MFA in Creative Writing: Graphic Novels & Comics Genre Curriculum

Genre Seminars

You'll take 3 genre seminars per residency for 4 residencies, for a total of 12 courses. 

First Residency Seminars

1. Inside the Panel: Drawing for Comics
   Presents an overview of how different genres/styles/artists depict images on the page; focuses on how to develop a personal visual lexicon.
2. Outside the Panel: Sequential Art Theory
   Covers layouts, page turns, pacing: the essentials of comics theory.
3. Beyond Comics: Creating Narrative with Words and Pictures
   Word-image interplay in forms other than sequential narratives: artist’s books, photo-based works, illustrated and hybrid novels, digital essays, and more.

Second Residency Seminars

1. Advanced Sequential Art
   An introduction to more conceptual and experimental approaches to comics, including conflict in word/image agreement.
2. Digital Studio I (Computer image-generation)
   Learn Photoshop and other drawing programs.
3. Publication Studio: The Self-Made Book
   This course will look at the design and narrative structure of artists' books, zines, and more.

Third Residency Seminars

1. Digital Studio II (Computer image-generation)
   An introduction to InDesign.
2. Professional Practice
   An overview of conventions, online marketing, and general guidance on creating a balanced and productive creative life.
3. Publication Studio II
   Learn advanced techniques in book design.

Fourth Residency Seminars

1. Further Beyond Comics
   This is a  follow-up to the first semester course. We'll look at synchronicity and dissonance in word-and-image expression.
2. Comics in a Digital Space
   Webcomics, Instagram and other forms of Online Publication.
3. Open Studio
   This course is shaped by students’ needs and requests, and faculty interest.

Cross-Genre Seminars

You'll take one interdisciplinary seminar per residency for four residencies. 

• The History of Comics: Sequential storytelling from the Bayeux Tapestry to online comics.
• Word and Image Beyond the Box: An introduction to hybrid literature, illustrated novels, artists' books, and more.
• Photographs and Text: The role of photography in narrative.
• Visual Thinking for Writers: The role of the visual imagination in writing, reading, and teaching. Required reading: What it Is, Lynda Barry
• You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover: Storytelling with Packaging: A conceptual look at book covers and design.
• The Alchemy of Inspiration: How to draw on influences without letting previous writers and artists overwhelm your own originality.
• Worldbuilding & Narrative: The internal logic of fictional universes.