TELE 385 Advanced Television Studies: This course examines a specific subject within the field of television, rotating the subjects on a regular basis to keep the course relevant to trends and issues within television and society. Today more than ever, TV is the primary storyteller in U.S. culture, and therefore the medium raises a constant stream of issues concerning everything from representation of groups to how parents raise their children. Classes focus on providing students with in-depth examinations of TV-related topics, with an overarching emphasis on the importance of approaching television and related issues from a variety of humanities perspectives (philosophical, industrial, historiographical, psychological, etc.), so as to enrich and complicate our understanding. This advanced course requires each student to complete an original research project utilizing academic scholarship, along with the creation of a formal academic presentation.