Department of English

This online seminar will be a crash course in the language of comics and some of the most innovative graphic novels of the 21st century. With sales reaching over $2 billion, graphic novels are undeniably one of the greatest publishing success stories of the digital age—and the graphic novel’s increasing popularity has come hand-in-hand with its academic legitimacy and the rise of Comics Studies. We will unlock the secrets of the language of comics as we read a series of contemporary graphic novels from around the globe. Assignments will include weekly discussion posts, an oral presentation, and a final research paper. Some sessions will include asynchronous recorded content to be viewed as part of class time.