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Course Information

Television and Contemporary Society (COM 335)

Term: 2025-2026 Fall Semester

Faculty

Paige Chapman
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Leslie M Robison
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Matthew D Wysocki
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Schedule

Tue-Thu, 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM (8/27/2025 - 12/11/2025) Location: FCSTA PLLRD 220

Description

This course explores American life through an analysis of our central medium: television. While it will span many eras, the main focus will be on what is considered the modern "Golden Era" of television drama. We will consider television's role in both reflecting and constituting American society, the formal attributes of a variety of television genres, television as a site of gender and racial identity formation, television's role in everyday life, and the medium's technological and cultural impacts. We will consider not only why TV is what it is today, but how it might be different. Through the exploration of critical perspectives on television, the course will prepare you for further studies in media criticism as well as enable you to be a more savvy and sophisticated consumer (and potentially producer) of television in your future endeavors