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, beyond the Anglosphere across multiple linguistic and cultural contexts.

(LO2) An understanding of comics as a multimodal medium.

(LO3) An understanding of the power of comics to represent marginalised histories.

(LO4) A critical approach to the history of comics, race and social justice.

(LO5) A language-sensitive approach to the reading 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

The majority of teaching will be delivered face-to-face on campus. Online delivery will be used to complement the on-campus delivery and where technology affords a better learning experience.

The lectures will introduce to key concepts, authors and critical approaches to comics. The seminars will develop students’ presentation skills and the ability to conduct participatory and critical discussion around the materials.

The two tutorials prepare the students to the written assessments. Seminars also are designed to build students skills towards the assessments.

Topics covered may include:

Introduction to the medium;

Graphic narratives and comics genres;

Comics, memory and history;

Migration and cultural mobility;

Comics and (Post)Colonialism;

Comics and slavery;

Comics and race;

Graphic narratives of migration;

Graphic journalism;

Translation and comics.

Authors may include:

Barbara Yelin;

Hergé;

Warren Pleece;

Zerocalcare;

Kate Evans;

Alessandro Tota and Caterina Sansone;

Shaun Tan;

Sole Otero;

Cyril Pedrosa;

Art Spiegelman;

Marjane Satrapi;

Takoua Ben Mohamed;

Leila Abdelzaraq.