PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY WILL EXPLORE GRAPHIC NOVELS
The final two classes in the People's University series: "A Cartoon History of the United States" will be offered in the auditorium of the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and Tuesday Sept. 24. Both classes begin at 7 p.m. For the Sept 17 class, "A History of Graphic Narrative," Dr. Wally Hastings, English Professor and Chair of Humanities at West Liberty University, will guide us through a look at the history and evolution of graphic narrative from comic books and "picture books" to graphic novels. As part of the library’s “Banned Books Week” observance, the class will also explore a few of the graphic novels that have been placed on such lists over the years, including Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Craig Thompson’s Blankets.This will follow a brief look at contemporary cartoons on the privacy versus security issues related to social media and government access (eg, the Snowden/NSA case). Dr. Hastings will return on Sept. 24 for Class 5: Graphic Novels, Biographies and Autobiographies. The class will explore the classics like Art Speigelman’s Maus and Maus II, as well as modern classics like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Attendees will examine graphic novels and biographies as works of art, as a literary genre, and as social and political commentary. Dr. Hastings and his colleagues at West Liberty University have developed the first literature major in Graphic Narrative, a unique 4-year degree for students interested in the study and analysis of comics as literature, which will launch in fall 2013.
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