21 at noon). In Class Reading Presentation (15%) Each student will be responsible for ONE oral presentation in this class based on an assigned course reading. A sign-up sheet will be passed around during the first two weeks of class. Please pick your week and reading wisely as we will not be able to accommodate changes to the presentation schedule. These presentations can be relatively short (10-15 min.) but must: Briefly synthesize the main points of the article Present 1-2 discussion questions that relate the article to the contemporary television industry (this might mean doing some additional research through various news outlets like Variety, blogs like Deadline Hollywood, etc.), and lead discussion on those questions. You re encouraged (but not required) to use a presentation tool like Prezi, Powerpoint, or Keynote to organize your remarks. 2

3 (Over) Flow Live Tweeting Assignment (20%) We will be going over this assignment in detail in the coming weeks, but broadly this project consists of three parts: 1. You will sign up for a twitter account (if you don t have one already), select a television program, and live tweet one episode of that program. You can selection any program you like, provided that the show has an official hashtag. You can find this easily by looking at the show s official website. If you are unfamiliar with twitter, media scholar Kelli Marshall has a nice overview on her blog (pay particular attention to her distinction between thin and thick tweets). 2. You will Storify your tweets, along with a selection of tweets from others using that program s official hashtag, and that link to ctcs504@gmail.com. 3. You will write a 5 page paper in which you engage with our readings on (over)flow by Raymond Williams, Will Brooker, and William Urrichio and critically reflect on live tweeting television as a form of flow. More details on this assignment will be distributed in class on 2/6. The paper is due 2/27. Flow Comments (15%) You must post TWO comments on two different articles of your choice in the online, bimonthly television journal Flow over the course of the semester. You won t need to do any extra reading for these comments, just sample the topics and choose two recent articles of interest. Please a copy of your first comment, including the URL for where they are to be found, to ctcs504@gmail.com by March 13th, and the second one by April 24th. Final project: Transmedia Extension and/or Term Paper (30%) You have two options for your final project: 1. Write a 15 page term paper on a topic of your choosing. If you select this option, you must submit a word abstract detailing your topic and its connection to the course via to ctcs504@gmail.com by Friday, 4/12 at 10pm. 2. You can create and theorize a transmedia extension to a contemporary television show of your choosing. This can be either an individual or group project (2-3 people per group). If you choose this option, you will be responsible for: a. Creating a transmedia extension for a contemporary television program. Get creative with your extension: develop a board game or ARG, storyboard or shoot a webisode, construct a comic, create a box of artifacts, etc. b. Giving a 15 minute presentation on the final day of class (5/1/13), sharing your extension, analyzing its connection to your chosen program and transmedia storytelling concepts, and relating it to broader shifts within the television industry. c. Submitting a 2-3 page paper in which you briefly frame your project in terms of transmedia television, and detail your personal contributions to the project. This means that, if you choose to work in a group, you each submit this paper, and will be graded separately. I m happy to help you locate open source tools to help construct your project, if you choose this option. 3

4 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: PLAGIARISM IN ANY FORM WILL BE REPORTED TO THE APPROPRIATE PROVOST S OFFICE, WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE COURSE, AND COULD LEAD TO DISMISSAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY. If you have any questions or doubts about how to properly cite a source, see me or the TA. COURSE SCHEDULE: Week 1 (1/16/13) Studying Television: 20 Minutes Into the Future Read: Amanda D. Lotz, ch. 1 ( Understanding Television at the Beginning of the Post- Network Era ) Charlotte Brunsdon, What Is the Television of Television Studies? Screen: Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future Week 2 (1/23/13) The Network Era Read: - Lynn Spigel, Installing the Television Set - William Boddy, The Economics of Television Networking - Todd Gitlin, Prime Time Ideology Screen: Burns and Allen Father Knows Best Alfred Hitchcock Presents Week 3 (1/30/13) Niche Networks and the Rise of Cable Read: - Thomas Streeter, "Blue Skies and Strange Bedfellows: The Discourse of Cable TV" - Sarah Banet- Weiser, The Nickelodeon Brand: Buying and Selling the Audience - William M. Kunz, Conglomeration in Cable and Satellite Television Systems and Services Screen: South Park Clarissa Explains It All Week 4 (2/6/13) The Post-Network Era Read: - Amanda D. Lotz, ch. 2 ( Television Outside the Box ) - Amanda D. Lotz, ch. 4 ( Revolutionizing Distribution ) - Amanda D. Lotz, ch. 5 ( Advertising After the Network Era ) Screen: Mad Men Dr. Horrible s Sing-Along Blog Arrested Development Note: (Over)flow assignment distributed 4

5 Week 5 (2/13/13) Watching Television: From Flows to Overflows Read: - Raymond Williams, Programming: Distribution and Flow - Will Brooker, "Living on Dawson's Creek: Teen Viewers, Cultural Convergence, and Television Overflow - William Uricchio, "Television's Next Generation: Technology/Interface Culture/Flow" Screen: The Walking Dead The Talking Dead Week 6 (2/20/13) Genre: The Sitcom, from Lucy to Lemon to Leslie Read: - Patricia Mellencamp, Situation Comedy, Feminism, and Freud: Discourses of Gracie and Lucy - Jane Feuer, Genre Study and Television - Jason Mittell, A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory Screen: I Love Lucy 30 Rock Parks and Recreation Week 7 (2/27/13) Reality TV: Big Brother as Business Partner Read: - Chad Raphael, The Political Economic Origins of Reali-TV - Mark Andrejevic, The Kinder, Gentler Gaze of Big Brother: Reality TV in the Era of Digital Capitalism - Elizabeth Affuso, Don t Just Watch It, Live It : Technology, Corporate Partnerships and The Hills Screen: Queen for a Day The Hills Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Guest: Elizabeth Affuso Due: (Over)flow assignment due Week 8 (3/6/13) Authoring Television Read: - Michael Z. Newman and Elana Levine, The Showrunner As Auteur - Henry Jenkins, Do You Enjoy Making the Rest of Us Feel Stupid? : alt.tv.twinpeaks, the Trickster Author, and Viewer Mastery - Derek Kompare, More moments of television : Online cult television authorship Screen: Twin Peaks Community 5

6 Week 9 (3/13/13) Quality TV: Read: - Jane Feuer, The MTM Style - Janet McCabe and Kim Akass, Sex, Swearing and Respectability: Courting Controversy, HBO s Original Programming and Producing Quality TV - Diane Negra, Quality Postfeminism? Sex and the Single Girl on HBO Screen: The Mary Tyler Moore Show Girls Homeland Due: Flow comment #1 Week 10 (3/20/13) Spring Break NO CLASS Week 11 (3/27/13) Audiences and Fandom: From Bromances to Bronies Read: - Henry Jenkins, Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten - Francesca Coppa, Women, Star Trek, and the Early Development of Fannish Vidding - Amanda D. Lotz, ch. 6 ( Recounting the Audience ) Screen: Star Trek My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic A selection of fan vids Week 12 (4/3/13) Transmedia TV: An Introduction Read: - Henry Jenkins, Transmedia Storytelling Matt Hills, Defining Cult TV - Jason Mittell, Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television Screen: Lost Week 13 (4/10/13) Transmedia TV: Digital Ancillary Content Read: - Suzanne Scott, Authorized Resistance: Is Fan Production Frakked? - Tama Leaver, Watching Battlestar Galactica in Australia and the Tyranny of Digital Distance - Julie Levin Russo, User-Penetrated Content: Fan Video in the Age of Convergence Screen: Battlestar Galactica Due: word term paper abstract via on term paper topic, if you ve chosen this option (by Friday, 4/12 at 10pm) 6

7 Week 14 (4/17/13) Transmedia TV: Canon and Paratextuality Read: - Jonathan Gray, From Spoiler to Spinoffs: A Theory of Paratexts - Jason Mittell, Sites of Participation: Wiki Fandom and the Case of Lostpedia Screen: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 motion comic Due: Flow comment #2 Week 15 (4/24/13) Transmedia TV: Conglomeration and Convergence Read: - John Caldwell, Convergence Television: Aggregating Form and Repurposing Content in the Culture of Conglomeration - Mimi White, Crossing Wavelengths: The Diagetic and Referential Imaginary of American Commercial Television [CMS] - Castle transmedia content: Lone Vengeance webcomic, Deadly Storm comic previews and chapter 1 of Heat Wave Screen: Castle Week 16 (5/1/13) Transmedia Extensions Presentations Due: Term papers and transmedia extension reflections 7

Screen Arts and Cultures 632: Post-Network Television University of Michigan Fall 2014

Screen Arts and Cultures 632: Post-Network Television University of Michigan Fall 2014 Instructor: Dr. Candace Moore Lecture: Fridays, 1-4pm 2265 North Quad Screenings: Mondays, 5-7pm 2155 North Quad E-mail: