Department of English

In the 21st century, comics are everywhere. This means superhero comics, manga, and graphic novels, but also a growing body of graphic nonfiction. Graphic nonfiction is just as capacious as nonfiction, referring to everything from graphic memoir to graphic journalism to graphic self-help. In this class we will explore a variety of kinds of graphic nonfiction to ask: how do we write not just with images in mind but through images? Or put simply, what can we do with comics? This course is part seminar and part creative workshop. We will read and analyze works by author-artists including Nick Sousanis, Scott McCloud, Alison Bechdel, Ben Passmore, Joe Sacco, and MariNaomi, and experiment with creating comics of our own. The course culminates in a final research-based project either about or in the form of comics. No prior experience with comics or drawing is necessary, just an interest and openness to combining words and images.