ScreenSite Data: Television Studies Syllabi

ScreenSite collected over 500 links to media-related syllabi. In our move from WordPress to a simple HTML Website in 2019, we have preserved all these data. We may occasionally add to them as ScreenSite moves forward, but we are not actively collecting new listings anymore.

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The list below contains Television Studies syllabi links. For syllabi in other categories, please follow the links below.

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56 Television Studies Syllabi

Sorted alphabetically.


Advanced Video Design and Production

Bob Albers, Department of Telecommunication, Michigan Sate University. (last updated: 12 Apr 2011)  http://www.msu.edu/course/tc/442/

American Soap Operas

(last updated: 20 Jan 2015)  http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies/cms-603-american-soap-operas-spring-2008

Analyzing Television

Jimmie Reeves, Texas Tech University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  http://appserv.itts.ttu.edu/PACI/Pages/Courses/CourseSyllabus.aspx?6964=523030353238313038&63707265666978=454D43&636E756D=33333435&73656374=303031&7465726D=46616C6C20545455&79656172=32303133

Basic Telecommunication Policy

Department of Telecommunication, Michigan State University. (last updated: 12 Apr 2011)  http://www.msu.edu/course/tc/310/

Becoming the Next Bill Nye: Writing and Hosting the Educational Show

Course Description

Becoming the Next Bill Nye is about using video production techniques to develop your ability to engagingly convey your passions for science, technology, engineering, and / or math. You'll have the opportunity to script and on-screen host 5-minute YouTube science, technology, engineering, and / or math-related shows to inspire youth to consider a future in science. (last updated: 23 Sep 2016)  https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biological-engineering/20-219-becoming-the-next-bill-nye-writing-and-hosting-the-educational-show-january-iap-2015/

Beginning Final Cut Pro

Cambridge Community Television. (last updated: 20 Sep 2016)  https://www.cctvcambridge.org/node/329917

Contemporary Film and Television Genres in Comparison

Boston University (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  https://www.bu.edu/abroad/files/2016/06/COM-CI-595-Film.TV-BU-LA-Genre-Course-syllabus-2.2.17.pdf

Critical Studies in Television (2018)

Jeremy Butler, University of Alabama, Creative Media. Critical analysis of television programs and commercials. Examples are presented for study and evaluation. Required reading: Jeremy Butler, TELEVISION: VISUAL STORYTELLING AND SCREEN CULTURE. (last updated: 13 Nov 2019)  https://tvcrit.org/Classes/Jbutler/JCM311/F18/outlineoftopics.php

Critical Studies in Television (Fall 2012)

Critical analysis of television programs and commercials.. Student Learning Outcomes: At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:
  • Understand the shaping of television history and the impact of diverse groups on that history;
  • Understand how television style is created and what impact it has;
  • Dissect TV narrative structure.
  • Write correctly and clearly (evaluating their work for accuracy and fairness, appropriate style, and grammatical correctness);
  • Evaluate concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of television; and
  • Think critically, creatively, and independently.
(last updated: 14 Jan 2019)  http://uaops.ua.edu/syllabus/201240/40547

Directing for Film and Video

Towson University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  https://www.towson.edu/cofac/departments/mediafilm/undergrad/mediafilm/documents/emf-455-syllabus-sample.pdf

Electronic Commerce

Charles Steinfield, Department of Telecommunication, Michigan Sate University. (last updated: 12 Apr 2011)  http://www.msu.edu/course/tc/462c/

Environmental & Science Documentary Television

Tom Linden, University of North Carolina (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  https://sph.unc.edu/files/2017/10/HB_sy_hbeh660_fall17.pdf

Experimental Film and Video History

Jennifer Proctor, Grand Valley State University (last updated: 8 Nov 2018)  http://jenniferproctor.com/ExpFilmSyl.htm

Film and Television Interpretation: American Cinema

Jennifer Proctor, Grand Valley State University (last updated: 8 Nov 2018)  http://jenniferproctor.com/AmCinemaSyllabus.htm

Film/Video Production: Alternative Forms

Jennifer Proctor, University of Iowa (last updated: 8 Nov 2018)  http://jenniferproctor.com/VloggingSyllabusWeb.htm

From Mayberry to "Netflix and Chill": Topics in Television, Race, Gender, and Class

Katherine Contess, CUNY Brooklyn College (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  https://www.hastac.org/sites/default/files/upload/files/post/contess_syllabus_5.23.17.pdf

Global Media

Bella Mody, Department of Telecommunication, Michigan State University. (last updated: 12 Apr 2011)  http://www.msu.edu/course/tc/477/

HISTORY OF AMERICAN BROADCASTING

Professor Norman C. Mintle, Regent University. (last updated: 24 Aug 2013)  http://www.regent.edu/acad/schcom/academics/syllabi/2011Fall/CTV%20607-CP-FA11-v02.pdf

History of Television

Christine Becker, Notre Dame University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  https://www3.nd.edu/~cbecker1/histtv.pdf

Humor in American Television

Humor in American Television, a course by Jeremy Butler at the University of Alabama (spring 2014).. A course by Jeremy Butler, the University of Alabama (spring 2014). From the Website: At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:
  1. Comprehend significant theories of humor and use them to analyze humor on American television;
  2. Understand the shaping of television genres and the impact of diverse groups on that history;
  3. Write correctly and clearly (evaluating their work for accuracy and fairness, appropriate style, and grammatical correctness);
  4. Evaluate concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and narratives, including feminism, race theory, structuralism and semiotics; and
  5. Think critically, creatively, and independently about humor in American television.
(last updated: 15 Apr 2014)  http://syllabi.ua.edu/osm/viewsyllabus/201410/18564?class=20141018564

Introduction to Radio/Television

Tony Blair, Angelo State University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  https://www.angelo.edu/courses/syllabi/201720/29657.pdf

Introduction to Scoring for Movies and Television

Eric Schmidt, University of Southern California (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  https://web-app.usc.edu/soc/syllabus/20183/42301.pdf

Introduction to Television and Video

Miranda Banks, University of Southern California (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  https://web-app.usc.edu/soc/syllabus/20081/18065

Introduction to Television Studies

Susan Ryan, The College of New Jersey (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  https://saccurriculum.pages.tcnj.edu/files/2016/03/Com-118-Intro-Television-Studies-20151.pdf

Introduction to Television Studies

Chelsea Bullock, University of Oregon (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  https://eng110win2014.wordpress.com/syllabus/

Lighting Aesthetics and Design for Cinema Television

Doug Miller, Regent University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  https://www.regent.edu/acad/schcom/academics/syllabi/2011Fall/CTV%20545%20new%20FA11.pdf

Media Industries

A grad course on Media Industries; Alisa Perren, Department of Communication, Georgia State University.. From the Website: How do the contemporary media industries work? How did they develop in this fashion? How can an analysis of the “business of entertainment” enable a greater understanding of contemporary media aesthetics and culture? In other words, why does it matter that News. Corp. owns Harper Collins publishing, Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News, the FOX network, myspace.com, the New York Post and many, many other entities around the world? Three main objectives will guide us throughout the semester: First, we will trace the development – and increasing interrelatedness – of the media industries from the early twentieth century to the present. We will consider the ways in which regulatory and technological shifts, as well as growing impulses toward globalization, have intersected with industrial changes. Second, we will look at the range of theoretical and critical approaches which have been taken toward the media industries. In the process, we will read several “case studies” that provide examples of each of these theoretical approaches. Third, we will explore the emerging field of “media industry studies.” This field, which incorporates work in film, media, communications and cultural studies, argues for the importance of integrating analysis of media structures with consideration of cultural and textual matters. This course will prove useful not only to media studies students but also to filmmakers and screenwriters interested in understanding how and why certain media products do (and do not) get produced and distributed. Although our readings will focus most heavily on the film and television industries, students are encouraged to explore such areas as video games, music, comic books, publishing, and radio in their final projects. (last updated: 2 Sep 2013)  http://mediaindustriesandotherstuff.blogspot.com/2010/01/syllabus-media-industries-graduate.html

Media Literacy in the Television Age

Instructor Steve Young, Fresno Pacific University. (last updated: 20 Sep 2016)  https://ce.fresno.edu/SharedMedia/CPD/syllabusnew/len908.pdf

Modes of Film & Video Production

Jennifer Proctor, University of Iowa (last updated: 8 Nov 2018)  http://jenniferproctor.com/SyllabusSummerModesweb.htm

Multichannel and Broadband Telecommunication

Barry Litman, Department of Communication, Michigan Sate University. (last updated: 12 Apr 2011)  http://www.msu.edu/course/tc/456/

Non-Fiction TV

Julia Lesage, University of Oregon (last updated: 28 Sep 2018)  http://screensite.org/wp-content/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Julia-Lesage-Non-fiction-TV.pdf

Performance Theory

Abigail De Kosnik, UC Berkeley (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  http://summer.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/SYLLABUS-DRAFT-THEATER118AC.pdf

Race and Gender in Cinema - TV

Antonio Lopez, John Cabot University (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  http://www.openmediaeducation.net/race-gender-14/

Reality-Based TV Genres (Fall 2012)

(last updated: 27 Sep 2018)  http://mariasuzanneboyd.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/reality-based-tv-genres-syllabus.doc

Senior Seminar on Reality TV (Fall 2013)

(last updated: 20 Jan 2015)  https://mariasuzanneboyd.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/senior-seminar-syllabus-film-4910.doc

Storytelling in Film & Media (Fall 2012)

Explores how narrative structures and models operate differently between film, television, and digital media such as videogames. Jason Mittell, Middlebury College.. "All artistic and popular media offer their own particular techniques of storytelling. This course explores how narrative structures and models operate differently between film, television, and digital media such as videogames. Drawing heavily on various theories of narratology developed to understand the structures, techniques, and impacts of narrative for literature and film, we will consider how different media offer possibilities to creators and viewers to tap into the central human practice of storytelling. We will focus on works that challenge convention in a variety of ways, centered on contemporary media and trends in narrative technique." (last updated: 14 Jan 2019)  http://courses.middlebury.edu/hub/MCUG/2012-2013/fall/FMMC/0357A/syllabus

Swedish Film and Television Culture

Stockholm University . (last updated: 12 Apr 2011)  http://sisu.it.su.se/pdf_creator/cached/7395/8275/en

Television & American Culture (Fall 2012)

Explores American life in the last six decades through an analysis of our central medium: television. Jason Mittell, Middlebury College. (last updated: 14 Jan 2019)  http://courses.middlebury.edu/hub/MCUG/2012-2013/fall/FMMC/0104A/syllabus

Television and Citizenship

John McMurria, University of California San Diego (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  http://www.communication.ucsd.edu/_files/syllTVcitizenshipW09.pdf

Television and Engineering

UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS. (last updated: 26 May 2012)  http://www.indiastudycenter.com/other/syllabus/maduniv/under-graduate-courses/bachelor-of-science/Electronics-Science/Paper-XIV-Television-and-Video.asp

TELEVISION AND VIDEO ENGINEERING

Anna University . (last updated: 27 Sep 2018)  http://syllabus.colorado.edu/archive/WRTG-3020-20127-062.pdf

Television Engineering

Professor Aurel Vlaicu, Universitatea Tehnica din Cluj-Napoca(Romania). (last updated: 26 May 2012)  http://el.el.obs.utcluj.ro/site/2009_2010/tst/pdf/51324409.pdf

Television Studies

Cynthia Fuchs, George Mason University (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  https://english.gmu.edu/courses/engh371/course_sections/26368

Television Studies

Germaine Halegoua, Kansas University (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  http://fms411.tumblr.com/syllabus

Television Studio Production

Jim Krause, Indiana University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  http://www.indiana.edu/~jkmedia/356/p356_syllabus_fall_16.pdf

Television: Past, Present and Future

Joe Fortunato, Arizona State University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  https://webapp4.asu.edu/bookstore/viewsyllabus/2171/30827

The American Family in Film and Television

Wende Garrison, Portland State University (last updated: 23 Oct 2018)  http://psucurriculumtracker.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/90974640/CFS%20330U%20Course%20Syllabus.pdf

The Television Age

Athabasca University. "CMNS 423 introduces students to the technology, politics, economics, philosophy, ideology, and morality of television. Students are asked to look critically behind the scenes of the television world and discern the various patterns of industry structure and thematic content." (last updated: 26 May 2012)  http://www2.athabascau.ca/syllabi/cmns/cmns423.php

Transmedia Storytelling and Entertainment

Professor Henry Jenkins, USC. (last updated: 12 Apr 2011)  http://henryjenkins.org/2009/08/transmedia_storytelling_and_en.html

TV Analysis (Spring 2012)

(last updated: 27 Sep 2018)  http://mariasuzanneboyd.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/tv-analysis-syllabus-spring-2012.doc

TV Analysis (Spring 2013)

(last updated: 27 Sep 2018)  http://mariasuzanneboyd.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tv-analysis-syllabus-spring-2013.doc

TV Analysis (Spring 2014)

(last updated: 20 Jan 2015)  https://mariasuzanneboyd.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tv-analysis-syllabus-spring-2014.doc

TV Drama and Social History

Helena Sheehan, Dublin City University. (last updated: 27 Sep 2018)  http://webpages.dcu.ie/~sheehanh/tv/aims.htm

U.S. Television History

Dartmouth College (last updated: 11 Oct 2018)  http://www.dartmouth.edu/~film45/syllabus.html

Understanding Television

Course Highlights

This course features exemplary video. The viewing list of representative programs distills a mini-history of prime time TV.

Course Description

The subtitle of this course for the spring 2003 term is "American Television: A Cultural History." The class takes a cultural approach to television's evolution as a technology and system of representation, considering television as a system of storytelling and myth-making, and as a cultural practice, studied from anthropological, literary, and cinematic perspectives. The course focuses on prime-time commercial broadcasting, the medium's technological and economic history, and theoretical perspectives. There is much required viewing as well as readings in media theory and cultural interpretation. (last updated: 27 Sep 2016)  https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/literature/21l-432-understanding-television-spring-2003/

Understanding Television: American Television: A Cultural History

(last updated: 20 Jan 2015)  http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/literature/21l-432-understanding-television-spring-2003

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Jeremy Butler

Professor Emeritus of Television and Film Studies
The University of Alabama
jgbutler@gmail.com
Teaching media studies.