Comics As History
Since the 1930s, cartoon characters such as Superman, Krazy Kat, and Snoopy have held a special place in American culture. Public outcry in the 1950s labeled comics as low brow and even harmful for children; however, the medium has continued to grow, change, and maintain a loyal fan base for nearly a century. In addition to their entertainment value, comics can also be understood as historical documents, shaped by the time and cultural context in which they are produced. In this class we will examine comics old and new in order to understand how their creators responded to politics, markets, and public opinions when creating particular characters. Along with actual comics, we will read academic and popular writings which analyze them from historical, artistic, and literary perspectives. In this class, you will write several short response papers for the purpose of comprehending and critically assessing these writings and the comic texts they discuss. The readings you respond to will help you understand how comics are produced, the symbols they use, and how they’re analyzed by academics. They’ll also prepare you for the two larger (5-8 pages) class projects. In the first project you will analyze the artistic composition and conventions used in one frame of a comic which you choose, and explain why the artist might have used particular visual symbols and methods. In the second paper, you will choose an historical comic from the Edwin and Terry Murray Comic Book Collection at Perkins Library, and write a paper which analyzes the comic in terms of its social/political context. The goals of this course are to familiarize you with the process of thinking and writing about a research question, in this case about comics and history, and to help you find your own voice as an academic writer.
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