Course Description

Comics have played a significant role in American culture for 80 years (the first Superman comic was published in 1938). Like jazz, comics are considered one of the few uniquely American art forms. Whereas they were once targeted principally towards young readers (specifically boys) they have, since that time, diversified and evolved into a multi-billion dollar business and are increasingly considered a unique and sophisticated mode of expression. Given the huge diversity and lengthy history of comics in America, this course is not meant to be a broad survey of this extensive body of work, but is intended more to be an exploration of some of the major themes, or what I’m calling the Big Ideas in comics, specifically ideas relating to heroes and heroism, identity and gender. 

The integration of knowledge, theories, and concepts across different disciplines in the Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

This course fulfills 1 credit of either the fine arts, social science, natural science or humanities degree requirement in Liberal Studies.

Meeting Place and Times

Online

Instructor(s)

John Townsend-Mehler.

Dr. Townsend-Mehler earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Montana State University in 2001, and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Zoology and Evolutionary Biology from Michigan State University in 2010, with a specialization in Cognitive Science. His research interests include both foraging behavior and decision-making in social insects as well as science education (in humans). He began developing and teaching online courses in 2011.

Prerequisites

University Seminar and sophomore standing.

Tuition and Fees

If you are accepted into a qualified online program, see the appropriate MSU Online Only Tuition and Fee table.

If you are also taking a face-to-face course, please refer to the MSU Fee Schedules.

Required Books/Materials

  • All Star Superman Vol 1 (Grant Morrison,2006) 
  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller, 1997) 
  • Wonder Woman vol 1: Blood (Brian Azzarello, 2013) 
  • X-men:  God Loves, Man Kills (Chris Claremont, 2011) 
  • Ms. Marvel Vol 1: No Normal (G. Wilson, 2014) 
  • Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet vol 1 (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2016) 
  • Bitch Planet Vol 1: Extraordinary Machine (Kelly Sue DeConnick, 2015) 

 

Available from online retailers and at the MSU bookstore.

Computer Requirements:

Internet access

A device and browser that pass the system check for Brightspace LE, MSU's learning management system.

For More Information

For course information, contact John Townsend-Mehler

How to Register

You must be accepted as a student to Montana State University to take this course.

Learn how to apply.

After your application has been accepted, you will register via MSU's online registration system, MyInfo.

Registration requires a PIN. Learn how to find your PIN.

Once you have your PIN, learn how to register through MyInfo.