Schedule – The Secret Language of Comics

Week	Date	Assignment	Writing due
1	8/28	Introduction to the class

2	9/2	No class: Labor Day
	9/4	Andrea Lunsford, “Rhetorical Situations” and “Reading Rhetorically” from Everyone’s an Author Allie Brosh, “Adventures in Depression, Part One” from Hyperbole and a Half	Sketch 1: Avatar Read the syllabus and leave a comment on this post Create & publish WordPress site

3	9/9	Scott McCloud, “1 Setting the Record Straight,” Understanding Comics Allie Brosh, “Adventures in Depression, Part Two“	Sketch 2: Sunday Sketches Literacy Narrative, Part 1
	9/11	Sousanis, Nick. “The Importance of Seeing Double and Then Some” and “The Shape of Our Thoughts,” from Unflattening Randy Olson, “Introduction: Why Science Needs Story” (pp. 1-21)	College add/drop/swap deadline Individual conferences begin

4	9/16	Stitches — first 2/3rds of “I was six” (pages 8-63) Dan Roam, “First Draw a Circle, then Give it a Name” (chpt 3) from Draw to Win	Sketch 3: Visual Note Taking
	9/18	Stitches — rest of “I was six” and “I was eleven” (64-156)

5	9/23	Stitches — “I was fourteen” (157-242) Hillary Chute, “Comics for Grown-Ups” from Why Comics?: From Underground to Everywhere	Sketch 4: Combophoto
	9/25	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) Scott McCloud Making Comics, chpt 1

6	9/30	Spinning– Prologue and chapters 1-3 (1-114)	Sketch 5: Triptych
	10/2	Spinning — chapters 4-5 (115-82)	Literacy narrative comic storyboard (in class)

7	10/7	Hillary Chute, “Introduction: Women, Comics, and the Risk of Representation” from Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics. Spinning — chapters 6-8 (183-318)	Sketch 6: What’s in your bag?
	10/9	Spinning — chapters 9-10 & author’s note (319-94)

8	10/14	No class: Fall Break
	10/16	It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (read the first half — up until you get to the full page illustration that looks almost exaclty like the opening title page, though we’ll talk about what’s changed there).	Tracing Pages

9	10/21	It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (second half)	Literacy Narrative, part 2 Sketch 7: Quadriptych
	10/23	The Talk — Prologue and chapters 1-6

10	10/28	The Talk — Chapters 7-12	Data gathering for sketch 8
	10/30	The Talk — Chapters 13-21, Epilogue, and Acknowledgments

11	11/4	Kindred — Introduction, Prologue, The River, The Fire (4-57)	Data gathering for sketch 8
	11/6	No class

12	11/11	Kindred — The Fall & The Fight (58-167)	Sketch 8: Data viz from everyday life
	11/13	Kindred — The Storm, The Rope, Epilogue, About Octavia Butler & About the Adaptor and Artist (168-240)

13	11/18	Sabrina — 1-100
	11/20	Sabrina — 101- 157	Literacy Narrative, part 3

14	11/25	Sabrina –158-204	Sketch 9: Recreate a movie scene
	11/27	No class: Thanksgiving Break

15	12/2	Presentations in class	Sketch 10: Mix Tape Halfa Kucha, day 1
	12/4	Presentations in class	Halfa Kucha, day 2

16	12/9	Last Day of class	Sketch 11: Assemblies

	12/18	Final Exam Period (no exam, but that’s when your final portfolio is due)	Final Portfolio and Reflection Letter Revise 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.