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Syllabus The Visual Rhetoric of Graphic Narratives (ENGL 494)

General Information

Section Number: 001 Hours: 10-11:20 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays Location: EV3 3406 Term: Spring 2017

Instructor

Bruce Dadey Office: Hagey Hall 257 Email: [email protected] Phone: x32416 Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., or by appointment

Course Description and Objectives

This course uses the principles of visual rhetoric to examine the unique features of graphic narratives as a medium and to analyze how the visual elements of graphic narratives work rhetorically to affect readers’ ideas and attitudes toward elements within the text, toward the themes the text presents, and toward the world beyond the text. By the end of the course students will be able to perform close visual analysis of sequential images and to relate their analysis to the narrative and suasory functions of graphic narratives and other image-based media.

Texts

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home. Mariner-Houghton Mifflin, 2007. McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. William Morrow, 1994. Moore, Alan, and David Lloyd. for Vendetta. Vertigo, 1989. Sacco, Joe. Palestine. , 2001. Spiegelman, Art. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History. Pantheon, 1986. ---. Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began. Pantheon, 1992. Ware, Chris. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid in the World. Pantheon, 2003. LEARN resources.

Assignments

Blog 10% Presentation 15% Essay 1 15% Essay 2 30% Essay 3 30%

Details of the assignments will be distributed during the course.

Course Policies

Assignments and Class Procedures

• Essays are to be submitted to the appropriate course dropbox by 11:59 p.m. of the due date. 2

• Essays that are late without good reason will be penalized at a rate of two percentage points for every week day late (10% per week). • Blogs and replies are to be posted to the appropriate discussion board by 8:00 a.m. on the due date. Late blogs and replies will not be accepted. • Class discussion is a prominent part of the course, so students are expected to attend all classes and to come with the readings completed. In my lectures and in my questions to the class and individuals I will assume the assigned readings have been done. • We will often be using email to communicate with one another. All email communication will occur through your UWaterloo account, which you should check regularly.

Electronics

Please mute your phones and do not use them in class. If you have a genuine emergency for which your phone is needed during a particular class, contact me beforehand. Laptops and tablets are allowed for class-related purposes only. Use of devices for non-class-related purposes (surfing, email, chatting) or in a manner that is distracting to other students will lead to my requesting that you not bring your device to class. At some points in the class I may ask the class to shut their laptops.

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. See the UWaterloo Academic Integrity Webpage (https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/) and the Arts Academic Integrity Office Webpage (http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/current-undergraduates/academic-responsibility) for more information.

Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing academic offenses and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline (http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm). For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties (http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/guidelines/penaltyguidelines.htm).

Grievance

A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4 (https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-70). When in doubt please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Appeals

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals (http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm).

Note for Students with Disabilities

The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each academic term.

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Tentative Schedule

Week Dates Topic and Readings Assignments 1 May 2 Intro course and each other May 4 Available Means: Rhetoric of Fiction, Visual Rhetoric LEARN excerpts 2 May 9 Formal Elements May 10 Understanding Comics, LEARN excerpts 3 May 16 Critical Foundations LEARN excerpts May 18 Critical Foundations Blog 1 LEARN excerpts 4 May 23 Monday Schedule Blog 1 response May 25 MAUS Presentation 1, Blog 2 5 May 30 No class June 1 6 June 6 MAUS Paper 1, Blog 2 response June 8 MAUS 7 June 13 Palestine Presentation 2, Blog 3 June 15 Palestine Blog 3 response 8 June 20 Palestine June 22 Jimmy Corrigan Presentation 3, Blog 4 9 June 27 Jimmy Corrigan Blog 4 response June 29 Jimmy Corrigan Paper 2 10 July 4 Presentation 4, Blog 5 July 6 V for Vendetta Blog 5 response 11 July 11 V for Vendetta July 13 Fun Home Presentation 5, Blog 6 12 July 18 Fun Home Blog 6 response July 20 Fun Home 13 July 25 Review July 27 No class (classes end June 25)

Paper 3 due July 31