Comics Studies comes to PSU
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Students looking to join Portland’s robust comics scene as writers, artists and theorists have a fresh avenue for study and exploration through PSU’s new Comics Studies Program. The certificate program kicked off this term with a slew of courses taught by some of the country’s top comics creators.
Building on existing courses and the close proximity of Portland’s publishers including Dark Horse, Oni Press and Top Shelf, the program offers a post-baccalaureate certificate for students who complete six courses in scholarly studies and comics creation. This term, visiting professors include acclaimed Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis; cartoonist for The New Yorker and creator of “Too Much Coffee Man” Shannon Wheeler; and author of Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir Nicole J. Georges. Courses also host visiting lecturers such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon and comics writer and critic Douglas Wolk.
Comics aren’t a new thing at Portland State—the Millar Library is home to the only complete collection of Dark Horse Comics, and Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson is an alumnus. But the launch of a formal Comics Studies Program cements PSU’s position in the growing field.
Faculty across several PSU departments will teach courses, while visiting professors explore topics steeped in their professional experience and draw from their connections to the local creator community.
“In my class in particular, I’m able to bring in a cavalcade of very accomplished authors of every walk of life who happen to live here in Portland who can spend a few hours with the students and teach them things from their experience that they wouldn’t get anywhere else in the world,” Bendis says. “This is specifically what Portland has to offer. It’s almost our obligation to do it.”
And while access to professional expertise is a cornerstone of the program, it also offers one of the country’s few higher education opportunities to delve into the scholarly study of comics as literature, art and pop culture. Though the program is based out of the English Department, courses also are offered in the University’s writing, art, world languages, philosophy and publishing programs.
“The Comics Studies Program is a perfect fit for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” says Karen Marrongelle, interim dean of CLAS. “It is engaging students through critical analysis, developing their creative abilities through art courses, and expanding their professional opportunities by connecting them to Portland’s burgeoning comics industry.”
English Professor Susan Kirtley directs the program and teaches the Comics Theory and History foundation course, and she also has close ties to the comics industry through her scholarly work. In 2013, Kirtley won an Eisner Award—the top award for comics professionals—for Best Educational-Academic Work for her book Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass.
Kirtley said the program will offer three to four courses each term, striking a balance between topics in theory and creation to allow students to customize their experience according to their interests. Even internships can count toward the certificate.
“We have the faculty, we have the community, and then we have these great students who are really excited and passionate about comics,” Kirtley says. “So it’s this combination of elements, I think, that makes Portland State just the absolutely perfect place for comics studies.”
http://www.pdx.edu/insidepsu/comics-studies-comes-to-psu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Students looking to join Portland’s robust comics scene as writers, artists and theorists have a fresh avenue for study and exploration through PSU’s new Comics Studies Program. The certificate program kicked off this term with a slew of courses taught by some of the country’s top comics creators.
Building on existing courses and the close proximity of Portland’s publishers including Dark Horse, Oni Press and Top Shelf, the program offers a post-baccalaureate certificate for students who complete six courses in scholarly studies and comics creation. This term, visiting professors include acclaimed Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis; cartoonist for The New Yorker and creator of “Too Much Coffee Man” Shannon Wheeler; and author of Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir Nicole J. Georges. Courses also host visiting lecturers such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon and comics writer and critic Douglas Wolk.
Comics aren’t a new thing at Portland State—the Millar Library is home to the only complete collection of Dark Horse Comics, and Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson is an alumnus. But the launch of a formal Comics Studies Program cements PSU’s position in the growing field.
Faculty across several PSU departments will teach courses, while visiting professors explore topics steeped in their professional experience and draw from their connections to the local creator community.
“In my class in particular, I’m able to bring in a cavalcade of very accomplished authors of every walk of life who happen to live here in Portland who can spend a few hours with the students and teach them things from their experience that they wouldn’t get anywhere else in the world,” Bendis says. “This is specifically what Portland has to offer. It’s almost our obligation to do it.”
And while access to professional expertise is a cornerstone of the program, it also offers one of the country’s few higher education opportunities to delve into the scholarly study of comics as literature, art and pop culture. Though the program is based out of the English Department, courses also are offered in the University’s writing, art, world languages, philosophy and publishing programs.
“The Comics Studies Program is a perfect fit for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” says Karen Marrongelle, interim dean of CLAS. “It is engaging students through critical analysis, developing their creative abilities through art courses, and expanding their professional opportunities by connecting them to Portland’s burgeoning comics industry.”
English Professor Susan Kirtley directs the program and teaches the Comics Theory and History foundation course, and she also has close ties to the comics industry through her scholarly work. In 2013, Kirtley won an Eisner Award—the top award for comics professionals—for Best Educational-Academic Work for her book Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass.
Kirtley said the program will offer three to four courses each term, striking a balance between topics in theory and creation to allow students to customize their experience according to their interests. Even internships can count toward the certificate.
“We have the faculty, we have the community, and then we have these great students who are really excited and passionate about comics,” Kirtley says. “So it’s this combination of elements, I think, that makes Portland State just the absolutely perfect place for comics studies.”
