CourseandExaminationFactSheet:AutumnSemester2013

1,736:Sociology:SociologyofEntertainment
ECTScredits:2
Overviewexamination/s
(bindingregulationsseebelow)
Decentralexaminationpaperwrittenathome(individually)(100%)

Attachedcourses
TimetableLanguageLecturer
1,736,1.00Sociology:theSociologyofEntertainmentEnglishGanzBlttlerUrsula

Courseinformation
Courseprerequisites
Thiscourseassemblesmaterialsforacommonbaseofunderstandingregardingentertainmentissuesthataremoreandmorepartofourdailylifesince
theyincreasinglydefineweakrelationsofsociabilitybutalsostrongtiesofsharedidentityandcommitmentovertime.Eachlessonasksquestionsin
termsofLeitfragenthataretoberespondedbyclosereadingsofthereadermaterialsprovidedandindividualaswellasclassbasedreflexion.Atthe
endofeachlessonyououghttobeabletoprovidesomecoherentanswerthatiswellinformedbutalsowellreflected.Attheendofthecourselie
additionalinsightintoaheavilymediatedareaofoursocialmapthatistoomuchtakenforgrantedandmayneedtobemadestrange,oncemore.

Coursecontent
Whatdoesthetermofentertainmentmean,orencompass?Whatmakesentertainmentwork,andwhereliesthesocialuseofrespectivephenomena?
Whatdoestheentertainmentindustryprovideintermsofsocialglue,butalsomeansofsocialdetachment?Andwheredomediatedformsof
entertainmenthead,inthenearfuture?InputsforanswersareprovidedbyclassicalsociologistssuchasDuerkheimandWeber,SchuetzandLuhmann,
withalittlehelpofpsychology,communicationandculturalscience,mediaeconomy,aswellasliteratureandcinemastudies.Examplesdiscussedstem
fromhighlypopularentertainingsubjectswithinblockbustertelevision(aka.soapoperasandrealityshows),butalsofromeventculture,gamingculture
andmorerecentsocialmediaapplications.
Socialsciencesdidshunentertainmentmattersforanincrediblylongtimeasbeingirrelevantordangerous,even.PublicuniversitiesinEuropehesitated
totreatmediaentertainmentasworthyofreflexionbecauseoftheirelusiveaswellasescapistnature.Nothinggoodwassupposedtocomeoutofthe
populararts,andnosustainablesocialeffect,neither.Bourgeois(high)culturefeltthreatenedbythecrudeandunrefinedtasteofthecommonman.
Whilesociologistsdealingwiththeaftermathofcoldwarideologiesandmasspropagandasawescapismastheonemainfactorthatpushedwhole
populationsovertheedgeofreason,rightintothearmsofloomingdictatorsandblindrageterrorism.
Overthelast50to60yearsthiskindofintellectualstigmatisationhasgivenwaytomuchmoresensibleviewsandabroadvarietyofperspectiveson
entertainmentmatters(bothasamediaproductandaconsumptionstance),andthustomoreneutralstancesofcuriousobservation.Wedoknowmore
aboutwhatmakesentertainmentwork.Andyetonemajorproblemstaysonandpreventstheformationofaone,allencompassingentertainmenttheory:
Justasotheraspectsofpostmoderntastecultureentertainingprogramsarehighlyfragmentedanddovaryintermsofcontentandform,mediasupport
andaudienceresponse.Thismeansthatthesociologistspecialisedinentertainmentaffairsisforeverunabletograspthefullextentofwhatheisexploring,
inordertofindhisown,safepositionbetweeninandoutsider.Similarlytoalocalhistorianshe/heisdependentontheinsightoftheinsideexpert(
fans,forinstance)inordertocometogripswithparticulargroupdynamics.Entertainmentsociologyisacollaborativeendeavourandtransdisciplinary
bynature.

Coursestructure
Thecourseisheldasseminarandasksfromstudentsextensivereading,butalsoselfobservation.Manualswillbeprovidedastohowtoreadcomplex
textsandhowtoaddresseverydaymattersfromaninvolvedandengaged,yetscientificallysoundposition.

Courseliterature
1. Abercrombie,Nicolas/Longhurst,Brian(ed.):Audiences.ASociologicalTheoryofPerformanceandImagination.ThousandOaks/London:Sage
1998,6897
2. Adorno,TheodorW.:HowtoLookatTelevision(or.1954).Reprintin:J.M.Bernstein(ed.):TheCultureIndustry.SelectedEssaysonMassCulture.
London/NewYork:Routledge1991,158177
3. Baumol,Hilda/Baumol,WilliamJ.:TheMassMediaandtheCostDisease.In:WilliamS.Hendon/NancyK.Grant/DouglasV.Show(eds.):The
EconomicsofCulturalIndustries.Akron:Ass.forCulturalEconomics1984,109123.Reprintin:RuthTowse(Hrsg.):CulturalEconomics.TheArts,
theHeritageandtheMediaIndustries.Cheltenham/Lyme:Elgar1997,vol.2,304318
4. Carey,JamesW.:ACulturalApproachtoCommunications.In:Communications2(1975)2,122,undabgedr.in:Ders.:CommunicationasCulture.
EssaysonMediaandSociety.Boston:UnwynHyman1988,undNewYork/London:Routledge1992,1336
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5. Carroll,Nol:APhilosophyofMassArt.Oxford:ClarendonPress1998(excerpt)
6. Egri,Lajos:TheArtofDramaticWriting.ItsBasisintheCreativeInterpretationofHumanMotives(or.1942).ReprintNewYorketal.:Simon&
Schuster2004(excerpt)
7. Fiske,John:TheCulturalEconomyofFandom.In:LisaA.Lewis(ed.):AdoringAudience.FanCultureandPopularMedia.London&NewYork:
Routledge1992,3049
8. GanzBlttler,Ursula:ScriptedandStagedMediaRealities.In:StudiesinCommunicationSciences4(2004)1,111128
9. Hague,Angela:InfiniteGames.TheDerationalizationofDetectioninTwinPeaks.In:DavidLavery(ed.):FullofSecrets.CriticalApproachestoTwin
Peaks.Detroit:WayneStateUniversityPress1995,130143
10. Jenkins,Henry:ConvergenceCulture.NewYork/London:NewYorkUniversityPress2006(excerpt)
11. Knobloch,Silvia/Zillmann,Dolf:MoodManagementviatheDigitalJukebox.In:JournalofCommunication52(2006)2,351366
12. Kureishi,Hanif.2005.TheCarnivalofCulture.In:Ibid.:TheWordandtheBomb.London:faber&faber,95100;seealso
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/aug/04/religion.uk)
13. Luhmann,Niklas:TheRealityoftheMassMedia.Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress2000(excerpt)
14. Mittell,Jason:PreviouslyOn.PrimeTimeSerialsandtheMechanicsofMemory.In:MarinaGrishakova/MarieLaureRyan:Intermedialityand
Storytelling.Berlin/NewYork:WalterdeGruyter2010,pp.7898
15. Murray,Janet:HamletontheHolodeck.TheFutureofNarrativeinCyberspace.NewYorketal.:TheFreePress1997(excerpt)
16. Newcomb,HoraceM./Hirsch,PaulM.:TelevisionasaCulturalForum.ImplicationsforResearch.Originallypublishedin:QuarterlyReviewofFilm

17.
18.
19.
20.

Studies8(1983)2,4555.Reprintin:HoraceM.Newcomb(ed.):Television,theCriticalView.6theditionNewYork:OxfordUniversityPress2000,
561573.
Schtz,Alfred:OnMultipleRealities.In:PhilosophyandPhenomenologicalResearch5(1945),533576.Reprintin:Ders.:CollectedPapers,Vol.1:The
ProblemofSocialReality.DenHaag:Nijhoff1962,207259
Turner,Victor:FromRitualtoTheatre.TheHumanSeriousnessofPlay.NewYork:PerformingArtsJournalPublications1982,2001(excerpt)
Vogler,Christopher:TheWritersJourney.MythicStructureforWriters.LosAngeles:MichaelWieseProduction1998(excerpt)
Vorderer,Peter/Klimmt,Christoph/Ritterfeld,Ute:Enjoyment.AttheHeartofMediaEntertainment.In:CommunicationTheory14(2004)4,388408

Additionalcourseinformation

Examinationinformation
Examinationpart/s
1.Examinationpart(1/1)
Examinationtimeandform
Decentralexaminationpaperwrittenathome(individually)(100%)
Remark

Examinationaidrule
Termpapers
Termpapersmustbewrittenwithoutanyoneelseshelpandinaccordancewiththeknownquotationstandards,andtheymustcontaina
declarationofauthorship.
Thedocumentationofsources(quotations,bibliography)hastobedonethroughoutandconsistentlyinaccordancewiththeAPAorMLA
standards.Theindicationsofthesourcesofinformationtakenoververbatimorinparaphrase(quotations)mustbeintegratedintothetextin
accordancewiththepreceptsoftheapplicablequotationstandard,whileinformativeandbibliographicalnotesmustbeaddedasfootnotes
(recommendationsandstandardscanbefound,forexample,inMETZGER,C.(2010),LernundArbeitsstrategien(11.Aufl.).Aarau:Sauerlnder).
ForanyworkwrittenattheHSG,theindicationofthepagenumbersbothaccordingtotheMLAandtheAPAstandardisneveroptional.
Wheretherearenopagenumbersinsources,precisereferencesmustbeprovidedinadifferentway:titlesofchaptersorsections,sectionnumbers,
acts,scenes,verses,etc.
Forpapersinlaw,thelegalstandardisrecommended(bywayofexample,cf.FORSTMOSER,P.,OGOREKR.undVOGTH.(2008,Juristisches
Arbeiten:EineAnleitungfrStudierende(4.Auflage),Zrich:Schulthess,ortherecommendationsoftheLawSchool).
Supplementaryaids

Examinationlanguages
Questionlanguage:English
Answerlanguage:English

Examinationcontent
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Therulesareappliedaccordingtothefollowinglegallybindingfactsheet:
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Examinationrelevantliterature
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Whenwillthefactsheetsbecomebinding?
Informationaboutcoursesandexaminationtime(central/decentralandgradingform):fromthestartofthebiddingprocesson22August
2013
Informationaboutdecentralexaminations(examinationaidrule,examinationcontent,examinationrelevantliterature):afterthe4th
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