English 189-1 - Spring, 2014

Seminar in Literary Studies

Topic: Fiction with Pictures: Photojournalism to the Graphic Novel

Class Information

Instructor: Stratton, Matthew
CRN: 22593
Time: TR 4:40-6:00
Location: 248 Voorhies

Description

It’s said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In this course, we will accept the implicit challenge of this cliché by reading different texts that combine visual and verbal representation under one cover; we will do so with an explicit aim of articulating just where their “value” lies. Our readings will be guided by key theoretical interventions and by a series of related questions: In what terms might photographs be “worth” more than comics (or vice versa)? How does the 1:1000 exchange rate change when we combine images and words together in different forms? How do photographs, drawings, cartoons, captions, journalism, history, fiction, and autobiography all invite or demand differing accounts of world and representation? To what extent will our conclusions depend upon what account of “truth” we bring to the table? Readings will include a wide range of texts: from a landmark tour of 1890s New York slums to graphic novels of the past 25 years, through a variety of historical and theoretical essays, and opportunities to supplement the syllabus with works of your own choosing.

Grading

Short Essay .... (15%)
Long Essay .... (35%)
Final Exam .... (20%)
Presentation ... (15%)
Participation... (15%)

There will also be an option to write one long seminar paper instead of one essay and one long essay.

Texts

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee and Walker Evans
Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes
Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
You Have Seen Their Faces, Margaret Bourke-White and Erskine Caldwell
Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud
The Home Place, Wright Morris
How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis
Maus, Art Spiegelman
12 Million Black Voices, Richard Wright