Carlos Scolari and Jorge Carrión, lecturers at the Department of Communication and the Department of Humanities respectively, are responsible for coordinating the new MOOC "The third golden age of television" , which is offered through the platform Miríada X and organized by UPF.

This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) focuses on the relationship between television and other media and discourses, such as literature, comics, video games and transmedia, based on various topics related to some of the major American television series of the last fifteen years.

Carlos Scolari

- What was the reason for creating this MOOC about American television series?

We chose a topic that might be of interest to people with different backgrounds, profiles and interests. The new television series are a global phenomenon and we need to bring these new narrative forms to the university.

- What does the process of creating an MOOC consist of? Is it difficult? What is the difference between this MOOC and the rest?

Making a MOOC is not that complicated, but it is difficult to make one that is high quality and innovative! Many MOOCs put the professor in front of a webcam and record the speech; however, the MOOC "The third golden age of television" was the result of a totally different concept: we want a high quality audiovisual MOOC, with creative educational activities, and we want to generate intense participatory dynamics within the platform.

-The MOOC phenomenon is new. Is here to stay or is it a fad?

What is happening to education is the same as what happened to communication: after the domination of broadcasting by the mass media (radio, television, press, etc.). we now have a more complex ecosystem, we have more "species", from social networks to the new collaborative platforms for content creation and distribution. Education used to be concentrated in some recognized institutions: school, college, etc. We now have many more alternatives for training, some of which are completely extra-institutional (such as platforms like the P2P University or Khan Academy) or located on the periphery of traditional institutions (like MOOCs). MOOCS are an emerging phenomenon in the new ecology of education, which is now more polyphonic and has many more actors. In this context, they will occupy a place, which has yet to be defined, within the new ecology of education.

"MOOCS are an emerging phenomenon in the new ecology of education, which is now more polyphonic and has many more actors"

Jorge Carrión

- The Sopranos, Mad Men , Lost, Six Feet Under... Why have you chosen these series rather than others?

The choice was very difficult to make, but we thought the undisputed, on one hand, that is, with the widest following and the most artistically important; but also those which enable discussion of key themes (the city, the media, history, etc.) of our era.

- What are the objectives of this course? Is it necessary to watch a lot of TV series?

The more the better, but having some idea of some of those included in the syllabus is enough. Every student will be able to find new levels of study levels in the videos and especially in the reading materials. The objectives are to start thinking seriously about series as objects of academic study, understanding them as part of the media and artistic complex constructions, and strengthening intellectual passion. And having fun because pleasure is closely related to study in this case.

"The objectives are to start thinking seriously about series as objects of academic study, understanding them as part of the media and artistic complex constructions"

- You named the course The Third Golden Age of Television. Are we at a particularly creative point in time?

Very much so. In terms of both quality and quantity. In production and fuse's entertainment. It is a global phenomenon in which creation is collective. And it is growing.

- Registrations are coming along nicely. Did you expect such a good result?

It is an expanding phenomenon that calls for more depth. More and more people consume television series and they want to know more, not just about the fictional world but also about production issues (creativity, dynamics, how to make a script, how a casting works...) and about interaction (transmedia reception, fan communities, fan fiction, etc.). We are very happy with the good reception. With luck, we will get more students. And couch potatoes.

"More and more people consume television series and they want to know more"

Promotional MOOC video: "The third golden age of television"