#engl291

[francesca-lyn]

Guest Speakers

I am incredibly grateful that Richmond has so many amazing cartoonists. A bunch of them have graciously lent their time and agreed to speak to my class. I think it is important for students to understand that real people make comics.  It has been a joy to ask people to come. I hope I can continue that as I teach. 

I sometimes can’t believe this is my life. I made up a class and students want to take it. I get to talk to the coolest people about their work. I get to play a small part in making comics better. I feel so lucky and grateful. 

[francesca-lyn]

Mad

I should be doing about ten thousand different things but I am honestly so mad that I can’t focus. Im hoping that spending five minutes writing will give me some clarity. This is super stream of consciousness so some sentences may not make as much sense. 

I’m mad at a bunch of stuff. Some related and unrelated stuff. My living situation is a little chaotic right now - my roommate is moving out next week. I should be happy to have some extra space - her job is paying for the remainder of the lease so I do not have to have a sublease. But I will miss her. 

It is frustrating to hear from young men and women who are currently in college who are going through the same BS that I went through. Encountering racist professors, not getting support when classmates say racist crap to them IN CLASS. Or transphobic statements. Or classist statements. Some people think that being in an intellectual environment means these sort of comments aren’t made. In my experience I have heard the most horrible things come from students. Students who I know are smart but are still racist. I hate the stereotype that racists are these dumb people that just don’t know any better. You can be college educated and have deep seated racist beliefs. You can have had limited classroom education and be an empathetic person that understands why racism is wrong. Or homophobia. Or transphobia for that matter.

That’s been a surprising result of teaching, I have become super protective of people younger than me. I worry about my past and present students. And God help you if you say anything about any one of them. I’m watching out for them all. I’m sad that they have to go through any of this. 

 I’m sick of people who say that change is slow and you can’t change deep seated beliefs. I always give my dad as an example of how someone can have a radical change to personal worldview. My dad had homophobic beliefs. While he would never be rude or mean to a LGBTQ person (he’s actually met a few of my queer friends and loved them)  he wasn’t exactly open to supporting LGBTQ rights. He did not get it. He also grew up in an extremely conservative, religious Jamaican household. My mom was instrumental in changing his thinking. She challenged his beliefs. 

I honestly did not know he had changed until I heard about his moment that happened awhile back. Apparently his friend group, mostly older Jamaican men, were making homophobic remarks and he told them all off. Something in him snapped. He’s been more outspoken since then. My father is someone who does not use any profanity. He won’t tolerate any sort of bad language. That attitude is now extended to the LGBTQ community. And God help you if you say anything bad about Sam Smith around him. 

Is my dad perfect? Not at all. Caitlyn Jenner took a few conversations. However, I noticed my dad’s annoyance over the whole Caitlyn Jenner thing was always more directed to the Kardashians. He could care less about the trans issue and never said anything even remotely transphobic. 

[francesca-lyn]

Developing a Teaching Philosophy

I’m in the process of developing a teaching philosophy. While writing this document was originally motivated by job purposes - it has been good to reflect on what sort of teacher I am and what sort of teacher I would like to be. 

The purpose of education is to foster growth. My role as an instructor is to empower students and foster growth by creating a positive learning environment. Learning is a process and I believe that many different teaching methods can be effective in the classroom. Every class is unique and students all learn differently.

The most important aspects of my teaching are cultivating a receptive and approachable classroom environment. Learning is often a collaborative experience. Students learn best when they can discuss ideas freely and openly. Engaging classroom discussions provide opportunities for analysis and reflection.   

I want my students to leave my class with an appreciation of the material taught. They don’t have to become diehard comic fans but ideally I would want my students to appreciate the medium of comics. More importantly, I encourage the development of critical thinking skills. I want my students to learn problem solving skills and how to create effective arguments. These are skills that transcend the material and even the classroom.

[francesca-lyn]

Gender, Race, and Comics

I have a cold so I feel like my thoughts are coming slower. I have resolved to do more public writing this year. I think it helps me organize my thoughts. Eventually I want to do something a bit more formal on this topic but I thought I would start with some general thoughts and impressions. 

One of my biggest accomplishments is proposing and teaching a class at VCU of my own design. ENGL291: Gender, Race, and Comics examines the intersection of gender and race in both independent and mainstream comics. My class puts particular emphasis on graphic narratives created by women of color. This semester is my second time teaching this particular course. 

In my course students learn how to do comics research with special emphasis on utilizing VCU’s Comic Arts Collection. They learn about the state of contemporary comics scholarship and develop an appreciation for the creativity and expression shown in comics. Basically, it is a chance to geek out. We get a tour of VCU’s incredibly large and diverse collection and I encourage students to find comics that speak to them. I consider this course a collaboration between myself and my students. I encourage them to bring in topical examples and try to get them talking to each other. 

I’m incredibly proud of this class. Students sharpen their ability to create written and oral critical responses. They also attend in-class lectures given by comics academics and professionals to further enrich their comics education. It has been so exciting to introduce guests like @chrisvisions and @inkanddestroy to my class. I thought that it was important to include perspectives from contemporary creators. So many comics classes do not address materiality. Meeting cartoonists is a great way to emphasis that these are objects that start off laboriously made by hand.  

Assignments include a series of short response papers, a comic analysis paper, and a longer final research paper or creative project. Many of the final projects blew me away. I got a paper on the slut-shaming of She-Hulk. A project that reenvisioned the origin stories of female scientist superheroes. An exploration of blackness in anime.  I can’t wait to see what this semester brings.