LFU:online

Students learn the basics of film and media analysis using selected examples of recent American television series. After attending the course students are able to analyze and discuss television shows in regard to narratological as well as film-theoretical aspects.

While television has long been viewed as less sophisticated than or inferior to film, this relationship has lately started to change. Nowadays many established film actors and directors turn towards television not as an inferior medium, but instead as one that offers them different and often superior opportunities. The increased focus on quality and sophistication went hand in hand with many changes, such as the turn away from individual episodes towards a form of more serial narration or an emphasis on thematic and structural complexity. This course will analyze some of the most important examples of this kind of programming using concepts from film and television studies as well as from other pertinent fields. The series covered in the course may include shows like Homeland, Breaking Bad, The Americans, The Good Wife, or Community. This list is subject to change and the final list of shows will be discussed in the first session.

Lecture inputs, presentations, group discussions.

Active class participation, student presentations, reading and viewing assignments, term paper

As far as possible, course materials and selected secondary sources will be posted on OLAT.

for the Bachelor Program (612): positive completion of compulsory module 14
for Bachelor Program Lehramt: positive completion of compulsory module 16
for the Teacher Training Program (Lehramtsstudium: 344): VO2: Introduction to American Literary Studies

For the Teacher Training Program (Lehramtsstudium: 344): PS2: American Culture.

For students of the BA Teacher Training Program (046) it is strongly recommended to have passed the VU Introduction to American Cultures.

Due to substantial differences in the allocation of ECTS-Credits in various curricula (teacher training program - BA/MA English and American Studies), the requirements for this course vary. Information will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the course.