ENGL 103 A19: Case Studies in Research: Contemporary Graphic Literature: Surveying the Field

D. Woodman

In this course, we’ll explore a diverse array of contemporary graphic literature as they participate in social and cultural discourses and challenge conventional ideas about representation and interpretation. To set up the course, we’ll review background information and terms, and key thinkers in the field. We’ll look at some samples of works that are not part of our course readings to appreciate the expanse of the field. These will provide us with the necessary tools for exploring course texts and developing individual research projects.

Keeping in mind that a one-term course cannot cover everything, we will focus on the following works: Joe Sacco’s Palestine (1993), Miriam Engelberg’s Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person (2006), Hiroyuki Kojima’s The Manga Guide to Calculus (2009), G. Willow Wilson’s Ms Marvel: Vol. 1 (2014), the anthology Moonshot: Vol. 1 (2016), Bishakh Som’s Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir (2020), and Damian Duffy and John Jennings’ graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s The Parable of the Sower (2020).

The texts are available in paper and/or electronic (ebook) formats. Some can be accessed as through the University library (and perhaps local libraries). Students are encouraged to use whichever format is most accessible for them.