English 282-B Spring 2009 W 4:05-7:05pm Lafayette L411 www.uvm.edu/~reparent/282/ REParent@uvm.edu

Dr. Richard Parent Office: 435 Old Mill Ph: 656-3312 IM: digitalrhetor Office Hrs: T 1-3:45pm, And By Appointment

The Illustrated Novel

Required Texts

• Jonathan Safran Foer: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• Aleksander Hemon: The Lazarus Project
• Mia Kirshner: I Live Here
• Scott McCloud: Understanding Comics
• Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons: Watchmen

Course Overview

Illustrated narrative predates written language. While in the West we often separate illustration from narrative (especially when considering capital-L Literature), the tradition of illustrating high-brow narrative works stretches from the present day to giants of canonical literature such as Thackeray and Dickens, and is an inseparable part of the Medieval monastic tradition. (One could argue, for instance, that the allegorical uses of illumination in Medieval writings and transcriptions were at least as important for transmitting information as the prose text.) Finally, if you are an English major, chances are you remember fondly a favorite book from childhood, and that that book was illustrated.

This class is not a survey. It is not a course in memorizing names and dates, nor of learning or summarizing the content of the texts we will be reading and viewing. Rather, this course will challenge you to master new ways of approaching the intersection of word and image, to tap into the knowledge and experiences of literature and art you have accumulated, and thus to consider illustrated novels as literary works and as artistic works. This combination of modes of representation demands interpretive approaches from reader/viewers that may be unfamiliar or unexpected. In this course we will explore not only the literariness of illustrated novels, but also the constellation of literacy skills we must employ to fully engage with them.

Assignments

Explorations. As specified on the Course Calendar, you will be required to write down your thoughts exploring various aspects of almost all of the assigned class readings. Usually, I will provide a topic or question for you to consider in your exploration. These are intended to be a space for you to explore your ideas about the readings, and as such are less formal than an essay. They will be graded according to the thoughtfulness demonstrated in the exploration, not according to the grammatical and formal requirements of Standard English. Explorations should be at one typed, single-spaced, page in length, and will not be accepted after the day they are due. Explorations must be turned in to my mailbox in Old Mill 413 or e-mailed to me (at REParent@uvm.edu) by 10am on the day each is due.

Annotated Bibliography. You will compile a modest annotated bibliography relating to illustrated novels and their literacy requirements and implications. Your bibliography will include three illustrated novels (not already on the syllabus) and 5 critical/theoretical/secondary works discussing illustrated novels or their literacy requirements and/or implications. The secondary works do not need to discuss your 3 primary works (although they may). Each annotation should be a short paragraph, with at least one sentence summarizing the work, at least one sentence describing the work, and at least one sentence explaining why this work is worthy of our attention (and possibly worthy of inclusion in our final projects). Bring 19 copies of your annotated bibliography to class on March 18th.

Final Project. Your final project will develop over the semester, beginning as a proposal, evolving into at least one draft, before it reaches its final stage. The proposal will be due on April 1st, the first draft of the project will be due on April 22nd, and the final draft of your final project will be due by 10am on Monday, May 4th. I urge you to work through several drafts of your final project; I will happily read early drafts.

Class Participation

Attendance is mandatory. This course is designed to function as a seminar – which means that your participation in class discussion is necessary for the success of the course. Because of this, students who miss two or more classes risk failing the course. We have a lot of material to create and work with in a short amount of time. Be prepared for the heavy commitment that the time spent reading and writing for this course will require. As you can see from the Course Calendar, we will be quite busy. Come to class on time and prepared to take part in conversation about the materials under study. If you cannot come to class, it is your responsibility to communicate directly with me, to arrange to turn in written work on time, and to find out about subsequent assignments. You will be considered absent if you do not turn in a written assignment the day it is due. Students who miss more than two classes should consider withdrawing from the course and taking it again under better circumstances.

This attendance policy means that you have one “no-questions-asked” absence allowed. Use it strategically. I do not want to know where you were or why you were there for your first absence. Any absence after that, however, will require extensive documentation to avoid having a negative impact on your grade.

Students who feel that they are too shy to participate in class discussions must meet with me during my office hours to receive full credit for class participation. If you would feel more comfortable sharing your comments with me than with the entire class, I am willing to discuss your ideas with you and then bring your comments (anonymously reported) to the class’ attention for further exploration. This may be your first university seminar, so if you have any questions about class participation in a seminar course, or about my attendance policy, I encourage you to ask me.

Grading

I will grade your writing on the following bases: willingness to grapple with difficult and complex ideas, evidence of serious and substantial revision between drafts, clarity in communicating ideas, and the ability to use effectively the conventions of standard written English.

Final grades will be calculated as follows:

• Explorations - 25%
• Annotated Bibliography - 15%
• Final Project - 50%
• Class Participation - 10%

Academic Integrity

THERE IS A ZERO TOLERANCE PLAGIARISM POLICY IN THIS COURSE. Do not do it, do not even consider it—if you copy another’s work, published or unpublished—you will fail the assignment, and quite possibly the course. I cannot emphasize this enough. Usually, it is desperation that drives a student to plagiarize—so if you are having problems, please contact me and I will help you.

All instances of plagiarism will be referred to the Center for Student Ethics and Standards for investigation and adjudication.

If, for whatever reason, you have any question about academic integrity whatsoever, please refer to UVM’s policy for clarification at your earliest possible convenience: http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/acadintegrity.pdf

An Important Note

If you have (or suspect that you may have) a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, I encourage you to contact both myself and UVM’s Office of Accommodation, Consultation, Collaboration & Educational Support Services (ACCESS), A-170 Living & Learning Center, 656-7753 (http://www.uvm.edu/~access) as early as possible in the term. The ACCESS Office will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodation for this course.