Content area
Abstract
This report is, in essence, a proposal for an undergraduate class that could be taught at an R1 university which focuses on comics, comic books, graphic novels, and graphic literature as its object of study. The course is designed to be both introductory to the subject itself and the field of comics studies, and equally importantly is intended to function as a survey of some notable and influential works from the medium. The first chapter is a presentation of the syllabus of the proposed class, as it would be distributed and made available to students, complete with a full course schedule, course description, list of assignments, a grading breakdown, and a list of the assessments. The second chapter, which constitutes the bulk of this report, is a thorough discussion of all aspects of the class: most saliently the selected assigned comics and articles, along with an explanation of the reasonings behind decisions made relative to the assignments, assessments, and class format. This report is intended to serve as a model for how instructors might create courses that introduce students in a meaningful way to provocative and thoughtful comics, inspiring them to love and pursue the medium once they leave the walls of the academy. It is also, implicitly and explicitly, an argument for the serious consideration of comics within those very confines by those in positions of authority–a plea for the expansion of institutional support for and interest in the form.
