Week One: The Graphic Narrative

A page of  Une Semaine de Bonte by Max Ernst

All comics are graphic narratives, but not all graphic narratives are comics. There are formal qualities and cultural contexts for "comics" that don't necessary apply to all works that tell stories by using words and pictures in a coordinated fashion. In this course I use the term "graphic narrative" to encompass the range of works that use text and images working together to tell a story, build an imaginary world or create a literary experience. The theory around how text and images can work together in this way is the basic theory of the comics, and this is where we will begin our conversation in this class.

Most of the time I will refer to what we read in this course as "comics," because that is a popular and informal term in the U.S. to describe much of what we will read. You will also hear terms like "graphic novel' (the long form of the graphic narrative, generally written in comics form but sometimes interleaved with traditional prose narrative or traditional forms of illustration or experimental forms of illustration or narrative) or "manga" (the Japanese form of comics which can encompass work not only from Japan but originating in other places while sharing salient attributes of the Japanese form).

You are probably already getting the idea that the terms "comics," "graphic narrative," and "manga," like many other terms used to describe and discuss art and literature are not absolute, but rather are representative of clusters of meanings embodying distinctions that tend to be very approximate and at times, even nebulous. Many works overlap categories and/or distort such distinctions when such distinctions are applied to them. Artists and writers often do their best to subvert and overturn categories or boundaries. Whenever one begins studying a new subject, one must get some idea of the vocabulary used by the specialists in that subject. That is the focus of the first two weeks of this class, to get oriented to the way we talk about comics, some of the ideas we have about comics and the specific and specialized terms we use to talk about the experience of the graphic narrative. When you write about the reading you do this semester try, whenever appropriate, to use the specialized vocabulary associated with graphic storytelling. At the same time be prepared to stay flexible about the categories you use to express your experience and be open to the ways in which sometimes our perceptions of text can seem paradoxical, multi-faceted and sometimes even contradictory. It seems to me there is little in the act of reading that is, even in the least way, absolute.

Before the First Class Reading Assignment: Read The Arrival by Shaun Tan. We will talk about wordless comics.

Course Resources: A number of texts you may need to read for this course have copies available on the Course Resource Page.  You will be prompted to enter your Ringling username and password to access the course resource page. There is also a link to the Resource Page in the Course Links Box.

Writing Assignment: During the first class we will be creating a blog on which you will post all your writing for this class this semester.  After you have read Shaun Tan's, The Arrival, I will ask you to write a blog post of approximately 250-350 words that describes how specifically a comic like The Arrival can tell a story without using words.  Remember to spellcheck your blog post before publishing it.  We will work through this process in our first class session.


Read the syllabus. The syllabus for the class is online at http://ringling.edu/~dsteilin
or you can simply click on the link to the syllabus in the course links box.

Bring your notebook computer or tablet to class.

Before Week Two of the course, students should read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, which provides a very good introduction to the subject of the Graphic Narrative and some of the important critical questions we will take up this semester. If you have already read Understanding Comics you might consider reading Making Comics, Scott McCloud's  practical primer on the methods of the comics. Or you might prefer to read Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels by the English writer, Roger Sabin. This is a very readable and nicely illustrated general history of the English Language graphic narrative. If you have a strong interest in the theory of comics and you want to read beyond Scott McCloud's general introduction to the topic, you might want to read Heer and Worcester's A Comics Studies Reader, a selection of essays and excerpts from a number of landmark critical discussions of the comics.

Executive Summary of the Syllabus: You are allowed two absences without penalty. In accordance with Ringling's new attendance policy, you can miss no more than two classes without receiving an F in the course. Attendance is taken and reported to the registrar weekly. 

You are required to post to your blog responding to one of the works you have read for each week.  Blogs will be reviewed at the mid-term and the final week. Your final posting should be a well-considered list of at least 10 graphic narratives you would like to read in the year ahead.. All changes to the course, corrections, etc. will be posted here, on the course blog. 

Anyone who needs one will be given an individual educational plan for optimum completion of the course, consult with the instructor. In the event of a hurricane evacuation this blog will serve as the contact point for students in the course. The course will continue in online form so that no work will be missed and the semester can be successfully completed and credits earned. Some of the works in this course have sexually explicit content, or sometimes contain racist or sexist stereotypes. Students are welcome to substitute or choose alternative works for texts they might find offensive. Reading and responding to 14 significant works, attending class within the allotted absences, and participating in class discussion should result in a grade of "B." To get a higher grade, students are expected to read more and write more responses to what they read or view. For details on grades and other matters please read the syllabus. I hope you enjoy this opportunity to read and discuss a number of excellent comics and graphic novels. I look forward to seeing you in class.