"I Don't Even Know Why They Call It Color TV": Television and Race in America

Our era has been called both "post-televisual" and "post-racial," yet images that define and are defined by (mis)understandings of race fill our screens (whether on TV sets or other means for disseminating TV). Formations of television and race not only remain pressing concerns but are intertwined, mutually constructing one another. This course thus explores how notions of race have been mediated and how media have figured race. Topics include: stereotype analysis; race in television history; scandal and crisis; intersections of gender and sexuality; consumerism and commodification; racial representation across TV genres (comedy, drama, sports, reality TV), and new media possibilities.