£ The assignment

Create a story combining visual and verbal elements that, in addition to telling a gripping tale in its own right, also explores a larger cultural conflict.

There are many types of cultural conflict you may explore: It might involve gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, youth, religion, and so on. And the intensity of the conflict may vary, too, from outright antagonism to subtle manifestations of difference. The important thing is that you choose an aspect of culture that feel strongly about exploring and about communicating.

Your story can take many forms: It might be a recollection of your own experience or a pure fictional tale; it might be drawn or it might be created from photographs; it might have a conventional comic-style format or it might look like the graphic narrative to the left. The important thing is that it allow you to use the full resources of verbal and visual storytelling to make your story come alive and to explore your chosen theme.

£ Due dates, etc.

You’ll develop your project in stages during the final three weeks of class, but the process of development will largely be directed by you, independently.

� T October 30: Please post to Google Docs a 2–3-page document that (1) describes the story you plan to tell; (2) explains the cultural conflict it will explore; and (3) details the stages of the creative process whereby you’ll complete your graphic narrative, with a task assigned to yourself to be completed for each remaining class period.

� R November 8: Please bring a complete rough draft to class and submit a copy to me.

� T November 13: Please post a 750–1000-word creative reflection to Google Docs. Your reflection should explain what you’ve tried to do in your project as a graphic writing artist, to what extent and why you believe you’ve succeeded, and what you plan to do as you revise.

� Your final draft is due by noon on Thursday, Nov. 22.

PROJECT 2: CREATE YOUR OWN GRAPHIC NARRATIVE!

FSEM 1111-82: Graphic Writing across cultures ✪ Tiedemann ✪ autumn 2012