Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Persepolis
Well, while I draft this Radiohead chapter, I've also been working on getting syllabi for next semester started - and I have to say: I'm seriously excited. I'll be teaching First Year Writing and using the graphic novel Persepolis as a way to talk about the course's theme: displacement. I've already got a number of ideas floating around - I think I'm going to use Scott McCloud's *Understanding Comics* to get discussions of form under way and a number of political pieces to supplement content and get discussions of academic writing off the ground - but I was wondering if any of you wonderful readers out there have taught Persepolis (or any graphic novel) and might have some helpful pointers or texts that you've used with success.
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3 comments:
I taught segments of Persepolis in FYC. If you want to chat about it, you know how to contact me.
I haven't, but I totally love this idea. I might steal it.
I've heard from one or more persons that teaching graphic novels in fy writing is a challenge because students think they aren't serious or something. Have you (or your readers) had that experience? I'm just curious, for future reference.
Thanks k8 and Donna! I've had students look any any seemingly "easy" text and think that there's not serious work there - ranging from conceptual art to contemporary fiction. Teaching the "easy" text (graphic novel or otherwise) tends to be a process of close reading for me. If we can get to a place where "seriousness" becomes a symptom of what we were able to pull out of a discussion, then students, in my experience, tend to treat the texts a little more "seriously" as a result. I sort of play both sides - "I know this may not *seem* serious, but that might actually make it more important to examine closely."
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