English: Graphic Novel

Subjects vary by semester. Representative topic: Reading the American Wilderness. May be repeated for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years.

Open to Degree and PACE students

The development of the graphic novel has seen comics turning to increasingly sophisticated adult audiences, and used for increasingly subtle and complex purposes. This course offers an orientation in this movement, in both memoir and fiction. We will read works by Art Spiegelman, Alison Bechdel, Lynda Barry, Chris Ware, and others. Don't expect any manga or superhero comics, but if you're already interested in other comics genres, this course should show you lots of other cartoonists to enjoy.

You'll read approximately one graphic novel per week. Classroom lecture and discussion will be directed at questions of form or technique at least as often as at matters of theme. In other words, we'll learn to read comics carefully by thinking about the storytelling decisions that a cartoonist makes. In the end, this course is about practicing the skills of sensitive and attentive reading as much as it is about the particular texts we read.

Assignments include regular (weekly) reading quizzes, regular (weekly) participation in online collection of discussion questions, and a handful of short papers. Class participation also matters. The workload is steady, not punctuated by exam-cramming or large projects.