Syllabus

MTA 400, Section 3 ("The History of Television")

Instructor: Walter Metz

Spring 2001

Meeting Times

This course meets in a seminar format on Tuesdays from 8:00am until 10:50am in VCB 148.

Information About the Instructor

Course Goals

This course is designed to present an overview of the history of American broadcasting, focusing on network television as it has developed in the United States. The course emphasizes the historical analysis of programming, but will also cover the industrial, regulatory, and economic aspects of broadcasting history. There is also a theory component wherein students will learn the tools for critically analyzing television textuality.

Reading Material

I have ordered three books for this course:

  1. Eric Barnouw, Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television. 2nd Rev. Ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1990. ISBN 0-19-506484-4.
  2. Horace Newcomb (Ed.), Television: The Critical View. 6th Ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. ISBN 0-19-511927-4.
  3. Robert C. Allen (Ed.), Channels of Discourse, Reassembled. 2nd Ed. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1992. ISBN 0-8078-4374-1.

They are all available at the MSU Bookstore and on reserve at the Renne Library. There are also article-length readings listed in the syllabus, available both on physical and electronic reserve.

Note Taking

To do well, you must take notes in this class, on discussion material and the readings. In our discussions, I'll be throwing a lot of complicated information at you, so you'll need to write it down, reflect on it, and work to understand its relevance to the "Big Picture." This is not the sort of class where if you just come and pay attention, you are guaranteed a good grade. There is a great deal of reading material, and in order to learn what is contained therein, you need to take notes on it and study it. People learn by processing material repeatedly. Reading something once without going back over it a few times (taking notes facilitates this) does not encourage remembering it later.

Grading Policy

This is not an easy class. The readings are heavy and the information I'll be presenting and we'll be discussing is often theoretical, and thus difficult and challenging. That said, however, I want to re-assure you that I'll keep this in mind while determining grades. Don't be afraid if you're confused early on. Use our discussions, your writing, and office hours to work through this new material. That confusion is invigorating and is the fuel that will drive your education. I've attempted to structure the course so that it will be challenging, yet accessible, to students of varying levels and abilities. I will use the + and - system when assigning grades.

Graded Course Activities

Activity--Due Date--Grade Value

Description of Exams

My exams are rather challenging. However, I grade on a curve, and most students who study hard throughout the semester will do well on them. You'll be given short format yet open-ended questions (identifications, identify and analyze a quotation, short essay, and long essay) about the material presented in class and in the readings, and its applicability to the television shows we’ve watched and discussed. The material for these questions will be culled from the in-class material (including clips shown in class) and the reading material. Please write down immediately the date of the exams. If you do not take an exam, you will receive a grade of F for the course.

Description of Writing Project and Oral Presentation

Over the course of the semester, I would like you to engage in a creative project linked to our study of television history. At the end of the semester, I’d like you to hand in your project in written form (due April 17), and also present your work to the class in a 10 minute oral presentation (on either April 24 or May 1). As I write this assignment, I have in mind either a traditional 15 page academic term paper about television or a 30 page script for a television sitcom. However, I want you to use your imagination: if you have a different idea for a project, come talk with me about it. I’m very enthusiastic to hear innovative ideas. If you work on a paper, I’d like you to orally present your thesis argument and support materials using clips. If you work on a script, I’d like you to present to the class in oral form a thematic statement describing how your program is influenced by the academic work of this seminar. An example of connecting academic to creative work in this way can be obtained from me in the guise of my treatment and thematic statement for a play I’m writing, entitled "The Test-tube Jesus."

Attendance Policy

If you do not come to class regularly, there is no way you will pass the course. Since so much of the learning will be going on during class, you will not be able to fully understand the material by looking at someone else's notes later on. If you miss more than 1 class meeting (as un-excused absences, according to university definitions), expect to receive no better than a C in the course; 3 or more un-excused absences will result in a grade of F for the course.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Cheating on exams is a widespread problem at most universities. I will attempt to ensure that your exam environment discourages this breach of academic standards. Once the exam begins, you should put away your notes, refrain from talking, and keep your eyes on your own exam material. Any student caught cheating by me will not pass my course, and will be disciplined further as per university regulations.

It is presumed that all work submitted is the original work of the student whose name appears on it and that the work was prepared originally for this course. All research notes and materials gathered for your writing should be kept and must be made available to the instructor upon request. All such material will be returned following the evaluation of the writing.

Plagiarism occurs in two ways. Intentional plagiarism occurs when a student willfully misrepresents the source of the work handed in. Any student caught engaging in intentional plagiarism will not pass my course and will be disciplined further as per university regulations. More common is unintentional plagiarism, wherein a student, in the course of writing a paper, does not provide proper citation materials which indicate the source of individual ideas within the paper. In such a case, I will call a meeting with the student, and we will amicably resolve the problem by discussing proper academic citation strategies in the humanities.

How To Do Well In This Class

  1. Come to class prepared (having done the reading, having thought about the material, being prepared with questions, etc.).
  2. Take good notes on every facet of the class (lectures, discussions, readings, television screenings). This will prove invaluable in preparing for the exams.
  3. Do the reading. Many students fall behind, and then complain that they are having trouble in the class. The reading gives you a second voice to help you understand difficult ideas. If you do not understand a particular essay or do not find it useful, come to talk with me about it--the discussion we have will benefit us both. Keep up with the reading. Set aside Monday nights (before our class periods) to read, take notes, and ponder the significance of the readings for the class.

Weekly Syllabus

Note

Please click here to access the guide to Walter's television history tapes, which are on reserve at the Renne Library.

Tuesday, January 23

Discussion

Note

Please click here if you are interested in seeing the lecture notes for my "History of Radio" course, which covers the history of radio in much more detail than I am allowed in this course.

Tuesday, January 30

Discussion

Reading

  1. Eric Barnouw, Tube of Plenty, Chapter 3 ("Plastic Years")

  2. David Marc and Robert Thompson, "From Performer Authorship to Producer’s Genre" {Reserves} --> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. Robert C. Allen, "More Talk About TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, February 6

Discussion

Reading

  1. Eric Barnouw, Tube of Plenty, Chapter 4 ("Prime")

  2. Christopher Anderson, "Disneyland" in Newcomb

  3. Ellen Seiter, "Semiotics, Structuralism, and Television" in Allen

Theory

Note

My lecture on the television soap opera, which I do not have the time to deliver this semester, would normally be presented here. 

Please click here to see the lecture notes for the "Television Soap Operas" lecture.

Tuesday, February 13

Discussion

Reading

  1. Thomas Schatz, "Desilu, I Love Lucy, and the Rise of Network TV" {Reserves} --> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  2. Barry Putterman, "Visit from a Small Planet" {Reserves} --> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. Sarah Kozloff, "Narrative Theory and TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, February 20

Discussion

Reading

  1. Eric Barnouw, Tube of Plenty, Chapter 5 ("Elder")

  2. Lynn Spigel, "From Domestic Space to Outer Space" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. Robert Allen, "Audience-Oriented Criticism and TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, Febrary 27

Discussion

Reading

  1. David Barker, "TV Production Techniques" in Newcomb

  2. David Marc, "The Sitcom at Literate Peak" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. Jane Feuer, "Genre Study and TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, March 6

Tuesday, March 13

Tuesday, March 20

Discussion

Reading

  1. Eric Barnouw, Tube of Plenty, Chapter 6 ("Progeny")

  2. Robert Sklar, "The Fonz, Laverne, Shirley, and..." {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. Mimi White, "Ideological Analysis and TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, March 27

Discussion

Reading

  1. Jane Feuer, "MTM Enterprises: An Overview" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  2. Bonnie Dow, "1970s Lifestyle Feminism" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, "Psychoanalysis, Film, and TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, April 3

Discussion

Reading

  1. Herman Gray, "The Politics of Representation in Network TV" in Newcomb

  2. Mark Crispin Miller, "Deride and Conquer" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. E. Ann Kaplan, "Feminist Criticism and TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, April 10

Discussion

Reading

  1. Alexander Nehamas, "Serious Watching" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  2. Todd Gitlin, "Make it Look Messy" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  3. John Fiske, "British Cultural Studies and TV" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, April 17

Discussion

Reading

  1. Betsy Williams, "North to the Future" {Reserves}--> Please click here to go directly to the E-reserves copy of this article

  2. Henry Jenkins, "Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten" in Newcomb

  3. Jim Collins, "Television and Post-modernism" in Allen

Theory

Tuesday, April 24

Tuesday, May 1

Tuesday, May 8

Click Here to Return to the Homepage of Walter Metz

This page was last updated on January 8, 2001

Questions or comments?  Please phone me at (406) 994-6403 or send e-mail to:  metz@montana.edu

Walter Metz, Department of Media and Theatre Arts, Montana State University--Bozeman