Study Guides: Lynn Spigel
Lynn Spigel 's book Make Room for TV is one of the key texts in television studies. Her emphasis is on gender, entertainment, and domesticity, so it's somewhat different than the focus of this class. To set the stage for our investigation of television's impact on the Civil Rights Movement, we are reading chapter 1, which traces the cultural contexts that shaped television's uses and meanings in the first years of its appearance.
The Victorians
When was the Victorian era? In what ways were the Victorians' lives different from the lives of their predecessors? What values did they celebrate, and how were these ideals expressed in homes, marriages, families, and public spaces?
The Progressives
When was the Progressive era? In what ways were their lives different from the lives of Victorians? What values did they celebrate, and how were these ideals expressed in homes, marriages, families, and public spaces? What contradictions are evident in the Progressives' attitudes toward machinery and nature?
Machines and Modern Life
What were some of the other machines that changed people's lives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? How were these new products sold?