The history of visual communication of ideas and experiences dates from before the dawn of civilization. A recent discovery found that the Palaeolithic rock art tradition first appeared on Borneo between about 52,000 and 40,000 years ago. Since then pictographic imagery has evolved through every culture and civilization to arrive at the contemporary graphic novel.
In this course students will examine societies and their cultural, political and economic systems through the lens of graphic novels in historical and contemporary contexts. Students will demonstrate a high level of understanding through written and oral communication and provide evidence of reasoning behind their arguments.
Course Objectives:
· Gain an understanding of what sequential art is and the structural elements that allow a narrative to develop.
· Students will examine the historical context of selected graphic novels and discuss the epistemology within the content.
· Students will create their own short comic or graphic novel utilizing information disseminated from the required text, discussions and lectures.
· Students will select a contemporary graphic novel from a variety of global regions to read, disseminate and discuss in class.
· Students will compose a paper based upon a particular issue or event described in their selected graphic novel. The thesis of the paper should be backed up by sound statistical evidence and a demonstrated knowledge of the subject.
Required Text:
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud (Harper Collins, 1994)
ISBN 0-06-097625-X
- Teacher: Russell Horton