In this course, students will examine powerful examples of the graphic memoir genre, which combines autobiographical storytelling and visual narratives. Graphic memoirists explore a range of human emotion and experience—joy, loss, memory, justice, love, pain, and humor. Students will be exposed to notable examples and will be encouraged to experiment with visual storytelling to remember and represent their own stories. Texts will include March, Congressman John Lewis’s account of his experiences in the civil rights movement; Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh’s humorous and often irreverent take on childhood and the difficulties of “adulting”; and What It Is, Lynda Barry’s artistic journal and exploration of creativity and imagination. NO PRIOR DRAWING EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.
Continuing Education Units (CEU) : 0

You'll walk away with

• Familiarity with the merits of narrative storytelling through words and pictures
• The ability to tell your own stories in this unique medium
• An understanding of the historical and contemporary contexts of the graphic novel as a literary genre

Ideal for

• High school students who are interested in literature, graphic novels, and the visual arts