Course Description:  Among other things television has been
categorized in the U.S. public sphere as ‘a wasteland,’ as ‘trash
culture’ and as a medium that promotes either capitalism/consumption
or cultural, political, and social ‘negotiations.’  On the other
hand, in many countries around the world, although TV was first used
as an avenue for ‘education’ and as a space where ‘national cultures’
where represented, there have been industrial and textual
transformations where the ‘global’ permeates the ‘local.’  Thus, TV
(outside the U.S.) has been constructed as a medium that
promotes ‘Americanization,’ as a detriment to ‘national cultures,’ or
as a location where audiences mediate dominant and alternative
ideological discourses.

In this course we will explore ‘television’ as a medium that
rearticulates dominant and vernacular cultures and as a
technological/cultural/commercial artifact that attracts a variety
of ‘local’ and ‘global’ audiences.  Drawing from various theoretical
approaches (i.e. cultural imperialism, indigenization, cultural
proximity, and globalization), we will examine television’s
production, texts, and reception in order to understand the
complexities of one of the most popular media of our time.