In this course we will explore the burgeoning literary phenomenon often called the “graphic novel.” What happens to narrative when it unfolds in a hybrid form that joins image to text? What can this verbal-visual medium do that other literary media can’t? Is the form better suited to certain topics and modes of expression than to others? How do we read a text in which two narrative tracks (one verbal, the other visual) interact? Our readings will be drawn from the work of such artists as Will Eisner (A Contract with God), Art Spiegelman (Maus; In the Shadow of No Towers), Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan), Joe Sacco (Palestine; Safe Area Gorazde), Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis), Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), Alison Bechdel (Fun Home) and Julie Doucet (My New York Diary). Students will write short weekly papers and complete a substantial project of their own design.