The focus of this course is less with superheroes and more with the way in which the graphic novel engages the representation of global sites of conflict and atrocity. Starting with the Jewish Holocaust and working our way to Palestine, Lebanon, Israel and New York (9/11), we examine how the graphic novel takes up such ethical problems as the limits of representation, the relationship between fiction and testimony, as well as that between trauma, memory and mourning. We also deal with questions of moral responsibility and accountability with regard to acts of torture. While these will be our predominant concerns, we also look into how graphic novels self-referentially comment upon the process of artistic composition.

For those who declared in Fall 2023 or later, this course can fulfill one of two subject area requirements for the English major:
-Literature and the Social
-Form, Media, Expression