Comic Books and History

Catalog description

This course examines how transregional historical events and experiences are depicted in visual sequential narratives (i.e., combinations of images and text designed to be read in a particular order) such as comic books, manga, graphic histories, graphic memoirs, and works of illustrated journalism. Students investigate how history is represented in these visual sources, particularly focusing on the complexity of human memory, identity, and human agency. Students evaluate the trade-offs of reading history in "comics" format by exploring how visual sequential narratives both enhance and complicate our understanding of the past. Offered Occasionally.