University of Colorado - Comic Books & Graphic Novels MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)

fredzilla

Anyone interested in some scholarly analysis? University of Colorado and Prof. Kuskin are putting on a FREE online course on comic books and graphic novels.

Check out the class here.

I'm not sure how many spaces are available, but with the class starting next week (actually, it's available now!), you might want to jump in soon!

http://youtu.be/0KtF2-gZErg

rebis

That guy does a great Shatner.

fredzilla

After looking at some of the video lectures in the course, it seems like a lot of this will be basic comic introduction and information. However, there may be some great nuggets for veterans. This appears to be a undergraduate course and is under the Humanities and Arts umbrella.

fredzilla

rebis said:

That guy does a great Shatner.

Yeah, he's a little much. I imagine that he's used to 300+ students sitting in a lecture hall listening to him talk so he's got to lay it on pretty thick.

rebis

Fred, you up late watching Svengoolie?

fredzilla

Actually working on a paper for my graduate course (and getting distracted comics in academia!)... I'm saving my Universal Monsters for just before Halloween when I'll have finished my Master's program (10/27)!

rebis

Well done, young man.

Caliban

I'm signed up, and so is Little Witch from the uk

John_Steed

Caliban said:

I'm signed up, and so is Little Witch from the uk

same here

and

http://thecomicforums.com/discussion/2254/mooc-on-comics#latest

fredzilla

I know you gotta start somewhere, but for some reason this bothers me. "Hey everybody! Let's go see the Comic Geek in his his own habitat!" Maybe I've just been in the culture so long and he's attempting to demystify what "outsiders" see as comic culture. Maybe I'm just being too sensitive. :-S

"Comics have a dynamic culture. They are sold in bookstores, on magazine racks in general stores, in massive conventions, and in specialized comic book shops. You cannot understand comics without exploring this culture.

"As an ungraded part of this course, I would like you to go out into the world—wherever you live—find a place that sells comics, and post an entry here. Simply go to the map, select the 'pin' icon, and place it where you have visited. You can also add a title and comments.

"The assignment is easy!

"Find a place near you that sells, promotes, or lends out comics. Just to make it interesting, I would like you to find your own place, not a place that someone else has already posted to the map.
"Talk to the person in charge and ask them why they sell comics.
"Come back here and post your entry. Write about two sentences telling us what you've observed.

"Together, we will make a map of comics culture the world over!"

John_Steed

:-??

RickM

I took a graduate class on graphic novels/comics last year for my master's degree, and the class was a mixture of people like me who have been reading them since the 1970s, as well as English department students who had never read much sequential literature beyond Maus. The discussion of comics culture doesn't seem like a silly assignment to me, as I think the culture of comic shops and cons and fandom is part of the experience and helps inform what you see on the page. And there are a few academic tomes devoted specifically to comics fandom, and they are quite instructive.

If I as a non-gamer took a class on videogames, and they asked me to observe some of the gamer sub-culture, I'd do it and probably learn some things.