Course Catalog

Golden Age Radio and Its Times NEW!

Listen to excerpts of popular shows and hear how they reflected, and in some cases, altered society. How did the character of Rochester on The Jack Benny Program both maintain and undermine racial stereotypes? How did Fibber McGee and Molly help win WWII? How did Suspense grapple with the conflicted role of women in the post-war era? … and so on. Discover how common program forms were first developed for radio and hear how broadcast news was invented virtually on the eve of WWII. Examine the art of radio—the so-called “theater of the mind.” About the Instructor: Alan Bell spent nearly 25 years as a writer, producer and director, mostly for public television. He recently retired from the faculty of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, where he taught video production, journalism, and media history and criticism. He's old enough to recall tail end of "old time radio" as a child, but really developed his interest in it as an SF State undergraduate in the mid-'60s.

This class is not available at this time.

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