Global Literatures 407: Visual Narrations: The Art and Architecture of the Graphic Novel

Since the publication of Maus, graphic novels and comics have come to be understood as challenging, artistic hybrid texts that employ complex literary and visual strategies to engage diverse themes of historical, social and aesthetic import. In this course we will study the works of prominent creators within the Hispanic graphic novel tradition alongside renowned graphic novelists from around the world. After considering the role of translation with respect to graphic narratives, we will explore the formal qualities and artistic innovations of landmark, transnational works. Theoretical, structural and semiotic analyses (Scott McCloud, Santiago García, Ana Merino, Thierry Groensteen) will be read together with primary texts. Readings may include wordless masterpieces (such as the works of Lynd Ward, Frans Masereel, Shaun Tan, Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá); experimental texts that overtly deconstruct traditional book formats (such as Guillermo Peña's Codex Espangliensis, Joe Sacco’s The Great War, Pascal Rabaté's Fenêtres sur rue, matinées, soirées, Richard McGuirre’s Here and Chris Ware's Building Stories), and highly stylized, intertextual or metafictional masterworks (such as Antonio Altarriba and Kim’s “La casa del sol naciente” and David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp). All works will be read in English translation. Course will be taught in English. May be taken for credit toward the Hispanic Studies major or the Film and Media Studies major. Applies to the Narrative/Essay or Visual Cultures requirement for the Hispanic Studies major.