Contemporary TV fiction

Knowledge

After completing the course, students will:

• have a critical understanding of various analytical and theoretical approaches to contemporary television fiction
• be able to situate theoretical concepts such as postmodernism, representation, genre, national and transnationalism, and aesthetics in relation to television studies
• understand key debates and histories in television studies
• understand the relationship between television studies and specific cultural trends

Skills

After completing the course, students will be able to:

• understand television fiction in an aesthetic, ideological, institutional and cultural perspective
• conduct theoretically informed textual analyses of television fiction
• analyse and critically discuss television fiction in different cultural contexts
• conduct close formal readings of television texts
• present arguments about contemporary TV fiction in different forms—oral, written, and visual

General competence

After completing the course, students will be able to:

• read and discuss theoretical perspectives
• conduct textual analyses of audiovisual and written materials
• develop strategies for disseminating ideas within a group setting
• develop oral presentation skills
• understand how arguments are structured in academic and critical texts
• understand the function of different written materials, particularly scholarly, critical, and popular

No obligatory prerequisites beyond the minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway.

It is however highly advisable that the students have obtained fundamental textual analytical skills and knowledge of central theoretical perspectives in the humanities (through courses such as MEVIT1110, MEVIT2110, MEVIT2710, MEVIT2532, MEVIT3528, emneMEVIT3510 / emne:4510).

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

The teaching will consist of eight four-hour lecture-seminars. Attendance and familiarity with course materials is expected. Students are expected to actively participate in class discussions.

Compulsory activity

To qualify for the exam students are required to participate in an in-class group-led activity. Each week one group will be responsible for conducting a teaching activity. Details provided in week 1.

The compulsory assignment will be assessed as approved/not approved. Approval of the assignment is a prerequisite for being allowed to sit for the examination.

If you get ill or have other valid reasons for not being able to meet the deadline of the compulsory activity, you must apply for valid absence or postponed deadline. Read more about compulsory activities at the Faculty of Humanities and find link to the application form.

A student who has completed compulsory activity and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

The exam for this course is a term paper of up to ten (10) standard pages. One standard page is approximately 2300 characters excluding spaces. Essay questions will be provided. The page count does not include the front page, literature list/bibliography or appendices.

Compulsory activity must be fulfilled to be able to hand in the term paper.

See also the department's exam information.

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Resitting an examination