Course Title: Television 201, Reality TV

Prerequisite:  Wikipedia.com

Credits:  3

This course will broaden the students understanding of the world we all know and love, that of Reality TV. The course is based on a genre of television programming which generally is unscripted, documenting actual events over fiction. The student will discover the inside, not just the outsides of Reality TV through this class.

Required reading materials includes: Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture by Susan Murray and Laurie Ouellette; The Reality TV Handbook: An Insider's Guide: How To: Ace a Casting Interview, Form an Alliance, Swallow a Live Bug, and Capitialize on Your 15 Minutes of Fame by Evan Marriot, John Saade, Joe Borgenicht and Daniel Chen; and Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television by Annette Hill.

Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture by Susan Murray and Laurie Ouellette.   From start to finish, you’ll enjoy a collection of essays that address topics ranging from the construction of televisual “reality” to the changing face of criminal violence on TV, to issues of surveillance, taste, and social control. This book begins with the history of some of the earliest reality shows such as The Real World and Cops. It ends by illustrating why this genre emerged, what it means, how it differs from earlier television programming, and how it engages societies, industries, and individuals.

The Reality TV Handbook: An Insider's Guide: How To: Ace a Casting Interview, Form an Alliance, Swallow a Live Bug, and Capitialize on Your 15 Minutes of Fame, by Evan Marriot, John Saade, Joe Borgenicht and Daniel Chen. This book gives you practical hints and insights into how to make yourself part of the next reality show cast. Full of useful information and illustrations, this book is all you need for your next casting call. The book identifies the skills needed to participate in Reality TV focused on challenges, strategy, survival and relationships.

Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television by Annette Hill. This book allows the viewers of Reality TV to have a voice. Through opinion polls, studies and debate, Annette Hill argues that a lot can be learned through listening to audiences. The book examines how viewers think and talk about specific topics including ethics, performance of ordinary people and the representation of authenticity.