Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Graphic Novels project (Salem Press)

Just received word I will be writing essays for the upcoming Graphic Novels project at Salem Press.

My essays will address two graphic novels:

Daredevil: Man without Fear

Elektra Lives Again

Will post more as I know. . .

Thursday, October 7, 2010

CHALLENGING GENRES: Comics and Graphic Novels

My new book (the first volume in a new series I edit at Sense) is now available; this blog is a companion to the work I conducted to write this book:

CHALLENGING GENRES
: Comics and Graphic Novels

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Considering Identity (created by Beth Day, Furman University)

Considering Identity

American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)

Supplemented by:

Anne Frank's Diary, Anne Frank

Number the Stars, Louis Lowry

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Mildred Taylor

The Wringer, Jerry Spinelli

Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan

Essential Questions: What does it mean to have an identity? What is your identity? What does it mean to fit in or to be an outsider?

Topics:

· Identity through

· culture

· gender

· friends

· family

· religion

· Bullying

Teacher:

· The teacher and class begin reading American Born Chinese as a class.

· Each day, the teacher poses one question about the text, and encourages the students to pose questions as well.

· The teacher allows students to choose a novel to supplement American Born Chinese, to be read at home or in provided free reading time.

· The teacher is prepared to help the students draw connections between the texts, and helps facilitate classroom discussions based around how the characters are outsiders and concerned with identity.

· The teacher is also prepared for the possibility of students who have been bullied responding to these texts by sharing their experiences. The teacher may bring in a school counselor to address bullying in relation to the texts, or use other available bullying-prevention tools provided at their school.

· The teacher has, if possible, arranged a video conference online (using a program like Skype) with students from another culture. This will allow students to talk to students from a very different culture (as you can Skype with people around the world) and learn from students' their own age, as well as hopefully increasing a respect for people different than themselves.

Student Products:

· Students begin by reading American Born Chinese with their teacher in the classroom and at home.

· Eventually, the supplemental books are introduced, and for homework, students come up with questions from their reading.

· Students interview friends and family about incidences in which they have felt like and outsider and instances in which they have fit in. Students then write about incidences in their own lives.

· Students respond to online prompts in time provided in media labs at school. These prompts could be on any variety of topics related to the texts and classroom discussions. The change in medium for response provides students that don't usually respond in class a chance to voice their thoughts, and allows the students an opportunity to plan, revise, and edit their contributions before submitting them.

Considering the News (created by Beth Day, Furman University)

Considering the News

The Nightly News (graphic novel) by Jonathon Hickman

Supplemented by:

Safe Area Gorazde (journalistic comic book) by Joe Sacco

Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg (collected articles) by Rick Bragg

[News articles from major networks]

Essential Questions: What priorities do journalists consider when choosing what stories to report and in reporting them? What role should/does journalism play today?

Topics:

· Bias in journalism

· Developing a critical appreciation for the news

· The impact journalism has on society

Teacher:

· The class as a whole reads The Nightly News, a graphic novel by Jonathon Hickman. During the class days while the students are reading this work at home and/or in class,

· The teacher asks students to bring in articles from the news the night before class and helps the students identify bias or “spin” in the articles.

· It may be effective to have students bring in various networks' articles on the same topic or incident to contrast.

· The teacher discusses the differences and similarities between journalism articles and persuasive essays (how language that is inappropriate for journalism can be ideal for persuasive essays) setting the stage for a later essay involving what they have learned about journalism.

· The teacher assigns a series of in-class writing assignments, either about a set topic, or a topic of students' choice, for the students to practice writing interesting and brief news articles. Because of how short the articles are, in-class peer conferences and student-teacher conferences regarding the articles allows for students to develop their journalistic writing quickly while focusing on introductions with interesting ledes, eliminating bias, and writing with only the most expressive, necessary words.

· The teacher provides excerpts from Safe Area Gorazde, a journalistic graphic novel written about war in Bosnia, as well as excerpts from Somebody Told Me, a collection of renowned journalist Rick Bragg's articles, as examples of strong journalism and for contrast and comparison with the articles the students bring in.

Possible Student Products:

· A series of short articles developing specific writing goals and exploring possible topics for journalism.

· Many of the “spin” techniques identified as inappropriate for journalism are appropriate for a strong persuasive essay: this unit may lend itself well to a transition into writing persuasive essays.

· This persuasive essay could be on what the student has come to believe the role of journalism should be to a community, whether or not journalism is important, and what role journalism plays in their own community or country.

· Interested students could write in to a local newspaper (for example, a letter to the editor) about a topic of interest to them.

Considering Fundamentalism (created by Beth Day, Furman University)

Considering Fundamentalism

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Supplemented by:

Excerpts from: Surfacing (Atwood)

Excerpts from: Writing with Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose (Atwood)

Reading Lolita in Tehran (Nafisi)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Essential Question: What effect do extremist ideologies have on people? What effect do extremist governments have on their citizens?

Topics:


· Religious extremism

· Political extremism

· Ideological (Ie- feminist) extremism


Teacher:

· The teacher is familiar with Atwood and Satrapi's own statements about their work. Surfacing and Writing with Intent are good resources for insight into Atwood's background and ideas, as well as this interview: http://www.randomhouse.com/resources/bookgroup/handmaidstale_bgc.html.

· Atwood's discussion of her influences and motivations will likely make clear the connection between these two texts.

· The teacher uses present-day Iran as the springboard from where other research and discussion can move from.

· The teacher joins students in locating Iran on GoogleEarth as well as exploring the country via the internet through this tool and other web-searches. (GoogleEarth provides extremely recent photos of the countryside, the people, and the country as a whole.)

· The teacher provides excerpts from Reading Lolita in Tehran (a book that provides additional insight into Iran during the revolution interspersed with literary criticism of novels students may be familiar with.)

· The teacher prepares quotes from extreme leaders through history, as well as the impact these extremists had on history.

Student Products:

· Students could be responsible for research on:

· Present-day extremist states

· Present-day extremist ideological movements

· Past extremist states

· Past extremist ideological movements

· Students could choose to work in groups and present their findings on a more extensive topic to the class.

· Or, students could opt to write a more in-depth research paper on a specific aspect or person.

· Students might respond to the quotes their teacher provides from extremists with a letter to the person either warning them of the possible consequences of their ideology or encouraging them to continue on, depending on the historical consequences.

· Students could also do this exercise by writing letters to people they perceive to be present-day leaders, warning or encouraging them, backing their concerns or support with references to Persepolis, The Handmaid's Tale, and the research they have done on real-world extremists.

Considering Life after 9/11 (created by Beth Day, Furman University)

Considering Life After 9/11

Excerpts from: The 9/11 Commission Graphic Novel

Supplemented by:

Excerpts from: Extremely Loud and incredibly Close, Jonathan Foer

Excerpts from: Amazing Spider-Man issue #36 (comic)

Excerpts from: Literature after 9/11(scholarly text)

Excerpts from: History, Emotion, and the Body:Mourning in Post-9/11 Fiction, Benjamin Bird (scholarly article)

Essential Question: How has life and literature changed since 9/11?

Topics:

· Freedom before and after

· Rhetoric before and after

· Role of real-world heroes and superheroes in life and literature

Teacher:

· Provides pictures of iconic 9/11 images to students and asks them to reflect on their memories of the day. If students are too young to remember, the teacher asks students to interview older friends or family about the day.

· The teacher introduces the 9/11 Commission Report graphic novel: the class will read this work in class and at home.

· The teacher provides students with political speeches and news reports following 9/11, and facilitates a discussion of the rhetoric used to discuss the attack as well as the role of “heroes” in the weeks and months after. (Why is the anniversary of 9/11 “Patriot's Day”?)

· The teacher assigns Extremely Loud and incredibly Close and Spiderman issue #36 (each is read by approximately half the class.) These two works are highlighted in Literature after 9/11 and have many potential springboards for discussion and written responses.

Student Products:

· Interviews with family and friends that remember the events of the day.

· Students choose to read either Extremely Loud and incredibly Close or Spiderman issue #36.

· Students read these texts as homework; in class, they work in groups comparing and contrasting the two texts, as well as how each text compares with the political speeches and news reports, using History, Emotion, and the Body:Mourning in Post-9/11 Fiction and Literature after 9/11 as tools.

Considering Censorship (designed by Beth Day, Furman University)

Considering Censorship

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (graphic novel)

Essential Question: What is the importance of the written word to people? What are the implications of eradicating (or attempting to eradicate) the written word?

Topics:

· Relationship between language and thought

· The power of words

· Impact of written language

· Impact of TV on the written word

Teacher:

· The teacher assigns Fahrenheit 451 (graphic novel) for the class to read

· The teacher leads a series of mini-lessons on:

· slaves not allowed to read

· cultures where women are not allowed to read

· censorship in America through history

· These lessons will facilitate discussion of the interplay between those in power and what is published and the power of writing.

· The teacher leads discussions between the role of television on books, challenging students to watch no TV for a week and observe what they do with their free time in lieu of television. Teachers may want to introduce the idea of the internet and its role on books. Excerpts from a book such as The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) may be used a conversation starter. The teacher challenges the students to consider the authors' ideas and come to their own conclusions. If they disagree, would they censor the author/s?

Student Products:

Students could choose between a variety of products, including:

· Students write an essay arguing for or against banning a book of their choice. This could be retroactive-- a student could write a letter to the society of the time that a book was banned, even if it is no longer banned.

· Students write a paper explaining why books are banned today and whether any of the instances are appropriate.

· Students write a letter to the author of The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) to challenge or support the authors ideas.

· Students choose one book that they would memorize if all the books were to be burned and then write a paper explaining how and why they chose that book.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

CTL Teaching and Learning Forum

CTL Teaching and Learning Forum
Wednesday, 28 April, 2010 (Study Day)
LIB 041 and 043
Plenary and concurrent sessions from 9 AM to 12:30 PM
Coffee & bagels at 8:30 AM; lunch at 12:30 PM

With a special keynote talk by Gil Einstein:
"Using Cognitive Principles to Enhance Teaching and Learning"

We're pleased and honored this year to host Gil in a plenary session from 11:30 AM to12:30 PM, right before lunch, capping off a packed schedule of presentations:

From 9 to 9:30 AM—Opening plenary panel:
"Lessons Learned from the Lilly South Teaching Conference," with Jessica Hennessy, Stephanie Knouse, Ken Kolb, and Jeanine Stratton

From 9:30 to 10 AM—Concurrent sessions:
Omar Carmenates, "Using Audio Technology to Promote Reflective Learning"
Sandy Roberson, "Supplementing Individual Exams With Group Exams to Improve Student Communication Skills and Enhance Students’ Understanding of Group Dynamics"

From 10 to 10:30 AM—Concurrent sessions:
Paul Thomas, "Adventures in Genre: Considering Comics and Graphic Novels"
Ken Kolb, "Google Docs for Daily Reading Assignments"

From 10:30 to 11 AM—Concurrent sessions:
Lorraine Dejong, "Using Photo Story within Portfolio Assessment to Foster Analytical Thinking and Document Student Understanding"
Wes Dripps, "The Campus as a Pedagogical Opportunity"

From 11 AM to 11:30 PM—Concurrent sessions:
Jeanine Stratton, “Managing and Assessing Student Video Projects”
Lynne Shackelford and Mary Fairbairn, "Opportunities for Enhancing Information Fluency in Upper Level Humanities Courses"

From 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM—Plenary keynote:
Gil Einstein, "Using Cognitive Principles to Enhance Teaching and Learning"

Thursday, January 21, 2010

SCCTE Conference 2010

Adventures in Genre!: Challenging Texts with Graphic Novels

P. L. Thomas, EdD, Associate Professor of Education, Furman University

Friday, January 29, 2010: Session 1 (9:30-10:30)

Multi-genre units can be inviting literacy experiences for our students. Asking our students to challenge their assumptions about texts while exploring a wide range of texts is an ideal avenue to empowering our students as life-long readers. This session will explore anchoring multi-genre literature units with graphic novels—such as a unit on justice incorporating Batman: Year One, The Reader, nonfiction essays, and poetry.

Paul Auster, City of Glass


Paul Auster, City of Glass graphic novel adaptation by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli

See Great Graphic Novels for Teens (ALA)

Resources

Campbell, J. (1949). The hero with a thousand faces. New York: MJF Books.
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2000). Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social forces
. New York: Routledge.
Eisner, W. (1985). Comics and sequential art. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press.
Eisner, W. (1996). Graphic storytelling. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press.
Gravett, P. (2005). Graphic novels: Everything you need to know. New York: Collins Design.
Kannenberg, Jr., G. (2008). 500 essential graphic novels: The ultimate guide. New York: Collins Design. Miller, F., & Mazzucchelli, D. (2007). Batman: Year one. New York: DC Comics.
McCloud, S. (2006). Making comics: Storytelling secrets of comics, manga and graphic novels. New York: Harper Paperback.
McCloud, S. (2000). Reinventing comics: How imagination and technology are revolutionizing an art form. New York: Harper Paperback.
McCloud, S. (1994). Understanding comics: The invisible art. New York: Harper Paperback.
Moore, A., & Lloyd, D. (1989). V for vendetta. New York: Vertigo.
Moore, A., & Gibbons, D. (1986, 1987). Watchmen. New York: DC Comics.
Rhoades, S. (2008). Comic books: How the industry works. New York: Peter Lang USA.
———. (2008). A complete history of American comic books. New York: Peter Lang USA.
Thomas, P. L. (2009). Comics. In Boy culture: An encyclopedia. Eds. S. Steinberg & M. Kehler. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
White, M. D. (2009). Watchmen and philosophy: A Rorschach test. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
White, M. D., & Arp, R. (2008). Batman and philosophy: Dark knight of the soul. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Yang, G. (2008, January). Graphic novels in the classroom. Language Arts, 85(3), 185-192.

See Also:

Confronting the Text, Confronting the World (Peter Lang USA series)

• Barbara Kingsolver
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Margaret Atwood
• Ralph Ellison

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Multigenre/ Adaptation Unit

Science fiction has traditionally been viewed as a marginal genre, often portrayed as less than literary fiction. However, classics such as 1984 and Brave New World have been allowed in the canon and other modern classics such as Slaughterhouse Five have also been acknowledged as quality literature.

This multigenre unit focuses on sci-fi works growing from the novel I Am Legend, Richard Matheson. This sci-fi work from 1954 deals with post-apocalyptic and zombie-like creatures that are commonplace in popular films today. The novel has prompted a graphic novel adaptation, I Am Legend, as well as movie versions:
I Am Legend
from 2007 and The Omega Man from 1971.

This unit can challenge students to consider sci-fi conventions, horror conventions, and acts of adaptation to both graphic novel and films.

Kurt Vonnegut had a contentious relationship with the science fiction genre; see his "On Science Fiction" and his first essay, "Science Fiction," in Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons.

Also, see Margaret Atwood's excellent essay on Utopian and dystopian works, "Writing Utopia," in Writing with Intent.

Watchmen Unit

Watchmen is one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time—even being recognized as a top novel among traditional literature. The graphic novle has been adapted as a film as well.

Watchmen and Philosophy is an excellent resource for both planning to teach a unit based on the graphic novel and for students considering the many complex issues raised in the work.

This graphic novel confronts and deconstructs "superhero" conventions as well as the paradox of watching those who watch over us in terms of justice.

An outstanding support for reading and understanding the graphic novel is The Annotated Watchmen, online.

V for Vendetta Unit

One of the most well-received graphic novels of all time is V for Vendetta; like Watchmen, this graphic novel was made into a film (although not without controversy).

To prepare to teach or for students studying the work, two outstanding resources include The V for Vendetta Shrine and a site including annotations for the graphic novel.

Students can explore adaptations, especially concerning the controversy surrounding the making of the film.

Further, this is a sophisticated work of satire aimed at British politics and society—although it rises above that direct satire to raise issues about all politics, social norms, celebrity, and morality.

Batman Unit

One of the longest surviving comics and superheroes is Batman, who has experienced a renaissance because of a numbers of fine films based on the character.

The primary graphic novels for studying Batman and the mythology surrounding him include the following:

Batman: Year One

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again


Two of the more recent and highly acclaimed film versions are Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

An outstanding resource for preparing to teach or studying the Batman myth is Batman and Philosophy.

A unit focusing on Batman can explore a numbers of topics, including:

• The search for identity and the duplicity of identity (as in the masking of the hero).

• Morality and ethics in the pursuit of Self and Justice.

• The embodiments of good and evil.

• Social and individual corruption—the basic nature of humans.

Fahrenheit 451

One of the science fiction classics that has been accepted into the larger literature canon is Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury.

Students may find a unit that begins with this article in Slate regarding the graphic novel version of the Bradbury classic—graphic adaptation.

The Salon article has a definite low opinion of graphic novels and comics. This piece could serve as a starting point for student analyzing and evaluating both the novel and the graphic novel. Further, students could consider this film version of the work.

City of Glass, Paul Auster

Paul Auster's novel, City of Glass
, and the graphic adaptation are an excellent pairing for a unit on genres.

This text pairing is valuable since Auster's work is often considered a postmodern or experimental appraoch to genres themselves. His novel is both within and against the conventions of detective fiction, and the graphic novel, of course, adds to the experimental nature of his work.

This unit may include Edgar Alan Poe's detective works to offer students a sense of the history of the genre within American literature; as noted on PoeStories.com: "Poe invented the detective story with tales like 'Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'The Purloined Letter.' Sherlock Holmes and other fictional detectives would later be based on the characters that Poe created."

Justice Unit

A powerful unit of study for students involves justice, and social justice. Several works of different genres can anchor a unit on justice, including:

Batman: Year One

Daredevil


The Reader
[novel]

The Reader
[film]

The Trial
, Kafka

References

Here are important works related to reading, teaching, and reconsidering comics and graphic novels; I will add as I find new sources.

Campbell, J. (1949). The hero with a thousand faces. New York: MJF Books.

Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2000). Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social forces. New York: Routledge.

Eisner, W. (1985). Comics and sequential art. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press.

Eisner, W. (1996). Graphic storytelling. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press.

Miller, F., & Mazzucchelli, D. (2007). Batman: Year one. New York: DC Comics.

McCloud, S. (2006). Making comics: Storytelling secrets of comics, manga and graphic novels. New York: Harper Paperback.

McCloud, S. (2000). Reinventing comics: How imagination and technology are revolutionizing an art form. New York: Harper Paperback.

McCloud, S. (1994). Understanding comics: The invisible art. New York: Harper Paperback.

Moore, A., & Lloyd, D. (1989). V for vendetta. New York: Vertigo.

Moore, A., & Gibbons, D. (1986, 1987). Watchmen. New York: DC Comics.

Rhoades, S. (2008). Comic books: How the industry works. New York: Peter Lang USA.

Thomas, P. L. (2009). Comics. In Boy culture: An encyclopedia. Eds. S. Steinberg & M. Kehler. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

White, M. D. (2009). Watchmen and philosophy: A Rorschach test. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

White, M. D., & Arp, R. (2008). Batman and philosophy: Dark knight of the soul. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.