Courses

Comics combine images with words in a unique way in order to communicate with and emotionally engage the viewer/reader. In taking classes for this minor, students will be required to think outside of accustomed disciplinary boundaries and to analyze and experiment with the interaction of both visual and linguistic systems of meaning.


The University of Oregon course catalog offers degree plans and a complete list of undergraduate courses that fulfill the Comic and Cartoon Studies minor requirements.


Featured Courses

Our interdisciplinary Comics and Cartoon Studies minor, the first of its kind in the nation, presents students with an international, historical, and critical perspective on the art of comics, from editorial cartoons to comic books to graphic novels. Check out a few of our featured classes below!

Intro to comics course.png

ENG 280 Intro to Comic Studies

This class provides an introduction to the history and art of comics and to the methodologies of the academic discipline of Comics Studies. Students will be exposed to a range of different comic-art forms (including newspaper strips, collections of serialized comic books, and free-standing graphic novels), as well as examples of contemporary comics scholarship.

Graphic arrative course

ENG 385 Graphic Narratives & Cultural Theory 
 

Survey of the 20th- and 21st- century graphic novels in the context of cultural theory.


Upcoming Courses

The tables below list the upcoming courses for Comics and Cartoon Studies in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years. The tables are updated as curriculum decisions are made, so check back when considering future registration choices.

Spring Term 2024 

CRN

Subject

Number

Title

Instructor

30459

ARTD

350

Digital Drawing

Vala, J

30460

ARTD

350

Digital Drawing 

Vala, J

30461

ARTD

350

Digital Drawing 

Bray, M

31211

COLT

370

Comparative Comics

Wirtz, N

31596

ENG

381M

Film, Media, & Culture

McGuffie, A

35166

ENG

381M

Film, Media, & Culture

Rust, S

TBD

ENG

386

Bodies in Comics

Wheeler, E

35308

JPN

480

Early Modern Comics

Walley, T

Fall Term 2024

CRN

Subject

Number

Title

Instructor

10581

ARTD

250

Print Media Digital Arts

Warren, T

10595

ARTD

350

Digital Drawing

Kripper, K

10596

ARTD

350

Digital Drawing

Ching, I

16120

COLT

380

Topic: Asian Horror

Brown, S

11905

ENG

280

Introduction to Comic Studies

Saunders, B

11914

ENG

381M

Film, Media, & Culture

McGuffie, A

16368

ENG

386

Bodies in Comics

Wheeler, B

12990

JPN

250

Manga Millennium 

Walley, T

Winter Term 2025

CRN

Subject

Number

Title

Instructor

TBD

ENG

381M

Film, Media, & Culture

TBD

Spring Term 2025

CRN

Subject

Number

Title

Instructor

TBD

ENG

381M

Film. Media, & Culture

TBD

TBD

ENG

480

Modern American Superhero

Saunders, B