Area chair
The MAPACA Television Area seeks to investigate the relationship between television, society, and our lives. How do we define our culture, relationships, and our self-knowledge according to the images and structure provided by the medium of television? Are we being provided rigorous information to help the individual be a productive citizen in a society? Have we been socialized, at least in part, by television, to be merely consumers? Is television’s role to challenge or pacify? What is reality and fiction? Can we expect programming which examines the issues of our complex lives; or must information be made reductive in order to appeal to an average? How does television represent or modify economic, institutional, and cultural norms? These are some of the questions we seek to answer. Please feel free to address these queries or explore new ones. All theoretical viewpoints and methodologies are welcome.