ENGL 90 - Comics as Literature

3 units
3 hours lecture
Prerequisite: ENGL 1 or eligibility for ENGL 1A or qualification by appropriate assessment
Credit, degree applicable
Transfer CSU

In this course, students will read, learn, and critique how the medium of comics (including graphic novels) works and what the various mechanics of the literary medium are, such as panel design, lettering, gutters, and speech bubbles. Students will read and critique a variety of representative comics from various time periods, cultures, and genres. In addition, the class will explore character, plot, dialogue, setting and other storytelling elements using various literary lenses such as New Criticism, deconstruction, Feminism, and other perspectives to analyze the texts created by comics, graphic novel, graphic memoir, and graphic non-fiction writers and illustrators.