Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.

USE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BOOKS Scott McCloud. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper, 1990. • Randy Duncan, Matthew J. Smith and Paul Levitz. The Power of Comics: History, Form, & Culture. New York, NY: Continuum, 1st Ed, 2009. • Karin Kukkonen. Studying Comics and Graphic Novels. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. • Other theoretical and critical texts including articles and book chapters (Also provided on myCourses) SYLLABUS FOR THIS CRITICAL ESSAY You are expected to write three research-based essays, on the thesis you form from close reading the texts assigned in the syllabus, as well as the research that you do on that topic. The papers should integrate the scholarly sources well. Papers are to be double-spaced, in MLA format 3 (guidelines available here) https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ , with oneinch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, submitted to Turnitin. MORE DETAIL SYLLABUS  Your midterm research essay is a thesis paper that puts forth an issue or problem in a specific literary context. This paper is a piece of literary criticism that not only interprets a particular piece, but also converses with other critical interpretations about the same text. In other words, you will have to incorporate secondary literature into your research. Because this is a relatively short essay, you will not have time to engage too extensively with all secondary materials, thus your goal is to read through the secondary essays for a general understanding of how others read the same text. This information will help you explain, analyze, take a side, reject, or incorporate other critics’ ideas and interpretations in your research paper.  Before you begin to write, you want to read through your class notes, secondary texts, and response papers. Is there a particular recurring idea, topic, or character that you want to further analyze? Take extensive notes about how other critics understand the piece, and construct a general account of the themes, ideas, formal analysis that these critics are preoccupied with. Use this information to your advantage while you construct your argument. Consider the following questions to help you start writing:  What is the recurring idea that you are drawn to? What is your paper topic? Describe your subject of investigation. What is the problematic or tension emerging from these texts that demands more thinking? What claim(s) are you making about this subject? What aspects of this subject do you need to further research and investigate?  How do critics generally understand the piece that you are drawn to? Do they disagree? What topics are usually discussed in these secondary essays? Is there a particular theoretical essay that you wish to respond to?  What is the meaning of the story? How might careful investigation of the form and content, image and word tell us something about the larger meaning of the narrative? How might secondary literature help you further your own thoughts about it? What philosophical, ideological, cultural, historical, and political ideas underlie the work? What irresolvable paradox/situation is the story expressing?  Note: You are free to choose any fictional piece, yet it is best that you concentrate on the works we discussed in class for the first three essays. The last and fourth essay is expected to be on a work outside of our reading list.