Z604/Z672 Comic Books and Their Readers

Digital and Empirical Methods for Studying Readership and Fandom
Spring 2024

12:40 - 15:15 Wednesday, Sycamore Hall (SY) 103

Instructor: Associate Professor John A. Walsh, jawalsh@indiana.edu.
Office Hours: Schedule at https://fantastical.app/jawalsh-r1Wz/office-hours.

Associate Instructor: Alex Wingate, alewinga@iu.edu
Office Hours: Thursdays, 1:30pm-2:45pm, and by appointment (click Zoom link in Alex’s profile)

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Leading discussion

Description

Points:
Once during the semester, you will lead discussion together with another student in the class. These will take place during Weeks 2-6 and 8-11. For the discussion, you and your partner will give a 5-10 minute summary of the readings/videos assigned for that week and moderate 20-25 minutes of discussion.

You should be prepared to pose discussion-worthy questions about the readings, call on your peers, listen to contributions, and facilitate productive conversation among class members. A successful discussion comprehensively covers the issues raised in the readings; relates the week’s readings to earlier readings and general themes of the course; involves all the students in the class; and gives all students time and encouragement to express their views and raise the issues they find important. The instructors may occasionally intervene during this period, but the goal for the students is to engage with and learn from each other in conversation with the readings.

To turn in

• A preliminary draft of the discussion questions should be emailed to the AI (Alex) by Sunday at 11:59pm of the week you co-lead.
  • You are encouraged to set up a meeting with Alex via Zoom either before or after you submit your preliminary draft to discuss your questions.
• A summary handout (between 1 and 2 double-sided pages) of the readings/videos for that week to be turned in to Canvas on Tuesday at 11:59pm. You must also bring 20 paper copies to class on Wednesday (enough for both instructors and all students). The summary handout should contain:
  • You and your partner’s names and the week number
  • A bibliographic citation (any style) for each reading followed by approximately 3-5 bullet points summarizing the main points of the reading
  • Your discussion questions (aim for 4-6)

Submit your assignment materials as a PDF or Word document in Canvas.

Adapted with permission from Prof. Allan Martell.