Enid and Josh

Do Enid and Josh have sex? I thought they did, but other people disagreed. Maybe, it's purposefully unclear. Please comment and we can find out the class's opinion as a whole.

Ghost World

How many of us have finished Ghost World? Did anyone else find it odd that Enid seems to hate many things or people that have similar beliefs to herself? Is that the sort of conflicted-angstyness that was supposedly thoughout the book?

Comics for Learning?

As I was reading through some of the links on our blog, I got distracted and ended up on the following website: http://www.geocities.com/misteryang/comicsedu/index.html. It discusses the work of Sones in 1944. Sixty-four years ago, his studies proved that readers, especially those of "low and middle intelligence levels" learned more with pictures and text than they had with only text. If this happened so long ago, then why (in your opinion) are we just now getting around to implementing 'graphic novels' into our curriculum?

What do you think about this?

When thinking about the definition of Graphic Novels, I found this thought twirling through the quagmire that is my psyche: "Graphic Novels are meant to tell stories caught between a book novel and a film; the use of pictures and words together work to show the reader an idea or image uncatchable by the other two mediums".
Now, I am not saying this is the goal of all Graphic Novels, but it creates a interesting way to look at them; they are the best (and possibly worst) of both the picture world and the language world, creating, evoking, and examining thoughts and ideas otherwise untouchable by art.

Blogging 101

This forum gives us the chance to share ideas and information related to the subject of the class. The most effective posts will record an interesting thought and provoke comments from others. As in your other writing for class, be clear and concise; posts can range from a brief paragraph to a mini-essay. I encourage you to take advantage of the online resources available to blogs, including images and links to other relevant pages and sites. You may respond to a text we're reading, explore topics that expand our class discussions, consider a particular theoretical approach, or solicit feedback on research interests. Reviews of other texts, including articles and books of criticism, are fine, but go beyond mere summary to evaluate the work's value and/or claims. Most of all, I want this blog to be what you want it to be; we'll learn from one another by following our interests and passions here. Go ahead—post, read, and comment!

Graphic Novels?

Welcome to our blog for the IMSA English elective "Graphic Novels: Image and Text." Throughout the semester, we'll all contribute posts and comments related to our readings and the content of the course. For starters, I invite you to reflect on the contested term "graphic novel," which is as problematic as it is pervasive. Artist and writer Eddie Campbell discusses the concept in a part-joking, part-serious "Graphic Novel Manifesto," which you can find here.