Schedule – The Secret Language of Comics

Week	Date	Assignment	Writing due
1	1/11	Introduction to the class
	1/15		Sketch 1: Avatar
2	1/16	No class: Martin Luther King Holiday
	1/18	Andrea Lunsford, “Rhetorical Situations” and “Reading Rhetorically” from Everyone’s an Author Allie Brosh, “Adventures in Depression, Part One” from Hyperbole and a Half Scott McCloud, “1 Setting the Record Straight,” Understanding Comics	Read the syllabus and leave a comment on this post Create WordPress site Join the Slack workspace X-pages exercise
	1/22		Sketch 2: Sunday Sketches Literacy Narrative, part 1
3	1/23	Randy Olson, “Introduction: Why Science Needs Story” (pp. 1-21) Allie Brosh, “Adventures in Depression, Part Two“
	1/25	Sousanis, Nick. “The Importance of Seeing Double and Then Some” and “The Shape of Our Thoughts,” from Unflattening. Stitches — first 2/3rds of “I was six” (pages 8-63)
	1/29		Sketch 3: Visual Note Taking
3	1/30	Stitches — rest of “I was six” and “I was eleven” (64-156)
	2/1	Scott McCloud Making Comics, chpt 1 (recommended) Dan Roam, “First Draw a Circle, then Give it a Name” (chpt 3) from Draw to Win
	2/5		Sketch 4: Combophoto
4	2/6	Stitches — “I was fourteen” (157-242) Hillary Chute, “Comics for Grown-Ups” from Why Comics?: From Underground to Everywhere
	2/8	Stitches — “I was fifteen” & “A few years ago I had the following dream. In the dream I was a boy of six again” (243-329) (recommended) Joe Sacco, “You Find Yourself in the Circle” from Paying the Land. (if you missed before) Scott McCloud Making Comics, chpt 1
	2/12		Sketch 5: Triptych
5	2/13	Spinning– Prologue and chapters 1-3 (1-114)
	2/15	Spinning — chapters 4-5 (115-82)	Literacy narrative comic storyboard (in class)
	2/19		Sketch 6: What’s in your bag?
6	2/20	Hillary Chute, “Introduction: Women, Comics, and the Risk of Representation” from Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics. Spinning — chapters 6-8 (183-318)
	2/22	Spinning — chapters 9-10 & author’s note (319-94)
	2/26		Sketch 7: Quadriptych
7	2/27	It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth
	3/1	It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth	Tracing Pages
	3/2		Data gathering for sketch 8
	3/6 -10	No class: spring break
8	3/13	Sabrina — 1-50	Literacy Narrative, part 2
	3/15	Sabrina — 51-100
	3/19		Data gathering for sketch 8
9	3/20	Sabrina — 101- 157
	3/22	Sabrina –158-204
	3/26		Sketch 8: Data viz from everyday life
10	3/27	Kindred — Introduction, Prologue, The River, The Fire (4-57)
	3/29	Kindred — The Fall (58-99)
	4/2		Sketch 9: Recreate a movie scene
11	4/3	Kindred — The Fight, The Storm, The Rope, Epilogue, About Octavia Butler & About the Adaptor and Artist (100-240)
	4/5	Parable of the Sower, Introduction & 2024
	4/9		Sketch 10: Mix Tape
12	4/10	Parable of the Sower, 2025 & 2026	Literacy Narrative, part 3
	4/12	Parable of the Sower, 2027
	4/16
13	4/17	Presentations in class	Halfa Kucha, day 1
	4/19	Presentations in class	Halfa Kucha, day 2
	4/23		Sketch 11: Assemblies
14	4/24	Conclusion

	5/3	Final Exam Period (no exam, but that’s when your final portfolio is due)	Final Portfolio and Reflection LetterRevise projects, portfolio reflection letter, edit website

This schedule is subject to change as the semester progresses. Changes will be indicated in the table above and I will also announce significant changes in a blog post.