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Western Kentucky University

Pedagogy of Graphic Novels

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>Graphic texts, or graphic novels, have spent many years on shelves with comic books about superheroes and adventurers. They officially gained notoriety in 1992 with Art Spiegelman’s Maus, and at this time, critics and scholars began to take notice. However, graphic novels have not been fully adapted by academia. Graphic novels have the ability to offer new levels of instruction and learning in upper-level classrooms.<br />The following is a study in the multitude of uses of graphic text in academia. Chapter 1 looks at the history of graphic text to understand the present and future of graphic novels. Chapter 2 focuses on literacy issues to develop a basis for the use of graphic novels in the classroom. Chapter 3 offers a method of using graphic novels to broaden a students’ understanding of plays. Chapter 4 moves on to a study of graphic novels as works of literature. Through this look of historical data and an analysis and discussion of the modern form of graphic novels, we will come to the conclusion that graphic novels can be useful assets in the classroom when they are taken from the shelf of comic books and used to their full potential.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Department of English
Year
2011

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Phelps, Valarie L.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Dr. Jane Fife (Director), Dr. Deborah Logan, Dr. Theodore Hovet

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1065
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-2070

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Western Kentucky University
Base URL
digitalcommons.wku.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Phelps, Valarie L.. Pedagogy of Graphic Novels. 2011. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1065