Television Series and Cultural Studies

Everybody seems to love television series. TV series, whether Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, or Homeland have acquired a high status in our culture. They stand for audiovisual ‘quality’, complexity, and convey ‘meaningful narratives about our culture. This has not always been the case. TV series, especially melodramatic series and soap operas, were regarded as a low form of entertainment for much of 1970s and 1980s. With the rise of drama series on channels like HBO and later AMC, we saw the revival of the television series under considerably different medial and economic conditions. However, not only the series themselves have developed, also the way the series are distributed (DVD box sets, video on demand, video streaming providers etc.) and how the series are watched have changed considerably. The seminar will offer an overview of different TV series from the late 1990s to the present day. Furthermore, we will discuss television in connection with the dramatic changes in the media system in general, which are often described with the help of concepts like “convergence culture” and “participatory culture” (Henry Jenkins). We will address aspects of production, aesthetics, distribution as well as reception. Last but not least we are interested in the narratives these series tell about our current ‘neoliberal’ culture.

By the end of the semester students should have an understanding of the historical development of television series. Furthermore, they should be able to analyze one series in regard to cultural, aesthetic, and economic aspects.

Seminar with group work, readings assignments, short input sessions, and student presentations. Students are expected to analyze one example of a series and give a presentation of their findings.

For ‚regular‘ students Studium Generale, Lernbereich 2: Wissen und Gesellschaft.

For exchange and international students: 2.5 CP. Prüfungsleistung: Students are expected to analyze one example of a series, give a presentation of their findings, and provide a thesis paper.

NB: Students need to discuss the topic and the thesis paper in my office hours at least one week before the presentation.

Jason Mittell. Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling. Media Commons Press. January 19, 2015.