AMU1304 - Television studies: Forms and approaches - 2018

Television Studies: Forms and Approaches gives students an overview of the discipline of television studies. In the course of the semester students will use close textual analysis and key theoretical approaches to examine a variety of TV shows and popular TV genres, such as the Sitcom, Reality Television and Children's TV. Students will explore the main formal features that these shows possess, the reasons for their popularity and the ways in which they impact upon the broader social world. In addition, the unit looks at recent developments in television, such as the move towards viewing content online. As well as studying traditional television programming, students will engage with other forms of "small screen media", such as music videos and YouTube clips.

Upon successful completion of the unit, students should be able to:

1. Critically analyse TV shows by drawing upon skills in textual analysis;
2. Identify the main features of particular TV genres;
3. Apply theories developed in Television Studies to the analysis of TV shows;
4. Evaluate critical debates on television and on particular TV shows;
5. Plan and conduct written work on how meaning is created in TV shows.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Communication, media and screen studies

Screen studies