Undergraduate Program
Unique No. 07325
Faculty: Kackman
Class Time: TTH 11-1230P
Room: CMA 3.116
Screening Time: T 7:30-10P
Room: CMA 3.116
Writing Comp: Yes
Comm/Culture Req: No
Closing Limit: 35
Cross-listed: None
Prerequisites
Must be an RTF major with a UT GPA of at least a 2.25 and have upper division standing. The following coursework with a grade of at least C in each course: RTF 305, either 314 or 316, and 6 additional hours of lower-division coursework in RTF.
Consent requirements
This course does not require consent. Registration is open via the online registration system to all RTF majors.
First class day policy
Students must attend the first class day or make prior arrangements with the instructor.
Course description
Film and television are often treated as popular sources of historical knowledge. At the same time, recent theories of historiography have examined the role of narrative in shaping "official" accounts of the past. This course explores the interplay between media, history, memory, and nostalgia. Topics discussed will include the narrativization and fictionalization of past events, the role of memory in interpreting those fictional narratives, and the relationship of popular culture to official historical accounts.
Michael Kackman joins the RTF as a permanent faculty member this summer. His specialties are the cultural analysis of media, especially television, and the history of television, with an emphasis on television's treatment of espionage and the cold war.