Recent labor strikes within the film and television industry have not only changed how television is produced but have brought to light myriad issues of racial representation. From the writer’s room to the use of AI in the editing room, television is in a profound moment of change in how bodies and lived, embodied experiences are presented on screen. This course will explore the television as a site of cultural production with special attention paid to practices of representation and how issues of race and gender have been entangled with the creation of new technologies and mediums, including the internet and digital and social media. We begin the course with some debates on technological and cultural approaches to television production and viewership before examining histories and regimes of racial representation on television throughout the 20th century to the present moment. Drawing from media studies, cultural studies, and film and television criticism we will consider several questions, including: Should we approach television as an “industry” through a content provider model or as particular relations between audience and artists? How does the television industry (including its professional guilds) understand race? How does the 21st century reliance on algorithmic processes affect representations of race on TV? [Tracks C, M]