ENGLISH 4571G: Graphically Canadian Brescia University College University of Western Ontario Instructor: Dr. Dominick Grace Office Contact: [email protected] or 519-432-8353 ext 28244 Office Hours TBA Tu 11:30-12:30 Th 11:30-1:30 Room: UH 356 Course Description Though dominated in North America by American artists and publishing companies, the comics industry has seen more than its fair share of successful and influential Canadian cartoonists and graphic novelists. Rand Holmes offered a rare Canadian voice in the underground movement; figures such as Richard Comely and George Freeman revived the possibility of the Canadian superhero (after a brief flowering of domestic genre comics during the WWII years), laying the foundations for the emergence of later Canadian mainstream cartoonists such as John Byrne and Todd McFarlane; figures such as David Boswell, Seth and Chester Brown were and remain major figures in the alternative comics movement; Dave Sim helped redefine the possibilities of comics with his complex and ambitious series Cerebus; and recently emerging figures such as Jeff Lemire, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Emily Carroll, Nina Bunjevac, and Kate Beaton are opening up new pathways, such as the melding of alternate and mainstream represented by Lemire’s career and the exploitation of the internet as represented by Beaton’s on-line strip Hark, a Vagrant. This course will study selected works by some of these creators. The course will cover a minimum of eight graphic novels or equivalents as well as selected secondary reading. NOTE: Some of the books included in this course include graphic and explicit content depicting sex and violence, that some may find offensive and/or disturbing Assigned Texts Beaton, Kate. Hark, A Vagrant Brown, Chester. Ed the Happy Clown Bunjevac, Nina. Heartless Carroll, Emily. Through the Woods Collins, Katherine. The Collected Neil the Horse Pauls, Cole. Pizza Punks Seth. Clyde Fans Sim, Dave. High Society Evaluation methods Class participation: 20% Short paper (1500 words): 20% Seminar (including written report): 25% Major essay (3000 words): 35% COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of the course, the successful student will 1. have a basic understanding of the history and development of Canadian comics; 2. have a basic understanding of various comics media and genres 3. be able to read correctly and critically a graphic narrative sequence; 4. be able to analyze how graphic novelists use the devices of their medium; 5. be able to apply secondary materials to their understanding of graphic novels; 6. be able to write at a high level of accomplishment, with grammatical accuracy, logical structure, and deep analytical content STATEMENT RE: COVID In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the course that necessitates the course moving away from in-person delivery, course content may be delivered online either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). There may also be changes to any remaining assessments at the discretion of the course instructor. In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence, detailed information about the impact on this course will be communicated by the Office of the Dean and by the course instructor. Since this class is being held in-person, be aware of the importance of taking appropriate safety precautions. I have been fully vaccinated but will nevertheless continue to wear a mask in class. I urge you to get vaccinated, if you have not already and are able to do so, to wear a mask, and to observe social distancing protocols in class, insofar as it is possible to do so. STATEMENT RE: COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PowerPoint lecture slides and notes, lists of readings, in-class activities, assignment guidelines, and other components of the course materials are typically the intellectual property of the instructor. Unauthorized reproduction through audio-recording, video-recording, photographing, sharing on social media, or posting on course-sharing websites is an infringement of copyright and is prohibited. Such action may be considered a Code of Conduct violation and lead to sanctions. CLASS SCHEDULE Seminars MAY begin as early as January 11, if someone wants to tackle Through the Woods; otherwise, they will begin on January 18. If the course is full, there will be two presentations in most weeks, but there will be no more than two. Ideally, each presenter will lead the class for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, but NOT by presenting an hour-long seminar. The formal presentation should allow room for, even encourage, discussion. Jan. 4 Introduction Jan. 6 Through the Woods Jan. 11 continued Jan. 13 concluded Jan. 18 Ed the Happy Clown Jan. 20 continued Jan. 25 concluded Jan. 27 Heartless Feb. 1 continued Feb. 3 concluded SHORT ESSAY DUE Feb. 8 Hark, A Vagrant Feb. 10 concluded Feb. 15 Pizza Punks Feb. 17 concluded Mar. 1 Neil the Horse Mar. 3 continued Mar. 8 concluded Mar. 10 High Society Mar. 15 continued Mar. 17 concluded Mar. 22 Clyde Fans Mar. 24 continued MAJOR ESSAY DUE Mar. 29 continued Mar. 31 concluded CLASS POLICIES: ENGLISH 4571G Literary Studies Literature is by its nature exploratory. It pushes against conventions, assumptions, limits, and even good taste. Literary texts may be culturally, morally, politically, racially, socially, religiously, ideologically, and/or linguistically or otherwise offensive to some. THIS COURSE INCLUDES WORK OF AN EXPLICIT AND GRAPHIC NATURE. In taking this course, you agree to expose yourself to material that you may find offensive and agree to read all required work and do all required assignments, even if the materials involved are offensive to you. It is understood that literary analysis and evaluation can include consideration of what is offensive and why, within the context of reasoned discussion and civil debate. General Requirements You may from time to time during the course receive direction to avail yourselves of University services and resources, or to engage in activities and pursuits outside the confines of the university, as part of the requirements for this course. Failure to follow such direction will be taken into account and may have a detrimental impact on your grade. It is understood that such requirements will be directly relevant to the materials being studied or to your progress as a student and that such directions will not be unduly onerous or burdensome. Academic Accommodation See the attached document on Brescia policies for the rules governing academic accommodation for illness. Situations not covered by that policy (e.g. assignments worth less than 10%, or late or non- submission without academic accommodation) are covered as appropriate below. Attendance The academic calendar states that frequent absence from class can lead to students being “debarred from writing the final examination.” In other words, you may fail a course for missing classes. I take attendance, and I take absenteeism into account when calculating final grades. Students arriving after or leaving before I have taken attendance will be marked absent for that day; attending class means attending the whole class. Attendance is expected. Assignments Due dates for essays are included on the course schedule. Assignment topics will be provided in advance of the due date. Consequently, you are expected to be aware of deadlines and to observe them; few excuses for lateness are acceptable. The pressure of other work is not an acceptable excuse for lateness, as the point of giving you your deadlines in advance is to allow you to plan your schedule accordingly. Late assignments will be accepted but will be penalized 2% per day, including weekends. Apologizing for lateness or asking if you can submit the essay a day or two late will in no way affect this policy. Essays MUST be written to conform to the MLA guidelines for research papers. Failure to conform to the MLA guidelines will be penalized. Essays must have their pages held together by a paper clip or staple; loose sheets will not be accepted. Do not submit essays in duotangs, binders, or any kind of folder. All essays submitted on time will be returned promptly (usually within three weeks of submission) and will include, on return, written annotations throughout and a general commentary following the essay. Late essays will be returned eventually; in addition to having grades deducted, late papers will receive little or no written commentary. Where research requirements are specified, failure to observe them will be penalized; it is incumbent on you to begin work sufficiently in advance of the due date to meet the assignment requirements. Submission of Work Submit work to me IN PERSON or through the main office for placement in my mailbox, which guarantees that the date of submission will be recorded. Essays placed under my office door are considered received when I find them, NOT when they are dated by the student. For example, an essay due on Wednesday and placed under my door on Friday might not be found until Monday. I consider that essay as submitted the day I found it--that is, five days late, not two days late. It is your responsibility to get your essay in on time. When you submit written work, you should keep a copy, so that you have it should something happen to your original (I have never lost a student paper, but work may go astray in other ways). Seminars Presentation: Seminars MUST be presented on the day scheduled. Keeping on schedule is challenging enough without having to juggle seminar presentations. You should be prepared to lead the class for at least 30 minutes but for no longer than 80 minutes in an exploration of your subject, but how you do so is up to you.