FYS 72A: Autobiographical ComicsInstructor: Rafael Abrahams Prerequisites: None Course Description: This course introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Autobiography is an extremely popular genre among comics artists. Masterpieces like Art Spiegelman’s Maus (1986), Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2000), and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home (2006) are now common inclusions in high school and college curricula. These works share an uncanny ability to take difficult subjects– e.g. warfare, violence, and family trauma– and portray them in a human dimension that is accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds. Other texts in the genre depict lighter subject matter, but these also claim to represent the past through images drawn much later in time than the episodes that they depict actually occurred. What is it about comics as a medium that draws artists to reflect on their personal experiences and enchants readers to engage? What should we make of the connection between lived reality and its portrayal in comics? Are comics more or less “real” than other media like text, photography, film, and paint?In this course, we will pair autobiographical comics with theory from various disciplines: art and visual representation, history and narrativization, and psychology and memory studies. Students will be encouraged to write papers that investigate the relationship between comics, the self, and the notion of truth. Session: Session I Day: M, T, Th Time: 11:10am - 1:40pm Credit Hours: 4 Credits Course Format: Remote Learning Course for Summer 2026 Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: UWS Enrollment Limit: Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course Course Tuition: Course Fees: None Open to High School Students: No |
