What’s on TV? Television and American culture

Elecitve Course

Television has been a powerful force in US history and culture. American TV shows and programming styles have been exported globally, and are modified to suit diverse cultural settings, including Hong Kong. The United States exerts significant global influence, in part because of its success in marketing itself, both domestically and abroad, through media and entertainment. While many contest the content or perspective of American media, few are exempt from its impact. This course offers students a chance to consider the impact of television inside and outside of the US and explore how the American media-machine reaches into every facet of the nation’s life as well as into the lives of people around the world. Topics to be discussed in the course may include the history of television, strategies for critical viewing, war and TV, educational television, television’s domination of politics, youth culture and TV, the technology behind television programming, and finally TV programming in Hong Kong.