This course will introduce a set of critical tools for analyzing television culture. We will begin from the assumption that television is a major shaping force for culture, politics, and society, and thus deserves our notice and our considered engagement. It offers the student a chance to examine, in a critical context, his or her own relation (deep love? intense loathing? sheer boredom?) to TV in all its forms: the soap, the sitcom, the made-for-TV movie, the documentary, 24-hour music and news channels, the infomercial, and so on. Special attention will be paid to the way in which television's modes of address and technologies of representation constitute and transform race, gender, and class identities in the U.S. Students will be required to do assignments "in the field," which will involve viewing broadcasts and researching current writing (journalistic and scholarly) about television; we will use this writing as a model for our own forays into the growing field of television criticism. Requirements: access to cable television; active participation in discussion; several short papers; and regular participation in a web-based forum. No prerequisite. Enrollment limit: 19 per section (expected: 19 per section). Preference to first-year students. Two sections.