Comics and Cartoon Studies Minor
Ben Saunders, Program Director
273 PLC
1267 University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon 97403-1267
Phone:541-346-0062
ben@uoregon.edu
Comics are one of the most powerful forms of communication ever devised. Whether students are interested in the humanities or the sciences, finance or philosophy, marketing or medicine, they can learn from the ways that the greatest comics creators have told stories, sold characters, and conveyed messages.
Comics studies draws upon the established fields of art history, literary studies, and cultural studies, while also tapping into the professional traditions of commercial design and advertising. The program’s goal is to foster creative thought by encouraging a deeper and more profound understanding of how words and images work together, how they affect us, and how they shape the world in which we live.
Minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies
This interdisciplinary minor in comics and cartoon studies presents students with an international, historical, and critical perspective on the art of comics, from editorial cartoons to comic books to graphic novels. In taking courses for this minor, students will be required to think beyond accustomed disciplinary boundaries and to analyze and experiment with the interaction of visual and linguistic systems of meaning.
To qualify for the minor, students must take 24 credits of approved courses, including one required course, Introduction to Comic Studies (ENG 280). The remaining courses may be selected from the range of comics-related courses offered through the Departments of Art, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Literatures, English, Ethnic Studies, History of Art and Architecture, and Romance Languages, the Arts and Administration Program, and the School of Journalism and Communication. For details regarding these courses, students should consult the list of offerings available in the Department of English office or online at comics.uoregon.edu.
No more than 12 credits may be taken in lower-division courses, and course work must be passed with grades of mid-C or better.