Adam Knobler
Office:Forcina Hall 244
phone: x2204
email: knobler@tcnj.edu
office hours: M 9:30-10:50 am/Th. 12:20-1:50pm
 
 

Athens to New York is a required course for all first year students at the College of New Jersey, and serves as an integral part of both the General Education program and the Freshman Year Experience.  Its goal to to introduce students to the history of humanity and to help them find some common threads in human history that go the point of answering 4 core questions:

1)  What does it mean to be human?
2)  What does it mean to be part of a community?
3)  What does it mean to be moral, ethical and just?
4)  How do individuals and communities respond to
 differences of race, class, gender, ethnicity, etc.?

These four core questions will be central to our work all semester.

The focus of my particular sections will be to examine key issues in the history of humanity over the past 7500 years through comparisons with issues raised by contemporary television.  We shall alternate between lectures on historical topics and discussions of issues as raised on TV.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1) Three short papers, the subjects for which are detailed below.[30% of total grade]
 In order to keep the paper flow even, and not delay the treturn of your papers  (which may be rewritten at any time), the classes will be divided into 2 Groups:
  Group A:  If your SS# ends in an even number
  Group B:  If your SS# ends in an odd number

 Paper topics:
 1) Compose a 3-5 page essay placing  Socrates in a contemporary Talk Show environment.  Given the general tone of such programs, what issues can you imagine him defending?  For what would he be attacked and by whom?  Would he be a “celebrity”?  Make sure you actually use Plato’s writings and evidence from sample talk shows to prove you points!
  Due dates:  Group A:  January 31; Group B: February 3

 2) Write a 7-10 page essay discussing an episode of a “Reality TV” program and how a local/national newscast would cover the same  stories.  Take a story covered on the national/local news, and discuss how a “reality” show might cover it.  What constitutes “news” and what constitutes “entertainment”?
  Due dates:  Group B:  February 21; Group A: February 24

 3) Write a 3-5 page essay placing an episode from your own high-school years into a domestic situation comedy.  How does it conform to the standard TV portrayals of familes.
  Due dates:  Group A:  March 13; Group B:  March 16
 

2)   Final.  A collection of 4 essays (5 pages each) detailed below and due during the examination week. [35% of your total grade]:

 **FINAL: Answer the 4 core questions of the course, using evidence from both Historical examples of the past and contemporary television.  Assume 5 pages/essay.
  Due dates:  Groups A&B:  May 4

3) Class participation.  Active participation is expected, and will be worth 25% of your total grade.

4) 5% for successful completion of your community service assignment and your ability to tie it somehow into the mainstream of this course’s narrative.

THERE ARE NO FORMAL EXAMINATIONS!

Readings will consist of both primary and secondary sources.

 The following texts are required for this section of this class and are available in the college bookstore:

  Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays
  Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates
  Steven D. Stark, Glued to the Set (abbreviated below as GS)**
        [Stark's book is undergoing a reprinting. Until it arrives in the Bookstore, the relevant chapters will be available on 2-hour
            reserve in the Library]
  Daniel L. Bernardi, Star Trek and History
  David Haynes, Live at Five

To supplement this reading, students will also be required to purchase a course packet, on sale from the instructor.  Assigned Readings in the to be found in the packet are marked below with an asterisk (*).

Students will also be expected to watch television.  Students should chose from the list provided for each class, and watch at least two shows/episodes per week.  As personal schedules will allow, you should try and watch as many as possible.  A full list of all show schedules is appended to the syllabus.

Resources:         The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). ;   Television Pointers ;  http://WWW.ULTIMATETV.COM/UTVL/

January 17 INTRODUCTION

January 20 THE RISE OF GENDER ROLES

January 24 FROM LAURA AND LUCY TO ALLY,  XENA and BUFFY
 Readings: GS:  chap. 4 (I Love Lucy), 19 (The Dick Van Dyke Show) and 34 (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
 *Steven D. Stark, “Lady’s night,” New Republic 217 (Dec. 29, 1997), 13-   14
 *Leslie Haywood, “Hitting a Cultural nerve,” Chronicle of Higher Education (Sept. 4, 1998), B9

 Viewing Assignment: Ally McBeal; The Mary Tyler Moore Show; The Dick  Van Dyke Show; I Love Lucy; Xena: Warrior Princess; Buffy, the Vampire  Slayer

January 27 THE DISCOVERY OF THE INDIVIDUAL:  SOCRATES
  Readings:  Plato, Crito and Apology

 January 31 TALK SHOWS AND THE RISE OF THE INDIVIDUAL CELEBRITY
  Readings:  GS:  chap. 11 (Ed Sullivan Show), 37 (Tonight Show--before Carson) (The Tonight Show--with Johnny Carson) (Tonight Show--Jay Leno), 50  (Entertainment Tonight) and 56 (The Oprah Winfrey Show)
  *Joshua Gamson, “Do ask, do tell,” Utne reader 73 (Jan. 96), 74-83
  *Joshua Gamson, “Why they love Jerry Springer,” Tikkun 13/6 (November 98), 25-26

  Viewing Assignment: Tonight Show; Entertainment Tonight; Oprah; Show de Cristina; Jerry Springer; Sally; Ricki Lake; Rosie O’Donell; Montel

February 3 MORALITY & JUSTICE:  SOPHOCLES
  Readings:  Sophocles, Antigone
  In-Class Viewing:  Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Antigone episode)

February 7 MORAL CHOICES & JUST CAUSES:TRIALS ON TV
  Readings:  GS: chap. 55 (Hill-Thomas)
  *Max Frankel, “Out of focus,” New York Times Magazine (Nov. 5, 1995), 26+
  *Steven A Holmes, “Pondering two trials...,” New York Times (June 7, 1997), 10
  *Elaine Ware, “Court TV’s coverage of the O.J. Simpson Case,” Proteus
  *Michael M. Epstein, “The Case of Trials on Television,” Television Quarterly

February 10 HOW CAN WAR BE JUST?:  MEDIEVAL ANSWERS

February 14 MAKING WAR (UN)JUST: VIETNAM, THE GULF & BOSNIA ON TV
  Readings:  *Reese & Buckalew, “The militarism of local television,” Critical studies in mass communication 12/1 (Mar 1995), 40+
  *Brent MacGregor, “International television coverage of the bombing of the Baghdad ‘bunker’...,” Historical Journal of Film, Radio and television 14/3 (1994), 241-60
  *Charles Lane, “The air war,” New Republic (May 10, 99), 12-14
  *Larry Beinhart, “Book, movie, war, reality,” New York Times (May 18, 99), A23
  In class Viewing: Wag the dog

February 17 PRINTING, READING AND NEW AUTHORITY IN THE 16TH CENTURY

February 21 FROM “UNCLE WALTER” TO “REAL TV”: DETERMINING THE   “TRUTH” IN NEWS
  Readings: GS:  3 (Meet the Press), 7 (See It Now), 8 (Today), 17  (Presidential Press Conferences), 25 (CBS Evening News), 36 (Local News), 38  (60 Minutes), 45 (Ronald Reagan), 54 (America’s Funniest Home Videos)
  *Robin Anderson, “‘Reality TV’ and Criminal Injustice,” The humanist  54/5 (Sept. 1994), 8-13
  *Robin Andersen, “Cops on the Night Beat,” from Consumer culture and TV programming
  *Joshua Gamson, “Incredible news,” American prospect 19 (Fall 1994),  28-35
  Viewing Assignment:  CBS Evening News; Cops; 60 Minutes; Meet the Press; Today; Local news; America’s Funniest Home Videos; Real World;

February 24 NEW WORLDS/CONNECTED WORLDS:  EUROPEAN EXPANSION

February 28 STAR TREK AS RACIAL AND IMPERIAL METAPHOR
  Readings:  GS: chap. 52 (Star Trek)
  Bernardi, Star Trek and History
  *Denise Hurd, “The Monster Inside,” Journal of Popular Culture 31/1  (Summer 1997), 23-35.
  Viewing Assignment:  Star Trek; StarTrek: DS9; Star Trek: Next Generation; Star Trek: Voyager

March 2. ENLIGHTENMENT, DEMOCRACY AND THE RISE OF THE “PEOPLE’S” VOICE

 March 6. FROM THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES TO SOUTH PARK:  LOW AND  MIDDLEBROW AS  MAINSTREAM
  Readings:  GS: chap. 10 (Lawrence Welk Show), 21 (Beverly Hillbillies),  23 (Mister Ed), 33 (All in the Family), 53 (Roseanne)
  *Gerard Jones, “Fantasyland” and “Enduring the worst” from Honey, I’m home
  *Kathleen Rowe, “Roseanne: Unruly woman as domestic goddess,” Screen 31/4 (Winter 1990), 408-19
  *Kevin Grace, “South Park is a snort of defiance against a world gone to  hell,” Alberta Report/Western Report 25/35 (Aug. 17, 1998), 38.
  *David Wild, “South Park’s evil geniuses and the triumph of no-brow  culture,” Rolling Stone (Feb. 19, 1998), 32-6.
  *Laura Morowitz, “From Gaugin to Gilligan’s Island,” Journal of Popular Film and television 26/1 (Spring 1998), 2-10
  Viewing Assignment:  South Park; Lawrence Welk; Beverly Hillbillies; Roseanne; All in the Family; Gilligan’s Island

March 9. THE CULT OF DOMESTICITY:  FAMILY, HOME AND GENDER IN   THE 19TH CENTURY

March 13 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, THE BRADY BUNCH AND THE CULT OF  “TRADITIONAL FAMILY  VALUES”
  Readings: GS: chap. 9 (Disneyland), 15 (Leave it to Beaver), 32 (The  Brady Bunch), 41 (All My Children)
  *Rob Owen, “Growing up with the ultimate baby sitter,” from Gen X TV
  *Mary-Beth Haralovich, “Sit-coms and suburbs,” from Lynn Spigel and Denise Mann, eds., Private screenings
  *Lynn Spigel, “The Suburban Home Companion: Television and the  Neighbourhood Ideal...,” from Beatrix Columbia, ed., Sexuality and space
  *Lynn Spigel, “Television in the Family Circle” from Make room for TV
  Viewing Assignment:  Brady Bunch; Wonderful World of Disney; Leave it to Beaver; All My Children
 

March 16 INDUSTRY, LEISURE AND THE RISE OF THE WORKING CLASS

 March 20 & 23:  Break

March 27. LEISURE TIME:  SPORTS GENDER AND CONSUMPTION AT  HOME
  Readings:  GS: 31 (Super Bowl), 58 (Home Shopping)
  *Lynn Spigel, “Women’s work,” from Make room for TV
  *Mimi White, “Engendering couples,” and “Watching the girls go buy,”  from Tele-advising
  *James Collins, “Lords of the ring,” Time (June 29, 98), 66-8
  *Lynn Rosenthal, “Lords of the ring,” US News & World Report (May 17, 99), 52-8
  Nancy Jo Sales, “Beyond Fake,” New York (Oct. 26, 98) 38-45
  Viewing Assignment:  QVC; WWF Smackdown!; General Hospital

March 30 THE NEW IMPERIALISM:  AFRICA, ASIA AND EUROPEAN HEGEMONY

April 3  AMERICAN TV ABROAD:  THE RISE OF OF POPULAR  CULTURAL HEGEMONY
  Readings:  GS: 35 (Masterpiece Theatre), 48 ( MTV)( MTV-Latin; Europe; Asia), 60 (Wheel of Fortune)
  *Anthony DePalma, “19 nations see US as threat to culture,” New York  Times (July 1, 1998), E1+
  *Karen Breslau, “First comes electricity, then cable,” Newsweek (Apr. 13,  1998), 44
  *Michiko Kukitani, “Taking out the trash,” New York Times Magazine  (June 8, 1997), 30+
  *Alasdair Spark, “Wrestling with America,” Journal of popular culture 29/4 (1996), 83-98
  Viewing Assignment:  Sabado Gigante;Masterpiece  theatre; Wheel of Fortune;

April 6 THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF KILLING AND THE INHUMANITY OF WAR

April 10. WHEN IS WAR FUNNY?
  Readings:  GS: 42 (M*A*S*H*), 43 (Hostage Crisis)
  *Gerard Jones, “Manly retreats,”from Honey, I’m home
  Viewing Assignment: M*A*S*H*; Hogan’s Heroes

April 13 RACE, ETHNICITY AND CONTEMPORARY CONFLICT

 April 17. IS TV STILL BLACK AND WHITE?
  Readings:  GS: chap. 1 (Texaco Star Theater), 30 (Sesame Street), 40  (Roots), 51 (The Cosby Show)
  Haynes, Live at Five
  *James Sterngold, “A Racial divide widens on network TV,” New York Times (December 29, 1998), A1+
  *Gerard Jones, “Take your flies with you,” from Honey, I’m home
  *Rob Owen, “Watching us watching ourselves,” from GenX TV
  *Norma Schulman, “The house that black built?,” Journal of popular film  and television 22/3 (1994), 108-15
  *Martin Gilens, “Race and poverty in America,” Public opinion quarterly 60/4 (1996), 515-41
  *Leslie Inniss & Joe Ragin, “The Cosby Show,” Journal of black studies 25/6 (1995), 692-711
  In-Class Viewing:  Any Day Now: It’s Not Just the Butter
  Viewing Assignment: Jamie Foxx Show, Steve Harvey,For Your Love;; Cosby Show; Cosby;Friends; Sesame Street; Any Day Now

April 20& 24  ANSWERING OUR CORE QUESTIONS ON TELEVISION

April 27 CONCLUSIONS
 

VIEWING & (where possible) EPISODE GUIDE:
 

SHOW   TIME  NETWORK/CHANNEL COMCAST #

60 Minutes   Su, 7pm CBS (WCBS-2/KYW-3)  2 or 3
All in the Family  M-F,3pm/6pm/10pm TVLAND  37
All My Children  M-F,1 pm ABC (WPVI-6/WABC-7) 6 or 7
Ally McBeal   M: 9pm FOX (WNYW-5/WTXF-29) 5 or 24
America’s Funniest...  M-F,2am;8-9am USA   25
Any Day Now   Su, 10pm LIFETIME   46
    Sa, 11pm LIFETIME   46
Beverly Hillbillies  M-F, 5am TBS    35
Brady Bunch   M,2:30am NICK    27
    Tu-Sa,1am NICK    27
    Su,4:30pm/9pm  NICK   27
Buffy    T, 8pm  WB (WPIX-11/WPHL-17) 11 or 32
CBS Evening News  M-F,6:30pm CBS (WCBS-2/KYW-3) 2 or 3
Cops    Sa,8-10pm FOX (WNYW-5/WTXF-29) 5 or 24
Cosby (new show)  W, 8pm CBS (WCBS-2/KYW-3) 2 or 3
Cosby Show (old show) M-F, 8:30am WPIX-11   11
    M-F, 1-2pm WTXF-29   24
    M-F,4:05-5:05pm  WTBS   35
Dick Van Dyke Show M-F, 4am NICK    27
Entertainment Tonight  M-F, 7pm CBS (WCBS-2; KYW-3) 2 or 3
For Your Love  F,9:30pm WB (WPIX-11; WPHL-17) 11 or 32
Friends    Th, 8pm NBC (WNBC-4/WCAU-10) 4 or 10
    M-F, 7pm/11pm  WB (WPIX-11; WPHL-17)11 or 32
General Hospital  M-F, 3pm ABC (WPVI-6/WABC-7) 6 or 7
Gilligan’s Island  W/Sa, 5:30am TNT    33
    R, 1:45pm TNT    33
    Sa,6-7am TBS    35
    Su,6-7am TBS    35
Hogan’s Heroes  M-F, 2:30am/9:30am/4:30pm/7:30pm
      TVLAND   37
I Love Lucy   M, 1am NICK    27
    T-Sa,1:30am NICK    27
    Sa, 1:30pm WNYW-5   5
    Sa, 10-11pm NICK    27
    Su,2-3am;9:30pm NICK   27
Jamie Foxx Show  F, 8-9pm WB (WPIX-11; WPHL-17) 11 or 32
Jerry Springer   M-F, 9am & 11 am  WPIX-11  11
    M-F, 2pm WCAU-10   10
Lawrence Welk Show  Sa,7pm  WHYY-12  12
Leave it to Beaver  M-F,8pm  TV LAND  37
Local newscasts  M-F, 5-6:30pm WCBS-2  2
    M-F, 5-6:30pm KYW-3  3
    M-F, 5-6:30pm WNBC-4  4
    M-F,5-6:30pm  WPVI-6  6
    M-F,5-6:30pm  WABC-7  7
    M-F, 4-6:30pm WCAU-10  10
    M-F, 11pm  ch.2,3,4,10
    M-F, 10-11pm WWOR-9/WPIX-11/WPSG-29      9/11/24
    M-F, 10  WPHL-17  32
M*A*S*H*   ONLY AVAILABLE ON FX--not COMCAST
Mary Tyler Moore Show M-F,3:30am NICK    27
Masterpiece Theatre  Su,9pm PBS (WHYY-12;WNET-13) 12 or 13
Meet the Press   Su, 10:30am NBC (WNBC-4/WCAU-10) 4 or 10
Mister Ed  NOT BROADCAST IN LOCAL AREA
Montel    M-F,9am/2pm WWOR-9   9
    M-F, 3pm WCAU-10   10
Oprah    M-F,4p ABC (WPVI-6/WABC-7) 6 or 7
QVC    24 hours QVC    16
Real World   MTV
Ricki Lake   M-F,11am/5pm  WWOR-9   9
    M-F, 1am&noon  WPHL-17   32
Roseanne   M-F, 6:05-7:05am TBS   35
Rosie O’Donell  M-F,10am ABC (WPVI-6/WABC-7) 6 or 7
Sabado Gigante  Sa,8-11pm WXTV-41   41
Sally    M-F, 11am WNBC-4   4
    M-F, 4pm KYW-3   3
El Show de Cristina  M-F,4pm WXTV-41   41
Sesame Street   M-F, 7am PBS (WHYY-12/WNET-13) 12 or 13
    M-F, 9:30am/2:30pm PBS (WNJT-52) 8
    M-F,1:30pm PBS (WHYY-12)  12
South Park   W, 10pm COMEDY CENTRAL 70/62
Star Trek (orig. series)  M-F,5pm SCIFI    50
    Su, noon SCIFI    50
Star Trek: DS9  Sa, 7pm WPIX-11   11
Star Trek: Next Generation M-F,9pm WFMZ-69   69/61
    Sa, 5pm WPIX-11   11
    Sa, 6pm WPSG-57   29
Star Trek: Voyager  W,9pm UPN (WWOR-9/WPSG-57) 9 or 29
Steve Harvey Show  F, 9pm  WB (WPIX-11; WPHL-17) 11 or 32
Today    M-F,7-9am NBC (WNBC-4/WCAU-10)  4 or 10
Tonight Show   M-F, 11:30pm  NBC (WNBC-4/WCAU-10) 4 or 10
Wheel of Fortune  M-F,7:30pm ABC (WPVI-6/WABC-7) 6 or 7
Wonderful World of Disney Su, 7-9pm ABC (WPVI-6/WABC-7) 6 or 7
WWF Smackdown!  Th,8-10pm UPN (WWOR-9/WPSG-57) 9 or 29
Xena    Sa 2pm WB (WPHL-17)  32
    Sa, 9pm WB (WPIX-11)  11