ENG 286 - Studies in the Graphic Novel

Since the early twentieth century, images combined with texts have become increasingly important to our understanding of the world around us, a development that has given birth to motion pictures and television on the one hand and to the comics and graphic novels on the other hand. While film and TV have long been considered subjects of academic study, comics and graphic novels as media of literary expression have only recently begun to garner critical attention. In this class, students will consider graphic novels as multimodal literature that represents an increasingly wide range of cultural experiences. Students will encounter a wide range of different graphic novels, including memoirs and works of fiction that will acquaint them with the ways the genre reflects its cultural context. In addition, students will write and create for a general audience by contributing to a public blog. Each semester offered, the course will investigate a specific aspect of graphic novels, including but not limited to Women Writers and the Graphic Novel, Graphic Novel as History, Graphic Novels and Mental Illness, Graphic Novel as Memoir and Autobiography. Pass/Fail: Pass/Fail option Course Typically Offered: Every 2 years.

Prerequisite(s): ENG 100; for students in CWR, ENG, SEN, or ELE-Language Arts, ENG 100 and ENG 181.

Credits: 3