Department of English

This course analyzes acclaimed autobiographical graphic narratives—also called nonfiction comics or graphic memoirs—from a transnational and global perspective, focusing on works from East Asia, Latin America, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. The class will provide a history of the graphic memoir from the 1970s to today, and will demonstrate how complicated and often traumatic histories intertwine the political with the personal. Through readings by authors such as Art Spiegelman, Marjane Satrapi, Nakazawa Keiji, David B., Keum-Suk Gendry-Kim, and others, the class considers how the graphic memoir becomes a medium that is able to singularly grapple with the immediate personal effects of war, immigration, catastrophe, disability, and other sociopolitical and economic forces. Each week will include one class on comics history and analysis, and one class on comics-making. The class will include guest lectures and workshops by local cartoonists and artists. No previous history or knowledge of artmaking is required, although effort and interest is always rewarded. The course will include short discussion board posts, a research midterm, a short presentation, and film screenings. In addition, the class will conclude with a hands-on creative project which allows students to use the skills they learned and apply it towards the creation of short non-fiction graphic essays.