Article
Illustrating Praxis: Comic Composition, Narrative Rhetoric, and Critical Multiliteracies
Composition Studies
(2015)
Abstract
Thus far, pedagogical discussions about comics in the college classroom
have focused primarily on reading, with less attention paid to the complementary
potential of composing comics. This essay advocates using narrative
theory alongside comic studies to provide students and teachers with a flexible,
transferable vocabulary compatible with literacy-focused pedagogies.
For support, I draw upon the contributions of undergraduate students in
an advanced composition course centered on graphic memoir, in which
the combination of medium and genre provided a user-friendly but sophisticated
environment for rhetorical experimentation and multimodal
literacy development. Three core concepts—narrative gaps, narration, and
focalization—are offered as helpful heuristics for rhetorical design; their application
in two students’ memoirs illustrate the insights and skills that can
result from a theory-driven approach to comic composition. Ultimately,
I suggest that such an approach holds significant potential for generating
critical engagement, refining rhetorical consciousness, and fostering critical
multiliteracies.
Keywords
- Comic books strips etc. -- Technique,
- Composition (Art),
- Comic books strips etc. -- Themes and motives,
- Literacy -- Study and teaching,
- Narration (Rhetoric)
Disciplines
Publication Date
2015
Publisher Statement
© 2015 Published by the Department of English, University of Cincinnati
Citation Information
Comer, Kathryn. "Illustrating Praxis: Comic Composition, Narrative Rhetoric, and Critical Multiliteracies." Composition Studies 43, no. 1 (2015): 75-104