When Seinfeld aired in 1989 it was panned as “sophomoric talk radio” and “a mildly amusing” show. Even comedian Roseanne Barr, whose sitcom, Roseanne (1988-1997), ran contemporaneously with Seinfeld on ABC, found the show about four Manhattanites rather pretentious: “They think they’re doing Samuel Beckett instead of a sitcom,” she asserted. However, by the end of Seinfeld‘s run (1998), the show was praised as “an authentic American comedy of manners” as well as “the defining sitcom of our age.” And as the author of our textbook proclaims, the show that introduced the world to the soup Nazi, close talkers, and being master of one’s domain may be “the greatest television sitcom.” This semester, we will explore this popular show from its early shaky period, when some considered it “overly Jewish” and too focused on New Yorkers, to its extraordinary news-making series finale. Through a close examination of Seinfeld, students will continue to hone the critical reading, thinking, and writing skills that they worked on in ENGL 10803. With a critical eye, they will approach the shows as texts, analyzing narrative construction, character types, themes, and selected social issues. Moreover, so that students will understand that this sitcom — as all television shows — is a product of the time period in which it was created, we will place Seinfeld in its historical and cultural context. Finally, students will be introduced to several critical and theoretical approaches to Seinfeld (and the sitcom in general) so that they may situate their personal reactions, both formal and ideological, in a more meaningful context. Basic television terminology will be introduced, and writing-as-a-process will be emphasized.
Required Texts and Materials
- Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain: Revisiting Television’s Greatest Sitcom (MID), David Lavery and Sara Lewis Dunne, eds.
- They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (TS / IS), Graff and Birkenstein
- There are also additional readings, some of which will be distributed by the instructor (labeled as “handouts”) and some of which students must print and bring to class (labeled “online”).
- $3.00: fee for binding a portfolio.
- ALL TELEVISION EPISODES ARE CONSIDERED REQUIRED TEXTS AS WELL.