English N166

Special Topics: Graphic Novels

Book List

Barry, Lynda: One! Hundred! Demons!; Bechdel, Alison: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic; McCloud, Scott: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art; Sacco, Joe: Palestine; Spiegelman, Art: Maus, Volume 1; Spiegelman, Art: Maus, Volume II; Tomine, Adrian: Shortcomings; Yang, Gene: American Born Chinese

Description

Graphic novel is often defined as: “a single-author, book-length work, meant for a grown-up reader, with a memoirist or novelistic nature, usually devoid of superheroes.” Many comic artists, however, ridicule the term as a pretentious and disingenuous attempt to rebrand comics in order to elevate their cultural status. We’ll examine the definitions, history, and various forms of graphic narratives in the U.S.

Students will be expected to attend and participate in class regularly, keep up with the reading, do some in-class writing, write two 6-page papers, and complete a final exam.

This course will be taught in Session A, from May 21 to June 28.