About this course
Syllabus
Papers & assignments
Course Links
Newsgroup
FS 45: U.S. Television History
Tu and Th 2 - 3:50pm Silsby 28
Wed 4:15 - 5:05 pm (x)
Mark Williams
(Blitzmail: Mark.J.Williams@Dartmouth.edu)
Office Hours: Wed 1:00-3:00
Wilson 317 x63836
Required Reading:
Erik Barnouw, Tube of Plenty (2nd rev.ed.)
Michelle Hilmes, Radio Voices : American Broadcasting, 1922-1952
Spigel & Curtin, eds., The Revolution Wasn't Televised: Sixties Television
Library Readings as assigned
Course Description:
This course will examine the history of American television from its inception to the present. Emphasis will be on television as an emerging technology; its dynamic interaction with private industry, advertisers, the government, and audiences; and its impact on our society and culture. The course will include a consideration of both pre-television media (especially radio) and new media (cyber-culture). Some attention will be given to what uses of radio and television were excluded in the drive towards commercial success. The norms and practices of the network era (1955-1985) will be positioned as a functional middle-ground. Students will be encouraged to develop their capacity for a critical distance from contemporary media via this historicized approach.
Assignments:
Attendance is mandatory, and participation in class discussions is essential to the success of this course. Participation in the course newsgroupo is strongly encouraged, and will be assigned on occasion.
Assignments indicated on the course calendar should be completed before the assigned class session. Additional reading assignments and screenings outside of class will be announced.
Short weekly quizzes on course readings and screenings will be given at the start of every Tuesday class, except weeks 5 and 11(each worth 10 pts).
Midterm and Final Exams on the reading, lectures, and screenings are indicated on the course calendar (each worth 100 pts, or 25% of final grade).
A 3-5 page analysis of an assigned topic is due in October 13 (worth 20 pts).
A 8-12 page research paper is due December 1. The topic of this paper should be of your own design, but must be cleared with the instructor (worth 100 pts, or 25% of final grade).
Using the Newsgroup
Film 45 has its own newsgroup. You can access the newsgroup from the link on the course site pages, or by opening the newsgroup directly from a news reader application. The newsgroup location is "dartmouth.course.fs45".
If you are using an older version of Netscape (prior to version 4.03) clicking on the link in the navigation column will open Netscape's news reader. However, version 4.03 of Netscape does not have a built-in news reader, so if you are using version 4.03 you will need to configure your Internet Config application to open the MT-NewsWatcher news reader.
Download pre-configured Internet Config *
Download MT-NewsWatcher
Once you have these applications in place, open Netscape 4.03 and go to "Preferences..." under the "Edit" menu. Select "Identity" and check the "Use Internet Config" checkbox. Now when you click on the Web page newsgroup link, MT-NewsWatcher will open to the course newsgroup.
* If this is the first time you have installed Internet Config on your system, launch Internet Config and select "Install Extension" from the "Extensions" menu.
Copyright 1997
Trustees of Dartmouth College