To broaden students’ perception of comics exploring different contexts of development of comics industries and their transnational connections since the 20th century;

To introduce students to scholarship that reads contemporary changes in the cultural practices and media structures through the comic medium;

To make students aware of the breadth and potential of graphic narratives by examining different genres, such as autobiography, testimony and reportage, as well as the different forms (printed and digital) in which they emerge and circulate;

To give students an understanding of how graphic narratives of transcultural experiences visualize the relationship between mobility (understood as both spatial and cultural) and memory;

To develop student’s ability and confidence in multilingual learning processes (i.e. collaborative learning processes where the multiple languages involved in their study are not entirely familiar to them).

(LO1) A broad knowledge of the development of comics as a medium since the 20th century, across multiple linguistic and cultural contexts of the development of comics industries.

(LO2) An ability to engage with recent scholarly debates on comics and contemporary media structures.

(LO3) An awareness of the multiple genres of graphic narratives and their development across linguistic and mnemonic formations.

(LO4) An ability to read cultural mobility in the 21st century through the expanding medium of comics.

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual) – presentation skills – oral

(S2) Communication (oral, written and visual) – academic writing (including referencing skills)

(S3) Critical thinking and problem solving – critical analysis

(S4) Communication (oral, written and visual) – media analysis

(S5) Global citizenship – cultural awareness

(S6) Personal attributes and qualities – independence

(S7) Research Skills – independent analysis

Teaching method 1 - lecture.
The cultural background and key theoretical concepts examined throughout the course will be introduced through formal lectures. Students will be expected to conduct background reading and interact through questions and feedback at the end of each lecture, ahead of the seminars.

Teaching method 2 - seminar.
Seminars will focus on the discussion of the selected study materials (comics and webcomics), key questions raising from the lectures, students presentation and feedback on the development of assessments.

Teaching method 3 - tutorial.
Tutorials will focus on research skills and will be organised in sessions with the Library.

Topics covered may include:

Comics as literature (genres and critical questions);

Comics as media of memory and history;

Comics and Colonialism;

Comics and Slavery;

Graphic narratives of migration;

Postcolonial comics;

Graphic journalism;

Transmedia;

Webcomics.

Authors may include:

Barbara Yelin;

Hergé;

Warren Pleece;

Zerocalcare;

Kate Evans;

Alessandro Tota and Caterina Sansone;

Shaun Tan;

Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie;

Art Spiegelman;

Marjane Satrapi;

Takoua Ben Mohamed;

Matt Huynh;

Sam Wallman.