Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Course Description

Sex, plague, and murder in a 1970s Seattle suburb. Superheroes, anti-heroes, and political intrigue during the Cold War era. Frankenstein, nanotechnology, and shadow governments in the 21st century. Planetary exile on a women’s off-world penal colony. As a medium that uses both text and image to tell stories, graphic novels and sequential art often captures humanity’s best and worst impulses. This 300- level interdisciplinary course explores graphic storytelling that interrogates life, death, and the political intrigue that often defines the human condition. Specifically, we will interrogate the characteristics and tropes operative in these graphic narratives, engage with current scholarship about sequential art, and explore several sub-genres including utopian/dystopian narratives; cyber punk aesthetics; and the memoir. Course texts include Alan Moore's Watchman, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Charles Burns' Black Hole, Victor LaValle’s Destroyer, and Bitch Planet Vol. 1 & 2, to name a few.

Student Outcomes

1. Engage in advanced critical thinking and analysis of literary texts within the specific genre, author, or cultural phenomenon, developing and defending their own interpretations and arguments. 2. Demonstrate specialized knowledge and expertise in the specific genre, author, or cultural phenomenon, including its historical and cultural significance, major works, themes, styles, and influences. 3. Compare and contrast the literature of the genre, author, or cultural phenomenon with other literary periods, traditions, and cultures.

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