ENGL 24: UNMASKING COMICS: THE DAWN OF THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading | Value |
---|---|
Units: | 4 |
Hours: | 4 lecture per week (48 total per quarter) |
Advisory: | Demonstrated proficiency in English by placement via multiple measures OR through an equivalent placement process OR completion of ESLL 125 & ESLL 249. |
Degree & Credit Status: | Degree-Applicable Credit Course |
Foothill GE: | Area I: Humanities |
Transferable: | CSU/UC |
Grade Type: | Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass) |
Repeatability: | Not Repeatable |
Student Learning Outcomes
- Apply literary theory to graphic novel or memoir.
- Demonstrate thesis driven essay writing about the graphic novel.
Description
Course Objectives
The student will be able to:
A. Understand and situate the modern form of graphic narrative in world historical and literary contexts
B. Recognize and apply basic literary terminologies, theories, categories, motifs, and genres appropriate to an introductory college-level discussion of literature
C. Critique graphic narrative with greater insight and work to seek cross-cultural understanding
Course Content
A. History of communication
1. Evolution of communication toward writing
a. Speech/symbols
b. Cave painting, petroglyphs, pictograms, ideograms, writing, alphabet
c. Focus on the early pictographic forms as sequential narrative art
2. History of comics
a. Early narratives in visual art (15th-20th century)
b. Defining comics
c. Superhero comics: golden, silver, bronze, modern
d. Variety of forms and emerging forms
B. Application of literary theory to graphic writing
1. Modern criticism: New Critical and Structural criticism
a. Plot, theme, structures
b. Imagery, symbol, metaphor
2. Post-modern criticism: Deconstruction, Feminist, Marxist, Psychoanalytical and other literary theory
a. Multiplicity of meanings through different lenses appropriate to textual/visual analysis
3. Visual analysis
a. Composition, contrast, point of view, framing, text placement
4. Genre analysis: Memoir, Fantasy, Crime, Superhero and other genres
C. Critique and analyze graphic writing
1. More than Superhero: separate content/form
2. Visual only storytelling
3. Reading panels/reading text/conflict and synergy
4. Intertextuality/ metatextuality
5. Socio-cultural issues addressed through graphic writing
6. Compare/contrast similar forms or themes across cultures
Lab Content
Not applicable.
Special Facilities and/or Equipment
B. When taught via Foothill Global Access, ongoing access to computer with email software and capabilities and current internet browser, email address.
Method(s) of Evaluation
A. At least two critical papers and/or essay exams.
B. Quizzes, journals, midterm, oral reports, and/or final exam.
C. Participation in classroom discussion.
Method(s) of Instruction
A. Lecture
B. Discussion
C. Small group activities
Representative Text(s) and Other Materials
Ito, Junji. Fragments of Horror. Viz Media, 2017.
Duffy, Damian, adapted from Octavia Butler. Kindred. Abrams ComicsArt, 2017.
Wolk, Douglass. Reading Comics; How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean. Cambridge: De Capo, 2007.
McCloud, Scot. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.
Moore, Alan, and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 1986.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. New York: Pantheon, 1996.
Auster, Paul, adapted by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli. City of Glass. New York: Faber and Faber 2004.
Keiji, Nakazawa. Hiroshima: The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen. San Francisco: Last Gasp, 2006.
Bechdel, Allison. Fun Home: A Family Tragic Comic. New York: Mariner, 2006.
Although one or more of the above texts is older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, it remains a seminal text in this area of study.
Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments
A. Compare/contrast two graphic novels in two separate genres, to examine how the art form employs the use of text and image to evoke a message for readers.
B. In what ways do text/image create meaning in the graphic novel, across genres?