In this course, we will explore the literary phenomenon of the graphic novel and other graphic genres that blend visual storytelling and the written word. What happens to narrative when it unfolds in a hybrid form that joins image to text? What can this verbal-visual genre do that other literary genres can’t? How do we read a text in which two narrative tracks (one verbal, the other visual) interact? In addition to considering these questions through a range of graphic novels, essays and histories, students will practice their visual storytelling skills through crafting a graphic narrative of their own. Other assignments might include short analytical pieces, visual and written responses to our texts, and personal stories or essays that might resonate both textually and visually. Readings will be drawn from works by Rebecca Hall (Wake), Lynda Barry (What It Is), Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics) and Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), as well as graphic adaptations of “classics” such as Manga Shakespeare (Hamlet, Macbeth), Octavia Butler (Parable of the Sower) and others.