Watching Teen TV explores the phenomenon of “teen TV” in the United States, examining the meanings and manifestations of this category from a variety of perspectives (academic, cultural and social, industrial, and historical). What is “Teen TV” and how has it contributed to understandings of being a teen in the United States?

“Teen TV” is an intriguing concept to explore today, particularly given the sustained and apparently always growing importance of the teen market to advertisers relying on television to reach that market. The questions that arise when considering Teen TV are many, yet few books have examined this aspect of television in the U.S. from a comprehensive perspective. Further, programs aimed at teens and/or featuring teen characters exist in a rapidly changing cultural and industrial environment. Today, entire networks are a part of this picture, as well as forms of media that extend beyond television proper (the Internet, cell phones, movies, music, magazines…); “classic” shows featuring visions of teenagers from the past are part of current teen lexicon—and current teen characters resonate with viewers in their thirties and forties.

These are but a few of the themes and topics Watching Teen TV seeks to examine. In this anthology, the editors welcome a range of articles that pose as many questions as they seek to answer, with the hopes of beginning a rich discussion about Teen TV—whatever that might be.

We invite contributions that authors think would fit into the scope of this book. We propose the following three sections (with suggested themes and topics) as a means of helping prospective contributors as they develop abstracts, but we encourage authors to submit abstracts that they feel fit the purpose of the anthology overall:

SECTION 1: CONTEXTS~ Industry, Production, Society/Culture, History