Comics, Graphic Novels, and Sequential Art

This course traces the evolution of comics in the America from the "comic cuts" of the newspapers, through the development of the daily and Sunday strips, into the comic book format, and the emergence of literary graphic novels. While not a uniquely American medium, comics have a specifically American context that intersects with issues of race, class, gender, nationalism, popular culture, consumerism, and American identity. Comics have repeatedly been a site of struggle in American culture; examining these struggles illuminates the way Americans have constructed and expressed their view of themselves. The way comics have developed as a medium and art form in this country has specific characteristics that can be studied profitably through the lens of American Culture Studies.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM

Comics, Graphic Novels, and Sequential Art

AMERICAN CULTURE STUDIES 3270

Section 01