Course syllabus

Semester 1, 2017 (15.0 points)

Prerequisite: 30 points from FTVMS 201-214, 216-239, MĀORI 271

Restriction: FTVMS 211

Course convenor

Associate Professor Misha Kavka
Email: m.kavka@auckland.ac.nz
Phone: +64 9 923 5351
Semester 1 office hours: Tuesday 2-4 and by appointment

Office: HSB, rm 526

Lecture times:  Mondays 4-6pm

Course description and aims

This course demonstrates the centrality and significance of television to contemporary culture. It is an introduction to the theoretical and methodological traditions of television studies, and explores the historical development and distinctive aesthetic style of television. It examines television’s role in the production of individual, national and global identities, and interrogates television’s negotiation of social meanings in the context of everyday practices. These themes will be developed through a series of particular studies including the domestic context and temporality of television, modes of representation, audience reception, cultural production and convergence, reality television, “complex” quality programmes, transmedia storytelling and the future of television in the digital age.

In this course, you will be encouraged to connect your own everyday experiences of watching television with academic debates and discussions. By the end of the course you should have deepened your understanding of television and its relation to contemporary culture as well as developed a scholarly understanding of some key ideas that have structured television studies since its emergence as a field of study in the mid-1970s.

Lecture topics

What is television?

Television and space

Television and time

Citizenship, indigeneity, globalisation

Measuring and monitoring audiences

Television eras: from network to cable to cult TV

Convergence and consumption

The HBO era from Sopranos to Thrones

Reality TV and celebrity

The politics of representation

'Complex' TV and gender

Beyond television: transmedia worlds

Assessment breakdown:
Tutorial participation and activities: 10%
Short assignment (televisual analysis, 1000 words): 20%
Research essay (1500-1800 words): 30%
Exam: 40%
Your overall course mark is the sum of your assignments, tutorial participation and exam marks. There is no plussage on this paper. A total of 50% (C-) is the minimum pass mark for the course. Details of assignments and deadlines will be posted under Assignments.

Teaching format and workload: The teaching for this course comprises weekly 2-hour lectures plus a weekly 1-hour tutorial. Attendance at both weekly lectures and tutorials is required in order to succeed in this course. This is a concurrent course, which means that students enrolled in FTVMS 211 attend the same lectures as students enrolled in FTVMS 309. There is a separate tutorial programme for FTVMS 211, however, as well as distinct assessments. Students are expected to devote 10 hours per week to lecture/tutorial attendance, reading and viewing required materials, and preparing assignments.

Readings and resources: There is no textbook for this course. All required and recommended readings will be available through Talis. Information about additional supplementary readings and recommended viewing materials will be disseminated through lecture slides and posted on Canvas.

Viewings: Each week’s theme will be attached to a programme or set of programmes for viewing, with specific selected episodes usually totalling no more than two hours. Please make sure that you watch at least one recommended viewing before tutorial that week! Links and/or access information will be available on Canvas under that week’s Module.

Lecture recordings:
We will post lecture recordings on Canvas (see individual lecture topics in Modules), but this is never a substitute for lecture attendance. We cannot guarantee that the recording technology will work smoothly each week or that recordings will be made available before the relevant tutorial. You will learn more effectively by using recordings to supplement your in-class learning. e.g. for clarifying or revising specific material.

Tutorials:
Tutorials begin in week 2. You will need to check your timetable on SSO for times and rooms.

Tuākana Mentoring Programme: please click here for details.

Library Services: This course will require you to make use of the University library and so it's essential you are familiar with the services offered (including books, journals, audio-visual resources, research and referencing support). Please visit the library website for further information.

Student Learning Services: SLS provides opportunities for students to improve their academic performance and study skills through workshops, advisory sessions and online resources. Visit their website for further information. All students are strongly encouraged to make use of these resources (they cater for all students, not just those who are struggling with academic work).

English Language Enrichment (ELE): Those who are already aware (or whose DELNA results reveal) that they need help with English reading, listening, speaking or writing should enrol at the English Language Self Access Centre in the Information Commons. You will be able to direct your own learning with help from staff, who will help you get started, and monitor your progress. Click here for more information.