hu 3900 : the graphic narrative
c term 2014
day, time, and location tbd


jim cocola

assistant professor of
literature, film, and media

department of
humanities and arts

worcester polytechnic institute

from adrian tomine's shortcomings (2008)

seminar description

• as the literary rhetoric of print culture yields to the visual rhetoric of digital culture, the graphic narrative has emerged as a pivotal and transitional form of expression. sometimes known as comics, these works are often tragic. frequently referred to as graphic fiction or as graphic novels, many incorporate nonfictional elements drawn from autobiography, essay, journalism, memoir, and travelogue. in this inquiry seminar we will examine graphic narratives by contemporary masters of the form including alison bechdel, charles burns, daniel clowes, marjane satrapi, art spiegelman, adrian tomine, and chris ware, looking also to relevant precursors and related artifacts from sentimental novels to science fiction films, video games and other forms of interactive media. project options will include works of creative writing, critical and interpretative essays, and digital humanities initiatives, any of which might be crafted as graphic narratives in their own right.
  
  here is an incomplete list of graphic narratives that might come up for consideration in this seminar:
  
  Keiji Nakazawa, I Saw It (1972)
  Art Spiegelman, Maus (1986, 1991)
  Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (1993)
  Seth, It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken (1996)
  Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis (2000)
  Charles Burns, Black Hole (2005)
  Gilbert Hernandez, Sloth (2006)
  Adrian Tomine, Shortcomings (2007)
  Ivan Brunetti, ed., An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories (2006, 2008)
  Daniel Clowes, The Death-Ray (2011)
  Alison Bechdel, Are You My Mother? (2012)
  Chris Ware, Building Stories (2012)

last modified : jim cocola : 2013.02.05 15.15
[jcocola at wpi dot edu]