Abstract
Teachers often feature graphic novels in college courses, and recent research notes how these texts can help make the process of reading more engaging as well as more complex. Graphic novels help enhance a variety of “literacies;” they offer bold representations of people dealing with trauma or marginalization; they explore how “texts” can be re-invented; they exemplify how verbal and visual texts are often adapted; they are ideal primers for introducing basic concepts of “post-modernism.” However, two recurring textual complications in graphic novels can pose difficulties for students who are writing about ethical questions. First, graphic novels often present crucial scenes by relying heavily on the use of verbal silence (or near silence) while emphasizing visual images; second, the deeper ethical dimensions of such scenes are suggested rather than discussed through narration or dialogue. This article will explain some of the challenges and options for writing about graphic novels and ethics.
Recommended Citation
McQuillan, Gene
(2018)
"Considering Ethical Questions in (Non)Fiction: Reading and Writing about Graphic Novels,"
Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy: Vol. 5:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dialogue/vol5/iss1/4
Included in
American Popular Culture Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons