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Description: |
In this course, we will explore both the role of television in politics and the various modes through which television represents political life, focusing primarily on the United States. Developing a conceptual toolkit to analyze the politics of television, we will explore how the audiovisual form of television matters politically by posing the following questions: How do broadcast and cable news shape political discourse? What alternatives—e.g., community, activist, public, and documentary television—have developed to exploit and/or challenge the dominance of broadcast and cable networks in the representation of political life? What is the role of storytelling in the politics of television, from fictional series such as The West Wing, Homeland, News of a Kidnapping, and Parks and Recreation to the use of narrative in Congressional and Senate hearings about, for example, major public events and nominations to the Supreme Court? |