Newswise — Tucked discreetly between the pages of "X-Men," "Green Lantern" and other comic book adventure stories are themes that delve into more than extraordinary feats of strength or superhuman powers. Oftentimes, socially relevant messages of the time are delivered to readers of all ages, albeit, in an untraditional often unintended fashion.
The environmental, racial and political issues of yesterday and today are brought to life colorfully and creatively through the popular medium that has stood the test of time for more than 60 years. Comic books and graphic novels do more than create a fantasy world where good simply conquers evil through the superheroes created by companies like DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
Through the interdisciplinary course, Race and Graphic Narrative in the Postwar United States, students and professors alike at Misericordia University are exploring multiculturalism and other important social issues that are addressed in comic strips, comic books and graphic novels. Allan Austin, Ph.D., associate professor of History, and Patrick Hamilton, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, designed the English 415/History 320 course by utilizing their common interest and professional backgrounds.
"One day, Patrick came into my office and asked if I'd ever seen the 'New Guardians','' Dr. Austin recalls. "He showed me a blog that was just horrific. Out of that, we started saying there's something to teach here.
"We're both really interested in issues of race, ethnicity and identity, and we're trying to find ways to draw students in,'' adds Dr. Austin, an avid collector and reader of comic books since he was six years old. "It seemed we could use comic books as a medium to discuss how terribly wrong multiculturalism went in 1980s comic books as well as other issues of race since mid-century.''
The new course has been fully rostered for the spring 2008 and spring 2009 semesters. Coursework includes required readings of "La Perdida" by Jessica Abel, "Citizen 13660" by Miné Okubo, "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" (Vol. 1) by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" ( Vol. 1 — "My Father Bleeds History'') by Art Spiegelman and "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang, and writing brief weekly papers, longer essays and classroom participation.
Each text allows students to view relevant social issues through a different prism. "Superman'' comic strips and "Citizen 13660" engages them in Japanese American concentration camps during World War, for example, and spawns scholarly discussion on the controversial topic. "I was very surprised that ethnocentrism played a role in some of the comics,'' says Marissa Miller '09, an English major who is enrolled presently in the course. "I was aware from reading a few graphic novels on my own that the environment and multiculturalism can be found in this written form, but I was happily surprised to find depth and focus.
"Miné Okubo's 'Citizen 13660' deeply moved me and I gained a great amount of knowledge about the 'internment' camps that the Japanese Americans were forced into because it had never really been addressed in depth in any of my other history courses in college or high school,'' she adds.
In recent years, comics and graphic novels have been looked at more critically in academia, similar to the way traditional literature is reviewed. Instead of stereotyping the boom!, bam! and splats! of action comics, high school teachers and college professors are using them as a gateway to engage their students in discussion, debate and scholarship.
"We try to get them to look at these with a more critical eye in terms of what sort of ideologies and ideas they are exposing,'' says Dr. Hamilton, who began collecting Marvel's "Avengers" series as a young child.
Before the spring semester, the majority of their students didn't believe comics addressed race, ethnicity or event historical movements. "The things that we look at are immensely a product of those same issues that we often see comics and pop culture in general divorced from,'' Dr. Hamilton explains. "Things like the 'New Guardian' series that we deal with are an attempt at multiculturalism that goes horribly awry. They don't exist in a vacuum and I think that ties into breaking down boundaries.
"Whether it's literature, comics or film,'' he adds, "they are products of what's going on in culture generally. What are the intellectual, social issues?''
Through the course, Misericordia students become more critical consumers of media by understanding historical context and literary criticism, and are able to apply these tools, according to Drs. Hamilton and Austin.
"It is vitally important that one never writes off a form of information based on its outside form,'' says Miller, explaining the lessons she learned from the unique course. "My grandparents were initially very shocked that I was taking a course on comics and graphic novels because they didn't understand the hidden depth and history behind the works.
"After sharing what I've learned with my family and friends, they've accepted that I am genuinely learning from a worthy academic course. I firmly believe that if an individual is to grow they must step outside of the confines of a set environment and venture into unknown territory,'' she adds.
Founded and Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County's first four-year college and offers 31 academic majors on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full and part-time formats.
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