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

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
29-July-2024
27-October-2024
Last self-enrolment date
11-August-2024
Census date
31-August-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
13-September-2024
Results released date
03-December-2024
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
04-August-2025
02-November-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-August-2025
Census date
31-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
19-September-2025
Results released date
09-December-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 SheetsIndividual 30% 1,2,3 
EssayIndividual 30% 1,2,3 
Graphic NarrativesIndividual 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.