I submitted a plan for an Honors Colloquium (5-week course) last week and it was approved. I will be teaching it Fall 2017. I am very excited.
My notes are below:
Using Comics to Explore Visual Rhetoric/Visual Literacy
Scholarly sources:
Eisner, Will. “’Comics’ as a Form of Reading,” Comics and Sequential Art, Poorhouse Press, 1985, pp. 7-12.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Harper Perennial, 1994.
Amare, Nicole and Alan Manning. “The Language of Visuals: Text + Graphics = Visual Rhetoric.” IEEE Transactions of Professional Communication vol. 50, no. 1, 1 March 2007, pp. 57-70.
Online sources of comics:
Grand Comics Database https://www.comics.org/ = searchable database of comics
Read Comics http://www.readcomics.tv/ = online free reading of popular comics
Comics Research http://www.comicsresearch.org/ = database of research on comics
Additional information:
Writing about Comics and Graphic Novels from Duke University
Activities:
reading, discussion, online archival research, short response writing, digital presentation
Final project: Students will choose a character from comics, read a scholarly article on that character, and create a digital presentation presenting the visual rhetoric evidence that supports or contradicts the scholarly argument in a 5-7 minute digital presentation.
First version of the ad for students:
Comics aren’t just for geeks. They are used to present technical information (as in PS Preventive Maintenance Monthly)
Have you ever wondered how images create meaning? This class will look at how culture and meaning are communicated by images, specifically images in comics. Comics don’t just include Superman and Wonder Woman, PS Preventive Maintenance Monthly technical communication
Final version of the student ad:
Comics aren’t just for geeks.
Meet fascinating characters from technical communication, film, and contemporary art. Learn their history and how to read and interpret their texts. Join the stream of scholarship on sequential art and visual rhetoric by creating a digital presentation that supports or argues with existing ideas.
The grand finale will be a costume party with food, games, and movies.