English 180: Graphic Literature (Fall 2011)

In March, we posted descriptions of advanced undergraduate courses being offered in Summer 2011 and Fall 2011. See here.

In that brochure, Professor Patrick Horrigan's English 180, Graphic Literature, is described as follows:

English 180 Genre Studies (Course ID# 6275)
Topic: Graphic Literature
Professor Patrick Horrigan
Thursdays, 6:00 – 8:30 PM

For English majors, this course will satisfy an English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can also satisfy a literature requirement in either the Creative Writing concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. This course may be applied toward the English minor.

Some of the most entertaining and powerful stories today are being told through the medium of comics—the artful blending of words and pictures on the page. Comic books aren’t just for kids anymore. In fact, books of “graphic literature,” as they are sometimes called, include everything from the adventures of Batman to the memoirs of Holocaust survivors. They might be funny or terrifying, action-packed or deeply psychological, explosively colorful or cool black and white. They might take place in the past, present, or future, on planet Earth or someplace you’ve never heard of before.

This course will sample the rich body of graphic literature since the mid-twentieth-century with an emphasis on work from the last two decades. Our goal will be to experience the pleasures and challenges of a medium that combines text and image. We’ll get a sense of the literature’s characteristic themes and ways of seeing the world, and we’ll develop an understanding of what makes the medium of comics distinct from other verbal and visual media, including film.

Books for discussion may include Herge, The Adventures of Tintin: King Ottokar’s Sceptre; Frank Miller, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns; Art Spiegelman, Maus; Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth; Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis; Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic; Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese; R. Sikoryak, Masterpiece Comics; and Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics.

Throughout the semester, students will write a series of short essays as well as a longer piece that may take the form of a research paper or a creative project.

Professor Horrigan has produced a great flyer to advertise the course.

Click image to see larger version.