Welcome to RHET 4347/5347: Special Topics in Nonfiction (Graphic Nonfiction)
In this course we will explore how graphic nonfiction changes the way that we write memoir, view historical events, and study concepts. In addition, you will practice creating short works of graphic nonfiction around themes of your choosing.
In print-based, linear, alphabetic text (as you see in this section of the website), you see alphabetic symbols and quickly process those symbols into words, sentences, and paragraphs, assigning meaning and making connections to previous thoughts and experiences (for a description of what happens during the process of reading, see Beth Hewett's Reading to Learn, Writing to Teach, Chapter 3).
The final project for this class is either 1) a 10-15 page work of creative nonfiction in graphic form for undergraduates (15-20 pp. for graduate) or 2) a critical analysis of a work of graphic nonfiction through a particular theoretical lens) . While I do not expect that you will produce fully-polished and professional-level graphic nonfiction in the space of 5 weeks (although you could do so), I do expect that you read the texts in the class with an eye toward HOW they do what they do and then practice some of those concepts in your own work, whether that work be hand-drawn or use images or photos from other sources (or from your own camera).
To begin, watch the video below and familiarize yourself with the components of the course. Then, jump in to Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics.
In print-based, linear, alphabetic text (as you see in this section of the website), you see alphabetic symbols and quickly process those symbols into words, sentences, and paragraphs, assigning meaning and making connections to previous thoughts and experiences (for a description of what happens during the process of reading, see Beth Hewett's Reading to Learn, Writing to Teach, Chapter 3).
The final project for this class is either 1) a 10-15 page work of creative nonfiction in graphic form for undergraduates (15-20 pp. for graduate) or 2) a critical analysis of a work of graphic nonfiction through a particular theoretical lens) . While I do not expect that you will produce fully-polished and professional-level graphic nonfiction in the space of 5 weeks (although you could do so), I do expect that you read the texts in the class with an eye toward HOW they do what they do and then practice some of those concepts in your own work, whether that work be hand-drawn or use images or photos from other sources (or from your own camera).
To begin, watch the video below and familiarize yourself with the components of the course. Then, jump in to Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics.
Comic by Morgan Shandrow at imaginaryanomaly.wordpress.com (accessed June 14, 2015 at http://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/38226/what-is-wrong-with-comic-sans).