Graphic Narratives: Comics, Graphic Novels, and Manga
Overview
This unit introduces students to graphic narratives, focusing on familiar examples such as comic books, graphic novels, and Manga. It will look at this art form in its many formats and applications, and provide students with an opportunity to create graphic narratives. It will examine comic book language and how comic book idioms have been remediated as part of the universal language of convergence culture. This unit’s focus on graphic narratives will provide students with the historical perspective and textual analysis skills necessary to navigate today’s media landscape, and anticipate those of tomorrow
Requisites
02-November-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Apply critical understanding of theoretical and creative approaches to graphic narratives
- Synthesise complex ideas using graphic communications techniques and by creating graphic narratives
- Analyse canonical and popular examples of graphic narratives
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On Campus Lecture |
1.00 | 1 week | 1 |
| On Campus Class |
2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Online Lecture |
1 | 11 weeks | 11 |
| Specified Activities Various |
3.00 | 12 weeks | 36 |
| Unspecified Activities Various |
6.50 | 12 weeks | 78 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analysis Sheets | Individual | 30% | 1,2,3 |
| Essay | Individual | 30% | 1,2,3 |
| Graphic Narratives | Individual | 40% | 1,2,3 |
Content
- The Comics Industry
- Creating Comics
- Visual Communication
- Verbal Communication
- Audience Research
- Graphic Nonfiction
- Adaptation and Genre
- Manga, Webtoons, and Global Comics
- Representation and PoliticsGraduate
- Graduate Attribute - Communication Skills: Verbal Communication
- Graduate Attribute - Communication Skills: Communicating using different media (integrating text, image, and graphics)
- Graduate Attribute - Digital Literacies: Information literacy (understanding, analysing, and synthesising graphic communications)
- Graduate Attribute - Digital Literacies: Technical literacy (using digital tools to create narrative and analytical multimedia projects)
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.