Course info

Once dismissed by critics as insufficiently "literary," the significance of the graphic narrative in contemporary literature can no longer be denied. Though all types of graphic narratives are often referred to by the misleading label "graphic novel," this exciting combination of words and pictures comes in many different genres. In this class, we will examine graphic narratives in multiple genres to explore the range of possibilities this form offers through careful literary and visual analysis. In addition to attentive close reading, we will put each work of fiction or nonfiction into its appropriate historical and cultural contexts using literary and historical scholarship.