ZURn6618 Online Television

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Jana Jedličková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Jana Jedličková, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Boris Rafailov, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites
TYP_STUDIA(MN)
at least B2 English (the ability to read and understand academic papers and TV programming in English, the ability to write academic papers in English)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The History of American Television course offers a basic overview of the historical development of the emergence and establishment of television as a broadcast medium, the shaping of the American television industry from its beginnings to the present, and the basic aspects, trends, and programming conventions of the major American broadcasters and TV streamers from the late 1930s to the 21st century.
The lectures combine several perspectives stemming from media, television and cultural studies. In particular, they focus on the institutional level of the shape of the American television market in conjunction with the economic perspective related to private ownership and the legislative need to regulate persistent monopolizing tendencies. However, we also emphasize the connection between cultural and political events that have a significant impact on television trends, both in programming and institutional terms.
For these reasons, the course is designed partly as a frontal lecture with space for discussion with the students, partly as a projection seminar, where the historical context is supplemented with examples of contemporary American programmes and their commentary placing the examples in the context of the material discussed.
Attendance at the course is not compulsory, however, the teacher does not share the presentations used during the lectures with the students. Learners will find the materials needed to pass the course in the course syllabus (reading list)/interactive syllabus, as well as are expected to take continuous notes during lectures. Taking pictures of presentation material or recording audio from lectures is not permitted.
Learning outcomes
students will be able to:
understand the millestones of American TV landscape; they will be able to idetify the main television institutions of broadcasting and internet era of United States; they will orient themselves in the main programming trends of last 80 years; they will gain knowledge of the institutional and legislative perspectives of American TV industry as well as the connection of the TV industry and other entertainment industries in the coutry; they will be able to connect the changes of TV industries with larger political and cultural frames; and lastly, they will be able to idetify and connect the contemporary and ongoing trends and conventions of American TV content and industries
Syllabus
  • The Beginings of American TV Broadcasting
  • Early days of looking for TV programming
  • American TV in the 50s
  • American TV in the 60s
  • American TV in the 70s
  • American TV in the 80s
  • American TV in the 90s
  • 09/11/2001 in American television - part 1 (screening)
  • 09/11/2001 in American television - part 2
  • American TV in the new millenium
  • Contemporary trends in American TV
Literature
    required literature
  • Mittell, Jason. (2009). Television and American Culture. New York.
  • Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (2016). Watching TV: Eight Decades of American Television, Third Edition (Television and Popular Culture). New York.
  • Moore, B., Bensman, M. R., van DYKE, J. (2006). PRIME-TIME TELEVISION.
  • Lotz, Amanda. (2018). We Now Disrupt This Broadcast. How Cable Transformed Television and The Internet revolutionized.. Cambridge, London.
  • CURTIN, Michael and Jane SHATTUC. The American television industry. 1st pub. by Palgrave Macmill. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, 202 s. ISBN 9781844573387. info
    recommended literature
  • HEINS, M. (2007). NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN.
  • JENNER, Mareike. Netflix and the re-invention of television. Chan: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, viii, 299. ISBN 9783319943152. info
  • The Netflix effect : technology and entertainment in the 21st century. Edited by Kevin McDonald - Daniel Smith-Rowsey. First published. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, 2016, xii, 255. ISBN 9781501309441. info
  • America's first network TV censorthe work of NBC's Stockton Helffrich. Edited by Robert Pondillo. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010, xi, 254 p. ISBN 0809329182. info
  • Beyond prime time : television programming in the post-network era. Edited by Amanda D. Lotz. New York: Routledge, 2009, xii, 207. ISBN 9780415996693. info
  • LOTZ, Amanda D. The television will be revolutionized. New York: New York University Press, 2007, xii, 321. ISBN 9780814752197. info
  • Prime time animation : television animation and American culture. Edited by Carol A. Stabile - Mark Harrison. New York: Routledge, 2003, xiii, 254. ISBN 0415283264. info
  • The television history book. Edited by Michele Hilmes - Jason Jacobs. 1st pub. London: BFI Publishing, 2003, xii, 163. ISBN 0851709877. info
  • TROPIANO, Stephen. The prime time closet : a history of gays and lesbians on TV. Montclair, NJ: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2002, xi, 333. ISBN 1557835578. info
  • Television, history, and American culture : feminist critical essays. Edited by Mary Beth Haralovich - Lauren Rabinovitz. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999, 222 s. ISBN 0822323613. info
  • The Revolution wasn't televised : sixties television and social conflict. Edited by Michael Curtin - Lynn Spigel. New York: Routledge, 1997, 361 s. ISBN 0415911214. info
  • HILMES, Michele. Hollywood and broadcasting : from radio to cable. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990, 221 s. ISBN 0252017099. info
Teaching methods
  • lectures
  • class discussion
  • reading
  • screenings
    • Assessment methods
  • 4 written intermediate tests (students are assumed to watch a mandatory screening and answer questions based on the screening and themed lectures)
  • final written test consisting of partially analytical, partially fact based questions

  • intermediate tests consist of 5 questions each; students can collect up to 40 points for all the intermediate tests
  • final test consists of 20 questions, 15 of them fact based, 5 of them analytical ones (open answers); students can collect up to 60 points

    to recognize credits the student needs to collect at least 70 points out of 100 during the semestr and from the final test
    • Language of instruction
    English
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    The course is taught annually.
    The course is taught: every week.
    Teacher's information
    The course History of US TV will not be held on April, 26th, 2024 - Reading week. Instead, students will be asked to read a paper focusing on one of discussed topics and will need to answer several questions in a written form.
    The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2024.
    • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/ZURn6618