INTRODUCTION TO COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS: THEORY, HISTORY, METHOD

ART 307

An introduction to making comics as both a subject and means of academic inquiry. This is a rigorous class and the workload is substantial. Students will learn a variety of ways of making pictures and stories using materials that will vary over the course of the semester. Final project will be an original, reproducible, handmade book of at least 32 pages, based on the stories or comics or characters created during the semester. No previous drawing experience necessary, but must be eager to draw seven days per week throughout the duration of the course.

ASIANAM 152

Explores fantasy as a conduit of political meaning in Asian American fiction, graphic novels, anime, and art. Analyzes race as it circulates in visual mediums and literary texts. Engages issues such as stereotyping, caricature, and microaggressions; whitewashing, yellowface, and passing; race fetishism; cultural appropriation; multiracialism; kawaii or cute style; techno- orientalism and virtual Asians. Foregrounding fantasies of bodilessness, examine race as it is grafted onto nonhuman forms-objects, digital avatars, robots-at the borders of science and fiction. Examines how projections of the future reflect cultural anxieties about race, immigration, and Asian Americans.

LITTRANS 231

Surveys the manga (Japanese comicbook) from precursors in premodern woodblock-printed booklets to contemporary manifestations in subgenres like gekiga, mecha, shonen, and shojo. Draws on critical writings on literature, popular culture, and visual culture.

ASIAN 376

Surveys the manga (Japanese comicbook) from its precursors in premodern woodblock-printed booklets to its contemporary manifestations in subgenres like shonen, gekiga, mecha, and shojo. Draws upon critical writings on visual culture, literature, and visual-verbal narrative. Not open to students with credit for E ASIAN 376 prior to Fall 2019

ART 507

Builds on the work begun in Making Comics 1. Students will already be comfortable working on deadline, with applying previous comics-making experience to a variety of story styles, both fictional and non-fictional, and with using a variety of materials. This class is just as rigorous and demanding as Art 307. You'll be required to write and draw in your journal every day. Homework is substantial. Students will finish a 3-4 page comic strip each week, even when feeling uninspired. Readings will include more long-form comics. Students will identify a theme present in their own work to be explored through drawing and writing. In the last part of the semester, students will create a 'zine with a focused narrative. It will be an original, reproducible, handmade book of at least 32 pages, comprised of both visual and written elements. Everything created will be drawn, painted and written by hand.