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Department of African Cultural StudiesAfrican 203: The Evolution of Comic art and Graphic Novels in AfricaJuly 13-August 9Instructor: Sami LamineLamine@wisc.eduOffice Hours (Virtual): T R 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon & by appointmentcenter1397000Course Description: This course is a lively introduction to a number of comic books, animated films, and graphic novels from different parts of the African continent, including Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tunisia. We will explore the inspirations behind graphic art and visual literature, and the most popular themes that artists have endorsed. The course will expose students to a growing variety of comic styles and ideas that are a result of changing social, political, and cultural landscapes in Africa. A few of the themes we will explore are storytelling, female power, patriarchy, superheroes and tricksters, crime, Afrofuturism, revolution, war and propaganda.The exploration of comics in Africa will give students a unique opportunity to discover what contemporary artists and illustrators have to show about visual art, visual storytelling, and the power of images and words to connect people all over the world.Course Credits:The course carries 3 credits. The credit requirements are met this way: the class will be conducted online through Canvas, for four weeks. Each week students will have a set of readings, and each student will write a two to three page response paper about the weekly readings. The response paper should be analytical and should reflect your understanding of the articles and the visual materials you will read.The course forum on Canvas will be a space where students respond to each other’s ideas. The instructor will post a question to initiate the conversation, and each student should respond directly to the question, or to a colleague’s response. Towards the end of the course, every student will record a presentation on an African graphic novel, animated movie, or comic book of their choice. The presentation should cover content, themes, and style of the artist, and should discuss a certain course theme in depth with reference to ideas from scholarly articles. Students can choose their preferred presentation format, and whether they would like to appear on camera or just use their voice.The course carries the expectations that students will work on course learning activities outside of class (reading, writing, studying, etc). This syllabus includes more information about weekly expectations for student work. Course Texts:We will read, audit, or view short excerpts from a variety of sources. See the weekly selection for the details. The course will rely on Canvas as a platform for our announcements, discussions, assignments, questions, and office hours. Course materials include articles, videos, cartoons, and graphic novels. These will be provided as links on the Canvas course site; many are freely available online, but others will require purchase.Note: The course reserves the right to change or switch course materials during the class period for reasons of thematic appropriateness or pedagogical effectiveness, if necessary. Students will be duly informed. Course Learning Outcomes:Students will…Learn the broad varieties of comic art and graphic novels and the uses to which they are put. Know the names of selected cartoonists and visual artists, comic book writers, and the forms and media (literary, musical, visual, televisual, etc.) in which they work. Summarize, analyze, and interpret characters, scenes, plots, language (verbal, visual), and sound use in the chosen materials. Make informed and coherent written work about themes and styles in a visual text, and events (whether historical or contemporary) in the real world.Write original, coherent, and compelling arguments that push beyond summary to analysis and independent and critical thinking in clear prose that meets the expectations for grammatical correctness. Develop empathy by learning about the experiences of others, and gain an understanding of how we participate in communities (including the classroom) and the public sphere. Course Requirements and Their Grade Values:15% Participation in course forum: I expect you to pay attention and contribute to our class learning by asking questions and / or offering answers on the course forum.20% Weekly reflections and assignments 25% Final presentation.40% Final paperPrerequisites: NoneMode of Instruction: Remote, asynchronous. No meetings are required, but you will be given instructions on Canvas and via email and will be expected to complete assignments in a timely manner.General Plan: The discussion prompts will be posted every Monday, and your responses to the prompts and/or your peers’ posts, will be due Friday. Your reflection paper will be due Sunday of every week. You will receive detailed feedback on your reflection essays.I will record short lectures every week about the main themes, and I will attempt to clarify any ambiguous/new concepts we might encounter. I will also be available through BlackBoard Ultra, on Canvas, if you would like to talk about a specific reading, or if you have any questions. We will have a final paper which will be longer than the weekly reflections. It will be a minimum of 4 pages and a maximum of 5 pages, excluding any images you might use. The instructor will post prompts to help guide you develop a topic and an argument. You also have the freedom to choose your topic (with consultation with the instructor) and your primary text (a comic book, graphic novel, a movie, etc.), as well as your secondary sources, which can be obtained from the library website. Since this course focuses on polishing your academic writing, among learning about African cultures and comics, it is important to familiarize yourselves with the writing center where you can find multiple resources about academic and professional writing. I will also be providing you with information and tips on writing.Grading Rules:Work at UW is graded on a seven-point scale with letter designations as follows: A, AB, B, BC,C, D, F. At the end of the semester, you will receive a letter grade using the following scale:A=93-100%, AB=88-92%, B=83-87%, BC=78-82%, C=68-77%, D=58-67%, F=0-57%.In this class, these grades will reflect work quality in the following way:A = Work that meets the highest standards expected at this levelAB = Good workB = Good work with some flawsBC = Work that shows promise but has significant flawsC = Work that meets minimal quality expectationsD = Complete work that fails to meet assignment expectationsF = Incomplete or unacceptable workAcademic Integrityby virtue of enrollment, each student agrees to uphold the high academic standards of the university of wisconsin-madison; academic misconduct is behavior that negatively impacts the integrity of the institution. cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and helping others commit these previously listed acts are examples of misconduct which may result in disciplinary action. examples of disciplinary action include, but is not limited to, failure on the assignment/course, written reprimand, disciplinary probation, suspension, or expulsion.Special Needs:Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: The University of Wisconsin-Madison supportsthe right of all enrolled students to a full and equal educational opportunity. The Americanswith Disabilities Act (ADA), Wisconsin State Statute (36.12), and UW-Madison policy(Faculty Document 1071) require that students with disabilities be reasonably accommodatedin instruction and campus life. If you have a diagnosed disability and need instructionalaccommodations, you must inform the instructional staff by the end of the third week of thesemester (by February 7th), or as soon as possible after a disability has been incurred orrecognized. The instructional staff will work with you in coordination with the McBurneyCenter to identify and provide reasonable instructional accommodations. Disabilityinformation, including instructional accommodations as part of a student's educationalrecord, is confidential and protected under FERPA. you need to contact the instructor regarding accommodations, you may do so via email,through a meeting during office hours, or by scheduling an appointment to meet outsideof office hours.Diversity & InclusionDiversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. Course Readings:Some of the required readings can be purchased online. Other readings will be provided for free as links and PDF files on Canvas. See details below.Weekly ScheduleWeek 1: Traditions, Cultures, and Storytelling in African Comics. Required Readings:Malika Warrior Queen (short film)The Pack Volume 1. After the Spring: A Story of Tunisian Youth (Amazon) “Digital Diaspora: Building a New African Storytelling Tradition.” Senongo Akpem, 21 June 2019, , Stuart.?Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage in association with the Open University, 1997.Recommended: , Sheena C., and Ronald L. Jackson.?Black Comics?: Politics of Race and Representation. Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.?EBSCOhost, search.login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=e000xna&AN=545125&site=ehost-live&scope=site.Week 2: Afrofuturism and African SuperheroesRequired Readings:E.X.O Chapter 1 (Can be purchased on the artist’s website)Newborn Saga (free chapter)Chayoma (free chapter)“Afrofuturism.”?Hollywood and Africa: Recycling the 'Dark Continent' Myth from 1908-2020, by OKAKA OPIO DOKOTUM, NISC (Pty) Ltd, Makhanda, South Africa, 2020, pp. 247–256.?JSTOR, stable/j.ctvxcrxs1.18. Accessed 24 June 2020.Whaley, Deborah Elizabeth.?Black Women in Sequence?: Re-Inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime. University of Washington Press, 2016.?EBSCOhost, search.login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=e000xna&AN=1082520&site=ehost-live&scope=site.Recommended: The Future is Black and FemaleAfros, Icons, and Spandex: a brief history of the African American Superhero. Week 3: African Modernity and CosmopolitanismRequired Readings:Aya of Yop City (Kanopy movie will be available on Canvas)Aya, by Marguerite Abouet (comic book) Life of Pahe (free excerpt in English) Repetti, Massimo. "African wave: specificity and cosmopolitanism in African comics."?African arts?40.2 (2007): 16-35.Mehta, B. (Ed.), Mukherji, P. (Ed.). (2015). Postcolonial Comics. New York: Routledge, : McWILLIAMS, SALLY. “Sex in Yop City: Ivorian Femininity and Masculinity in Abouet and Oubrerie’s Aya.”?The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art, edited by FRANCES GATEWARD and JOHN JENNINGS, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick; New Jersey; London, 2015, pp. 45–62.?JSTOR, stable/j.ctt1hd186b.6. Accessed 25 June 2020.Week 4: Against Stereotyping AfricaRequired Readings:Olawatuuka (Once Upon A Time) by Master Rui (Louis Lubega)Under The SunSinger, Marc. “‘Black Skins’ and White Masks: Comic Books and the Secret of Race.”?African American Review, vol. 36, no. 1, 2002, pp. 107–119.?JSTOR, stable/2903369. Dittmar, Jakob. ‘Narrative Strategies?: African Types and Stereotypes in Comics’. <i>Kaboom! Von Stereotypen Und Superheroes: Afrikanische Comics Und Comics Zu Afrika; Kaboom! Of Stereotypes and Superheroes: African Comics and Comics on AfricaRecommended: How to Write About Africa, by Binyavanga Wainaina.How not to write about Africa in 2012 – a beginner's guide, by the same author.Final Presentations: 15 minutes, due August 8. Final paper: Due by Midnight on august 9th. ................
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