PSY4003/5003 Special Topics: Comics & Psychology
Spring, 2008
Dr. Travis Langley
Office: McBrien
Hall Room 301-F, 230-5222, langlet@hsu.edu
Overview: Psychological study of sequential art literature (comic books and graphic novels), exploring its structure, function, and psychological value. Topics of discussion include the purpose of graphic storytelling, universal themes, application of theories and concepts, accuracy in the depiction of psychological variables, and psychological impact. Character analyses include examination of archetypes, development, personality, mental illness, social interaction, conflicts, and motivation. The course is part classroom seminar and part field research.
Prerequisite: Instructor
permission.
CLASSROOM SEMINAR
Classroom Grade = test + quizzes + participation.
REQUIRED
Wertham,
F. (1954).
Seduction of
the innocent.
Fingeroth, D. (2004).
Superman on the couch: What superheroes
really tell us about ourselves and our society.
Introducing Psychology by Nigel Benson or other approved illustrated psychology text (e.g., Jung for Beginners).
Various handouts.
And of course, some comic books and graphic novels (e.g., Fun Home by Alison Bechdel).
The Psychology of Superheroes comes out later in the spring. By then, we'll know if it will easily fit into our schedule.
EXAMS
There will be one 40-point
test covering lecture notes, assigned readings, and class discussion -- or two
20-point tests if you'd rather do it that way, in which case I could make one a
take-home assignment.
You will take a number of
short quizzes (generally just a couple of questions at a time) over your assigned readings. The quizzes will collectively add up
to count the same as one test. There will be no makeup quizzes.
GRADING
Test questions range in difficulty to get an accurate
idea of exactly how much you know and understand about the course
material. The scale on the 40‑point test (although bonus credit makes it
worth more than 40) is simply this:
A 35.1 ‑‑>
B 30.1 ‑ 35.0
C 25.1 ‑ 30.0
D 20.1 ‑ 25.0
F <‑‑ 20.0
PARTICIPATION
A participation grade will be
based on attendance, appropriate involvement in classroom discussions
(contributing without monopolizing), and demonstrations that you know your
assigned readings. Participation will include specific activities, such as
explaining your chapter from Seduction of
the Innocent to the rest of the class when we go over that book.
The
participation grade will equal one test. It will be weighed more heavily for
people who are not doing what they are supposed to do or maybe for someone who
has participated exceptionally well. You will read the things you're supposed to
read. Discussions can be fun and interesting if everyone has read what they
should. Discussions would be
painful chores if they haven't. Do it.
ATTENDANCE
Be here. We only meet half as
often as a regular class. Miss one class, you miss a lot.
RESEARCH
Research Grade = character analysis + empirical research + dissemination.
Fingeroth
(2004) observed that despite decades of discussion and public concern over how
comic books influence the youth of America, psychological professionals have
written very little on the topic – a notable exception being psychiatrist
Fredric Wertham (1954) whose book Seduction
of the Innocent warned that comic books caused juvenile delinquency. The
book sold well, alarmed parents, prompted a campaign for censorship, and
altered the comic industry despite the fact that Wertham was largely asserting
his own interpretations and opinions (such as his assertion that Batman and
Robin represented a homosexual fantasy) while lacking adequate empirical
evidence to back him up. Half a century later, objective research on comics'
influence is long overdue.
LITERARY ANALYSIS
Character analysis (40 points). Analyze a specific comic book/graphic novel character. The character should be famous or have particularly important psychological significance. I will give you tasks to help you develop an objective assessment of the character. At the course's end, you will compile your character analysis. See examples from Psychology in Literature.
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Everyone taking this class will conduct some kind of empirical research on the interpretation and influence of comics. You have several options.
WonderCon: February 21-24, some of you will travel to San Francisco to collect data at WonderCon, a convention from the people who organize Comic-Con International. We have already designed several studies, but new ideas are welcome.
Our online data collection: We have created online surveys like the BAP! (Batman Assessment of Personality) and the PIER to collect data. New ideas are welcome.
WikiLens online data collection: Working with WikiLens organizers, we're developing a categorical data system at http://www.wikilens.org/ to correlate people's preferences for comic book characters with their ratings for movies, TV shows, and more.
Archival research: Empirical research can be done without gathering new data but instead collating and statistically analyzing records already created elsewhere. For example, someone might correlate comic book sales with year-by-year crime rates.
Annotated bibliography: Although compiling an annotated bibliography (see example) is not direct empirical research, one on the psychology of comics, super-heroes, and related literature can be a valuable asset when planning and reporting our research.
Alternative research: If you can't go to WonderCon and the online studies and archival research aren't enough to occupy you, we can think of more options.
DISSEMINATION
Following scientific method without reporting what you learned adds nothing to the science. You need to report your findings through one of the following methods. These will be group projects, with different people doing different parts of the work. Someone might prepare the PowerPoint file which another student will present and someone else will write up as a brief article.
Paper presentation: Present one of our studies and/or your character analysis at the Comic Arts Conference (San Francisco, Feb. 24), Southwestern Psychological Association (Kansas City, MO, April 3-5), or Arkansas Undergraduate Research Conference (HSU, date TBA). If presenting one of our experiments, two of you can work together to prepare a PowerPoint and present it, dividing the labor however is appropriate.
PowerPoint: Prepare a PowerPoint file on our research. See example.
Article: We should turn our research into papers. Submit a research article to conference proceedings (for CAC or AURC), a professional journal, or an appropriate magazine. (Submitting your character analysis would be good too, but won't meet the dissemination requirement because you have to write that paper anyway.)
You will all benefit if you coordinate efforts. Sharing authorship benefits you all.
4-HOUR CREDIT OPTION
Someone who contracts to do more work might be eligible to sign up for a fourth hour of course credit. Even an advanced student would have to come up with a pretty impressive proposal to try for 6 hours total credit.
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, the
student should be able to . . .
1. Know the role psychology
has played in comic books' history.
2. Address controversies over
the psychological impact of comics.
3. Consider the role of
stereotyping in comics with regard to gender, culture, ethnicity.
4. Describe how comic stories
or characters can be used in therapeutic or educational ways.
5. Examine themes that are
psychologically significant in graphic literature.
6. Understand the difficulties in subjective and objective psychological writings on comics.
7. Discuss the need for more empirical research on the interpretation and influence of the comic arts.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
As a learning community of
scholars,
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
It is the policy and practice of Henderson State University to create inclusive learning environments. If you are a student with documented disabilities and aspects of the instruction or design of this course result in barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of achievement (e.g., time-limited exams, web content, non-captioned videos), please contact the Disability Resource Center: telephone (870)230-5475; www.hsu.edu/disability.