Comprehensive Course Syllabus

Transcription

1 Comprehensive Course Syllabus Graphic Novels: Image and Text Course Description: Since the 1980s, the so-called graphic novel, or long-form comic, has become a popular and accomplished literary and artistic form. Transcending its origins in pulp fantasy and adolescent entertainment, this evolving and hybrid medium represents, in the words of author and artist Eddie Campbell, "an emerging new literature of our times in which word, picture, and typography interact meaningfully and which is in tune with the complexity of modern life...." This course offers a survey of some of the best graphic novels of the last thirty years, and it provides the skills for reading comics critically in terms of what they say and how they say it. INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Michael Hancock Office Number: A136B Office Hours: A/C: Mods 4-10, (8:45-11:35, 12:10-2:10); B/D: Mods 6-10, (9:35-11:35, 12:10-12:55); I: 1-4; also by appointment Telephone number: (630) address: mhanc@imsa.edu Meeting Days, Times, and Room: ENG351-1: A/C, Mods 1-3 (7:30-8:40), A119 ENG351-2: A/C, Mods (2:15-3:25), A119 Texts/Materials: Lynda Barry, 100 Demons (2002) Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics (1993) Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen (1987) Marjane Satrapi, The Complete Persepolis (2004) 1

2 Art Spiegelman, Maus I-II (1986, 1991) Shaun Tan, The Arrival (2007) Essential Content/SSLs and Outcomes: Students will understand the conventions of comics as a medium and be able to explain their uses and effects [SSL IV.A-D]. Students will develop new skills in reading and creating multimodal works [SSL IV.B, D]. Students will evaluate the influence of historical context on form, style, and point of view [SSL II.A]. Students will apply knowledge gained from comics as a means of understanding contemporary and historical economic, social, and political issues and perspectives [SSL III.B]. Students will work collaboratively to come to an understanding of readings [SSL I.A-B]. Students will develop greater autonomy as readers by generating and responding to their own substantive questions about authors and literary works [SSL I.B]. Students will make and support informed judgments about issues of literary and aesthetic value [SSL IV.A-D]. Instructional Design and Approach: In order to understand the ways in which comics create and manipulate meaning, we will be concerning ourselves (especially in the first few weeks of class) with questions about comics formal practice. Here, we will take our cue (when possible) from Scott McCloud s Understanding Comics. As the semester progresses, you will develop habits and skills of active reading that will help you to be aware of meaning in comics and of what authors and artists have done to create or suggest what you understand. Your own readers questions will help to guide our discussions, especially in student-led literature circles on graphic novels of your choice. Moreover, this is a course in writing critically: in building an argument, in gathering and organizing evidence, and in engaging your audience. Although I will give you sample writing topics, one of the most important skills we ll practice in this course is that of finding an interesting topic, one that will satisfy both you and your readers. Class discussions may provide a starting point, but your papers should bring something new to the table. Finally, I will ask you to use research, creative writing, and your visual imagination to inform and even to entertain us. The multigenre project allows you to explore a topic related to comics through words and images, outside the confines of a traditional research paper. Cartooning exercises will help to prepare you for our final 2

3 storytelling challenge: a collaborative (or, if you wish, individual) preview of a longer proposed nonfiction comic. Student Expectations: My main expectations for you are to be productive, cooperative, on time, prepared, and involved. Because this course stresses the value of collaborative learning, attendance is mandatory; you cannot learn if you are not here to listen and to share your ideas with the class. Frequent absences and tardies, both excused and unexcused, may affect your grade adversely. Please review the Student and Parent Handbook for Academy attendance and tardiness procedures. You are expected to come to class, having completed your assigned reading and writing, prepared to engage in a thoughtful and respectful dialogue with others. You should also have your reading and writing materials so that you can take notes on our class discussions. Attention, participation, and appropriate comportment in class are requisites and have an important influence on assessment. To avoid distractions to yourself and others, please turn off and put away your electronic devices before class. Laptop use will be limited to designated times and tasks. Don t use Facebook, check , play games, or use computers for anything other than our class work during class. A high level of quality work is expected at the senior level in IMSA English courses. IMSA students themselves, past and present, have demonstrated the capacity to think critically, speak cogently, and write with power and elegance. That norm governs student expectation. Moreover, any work you turn in should be the product of your own thought and effort; acknowledge your indebtedness for what you borrow from others, and cite your sources consistently and appropriately using MLA format. Please review IMSA's academic honesty policy in the Handbook. Assessment Practices, Procedures, and Processes: The work of the course is assessed on a cumulative percentage basis: A=100-93; A-=92-90; B+=89-87; B=86-83; B-=82-80; C+=79-77; C=76-73; C-=72-70; D=69 or lower. Grades are to be interpreted in the following manner: A=Exceeds course requirements B=Meets course requirements C=Needs improvement D=Does not meet course requirements For written work, A work is eloquent, cogent, and sometimes profound; B work is committed but a bit prosaic, clunky, or off-the-mark; C work suffers from 3

4 serious writing and/or comprehension errors. More detailed guidelines are available on Moodle. Students are encouraged to confer with their teacher before and after assignments are due so that they understand their strengths and areas for improvement. Assignments range in value from 10 points (e.g., reading quizzes and shortwrites) to 100 points (essays, multigenre project, final project). You may revise your essays within two weeks of their return for a higher grade; the revision grade will be averaged with the original grade. For revisions, include the original (graded) and revised copies of your paper, along with a brief synopsis of your changes (not a list). The revision policy is intended to help you improve your writing and encourage significant changes, so revision will not hurt your grade. If a revised version is less successful than the original, its grade will not count towards the average. Please note that all papers and homework assignments will be due at the beginning of class on the due date. Except in cases of illness or family emergencies, which must be documented, late papers and projects will be lowered by a partial letter grade (e.g., from A- to B+ or B to B-) for each weekday (Monday-Friday) they are late. I will accept attachments if you have printer problems, but you must give me a hard copy of your paper that same day. Late homework will not be accepted, except in the case of excused absences. Sequence of Topics and Activities (subject to change): Week 1 (8/15-8/19): Introduction to course Weeks 2-3 (8/22-9/2): What are comics? Graphic novels? How do we read them? Reading: Rudiger, Reading Lessons: Graphic Novels 101 ( ; Tan, The Arrival; excerpts from McCloud, Understanding Comics; Paper #1 assigned Weeks 4-5 (9/6-9/16): How did comics grow up? How can comics retrieve and create memory? Reading: Spiegelman, Maus I-II; Paper #1 due (Sep. 8); Paper #2 assigned Weeks 6-9 (9/19-10/14): What if superheroes actually existed in our world? What can comics do that film can t? Reading: Moore and Gibbons, Watchmen; Paper #2 due (Oct. 13) Weeks (10/17-11/4): How and why has the graphic novel become a popular vehicle for personal memoirs? What artistic license do cartoonists use in (re)writing their lives? What distortions might be present? Reading: Lynda Barry, 100 Demons; Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis Week 13 (11/7-11/11): Screening and discussion of Persepolis 4

5 Weeks (11/14-11/22): Multigenre research projects due (Nov. 14); presentations Weeks (11/28-12/9): Literature circles and group book reviews on graphic novels of students choice Week 18 (12/12-12/16): Putting it all together: what s your story?; Graphic novel project due (Dec. 15); end of semester (no final exam) 5