Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Research Paper: Faith and Faithlessness in Contemporary Television




Often, much of what we know about a faith comes via the media. In fact, it is often television series give us our first glimpse of a particular belief system with representations varying from accurate and objective to stereotypical and biased, even offensive. But as television characters are often the first times Americans see someone of another or no faith, these depictions are crucial for establishing defining characteristics. For your research paper, you will examine the representation of faith (or lack of faith) in an American television series from the last 25 years. The goals are to illustrate the ways in which a specific belief system is portrayed and to analyze that portrayal's impact on the general perception of those beliefs.

Requirements:
  • Minimum 10 pages in length
  • MLA Style, including parenthetical citation
  • Minimum of 6 outside sources—at least 3 from peer-reviewed academic texts—listed in a separate Works Cited page
  • Examine at least 4 relevant episodes of a major American television series (see list below)

Include in your research paper:
  • A clear thesis, arguing how this particular faith (or lack of faith) is portrayed in a specific television program
  • An analysis of:
    • The program's representation of one belief system—via specific characters, plot lines, themes, etc. 
    • The media's historical representation of this particular belief system
    • A contrasting view of this belief system via a secondary source
  • At least one secondary television program (no more than two episodes) to compare and contrasted with your primary source
  • A conclusion that illustrates an understanding of this intersection of faith and media

The primary focus of your paper should be on one of the following television shows; your secondary source may also come from this list:
  1. 30 Rock (NBC)
  2. American Horror Story (FX)
  3. Battlestar Galactica (2004 remake; Syfy)
  4. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
  5. Big Love (HBO)
  6. Blue Bloods (CBS)
  7. Bones (FOX) 
  8. The Borgias (Showtime)
  9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB/UPN)
  10. Caprica (Syfy)
  11. Carnivale (HBO)
  12. Charmed (The WB) 
  13. Community (NBC)
  14. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
  15. Dexter (Showtime)
  16. Downtown Abbey (PBS)
  17. Family Guy (FOX)
  18. Friends (NBC)
  19. Game of Thrones (HBO)
  20. Gilmore Girls (The WB)
  21. Glee (FOX)
  22. The Good Wife (CBS)
  23. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
  24. House (FOX)
  25. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
  26. Joan of Arcadia (CBS)
  27. Justified (FX)
  28. King of the Hill (FOX)
  29. Lost (ABC)
  30. Mad Men (AMC) 
  31. The Middle (ABC)
  32. Modern Family (ABC)
  33. The O.C. (Fox)
  34. Oz (HBO)
  35. The Office (NBC)
  36. Rome (HBO)
  37. Scrubs (NBC/ABC)
  38. Seventh Heaven (The WB)
  39. Sherlock (PBS)
  40. The Simpsons (FOX)
  41. Seinfeld (NBC)
  42. Sex and the City (HBO)
  43. Six Feet Under (HBO)
  44. The Sopranos (HBO)
  45. South Park (Comedy Central)
  46. Supernatural (The CW)
  47. That 70's Show (FOX)
  48. Touched By an Angel (CBS)
  49. True Blood (HBO) 
  50. True Detective (HBO)
  51. The Tudors (Showtime)
  52. The Vampire Diaries (The CW)
  53. The Walking Dead (AMC)
  54. The Wire (HBO)
  55. The X-Files (FOX)
Due:
Sections 16 & 80—

Week 12: Mo 04.21/We 04.23
RESEARCH PAPER THESIS (BRING TWO COPIES)

Week 13: Mo 0421/We 0423
DRAFT 1 (UP TO PAGE 4; BRING TWO COPIES)

Week 14: Mo 04.28/We 04.30
DRAFT 2 (UP TO PAGE 8; BRING ONE COPY)

Week 15: Mo 05.05/We 05.07
FINAL DRAFT

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