FTV2230 - Australian Television Culture

Leader: Belinda Smaill

Offered

Berwick First semester 2007 (Day)

Synopsis

Australian television is integral to understandings of national culture. From public service broadcasting to pay TV, or from historical Australian genres such as soap opera, crime and comedy to advertising, television is central to academic discussions of nationhood and identity. This unit looks at the television programming, audience diversity and political institutions that make up Australian television culture. It will survey critical approaches to television history and society, the new television environment shaped by globalisation and new media and notions of television, citizenship and the public sphere from an Australian perspective.

Objectives

By the completion of this unit students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to: discuss the relationship between the texts and institutions of television and audiences in regards to specific examples; evaluate a number of approaches to the interaction between globalization and television; analyse television texts in relation to theories of popular culture, genre, political economy and audience reception; identify the cultural and economic forces which shape and are reflected in the historical development of Australian television; engage in critical and theoretical debate concerning the impact of the new global television environment for Australian institutions and audiences; critically engage with written and televisual texts in a clear and confident manner in both written and/or oral presentation. Third-year students will be expected to develop a deeper understanding of theoretical debates in the field of contemporary and historical Australian television culture.

Assessment

Clayton
Essay (3000 words) : 60%
Visual Test (1.5 hours (1500 words equivalent)) : 40%
Berwick
Essay (2250 words) : 60%
Visual Test (1.5 hours (1500 words equivalent)) : 40%
Online project (750 words) : 15%

Contact hours

One x 1 hr lecture/week

Prerequisites

One unit at first-year level in Film and television or approved discipline