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<p>Using the discussion of Biblical typology from Northrop Frye’s <em>The Great Code</em> as a starting point, this paper proposes a typological lineage of fiction growing from the foundational <em>kerygmatic</em> stories of Western culture. After briefly proposing canonical texts that would fit into this lineage, there is an analysis of the graphic novel <em>All-Star Superman</em> which demonstrates this contemporary text’s place in the typological line and its status as a prime example of the sorts of texts that would fit this lineage. Specific characteristics of the graphic novel and of superhero fiction are discussed that demonstrate <em>All-Star Superman</em>’s place in the typological line, and this placement also argues for the consideration of superhero narratives as worthy parts of the American literary canon. The final chapter discusses some of the ramifications arising from the analysis of both the form and the text, pointing to ways in which critical frameworks for both the typological lineage and the critical elucidation of the graphic novel format can move forward.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

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Many people assume that editorial cartoons are easily understood by the bulk of the population. For this reason, editorial cartoons are often used as teaching materials in the classroom. Recent research, however, raises doubts as to the effectiveness of this practice. Investigations by Bedient (1971) and DeSousa & Medhurst (1982) determined that the majority of students (grade 5 through college) could not interpret editorial cartoons. These investigators went on to suggest that a logical next step would be to determine if editorial cartoon literacy can be taught. The cognitive style of the participants was examined to determine if the different teaching strategies were differentially effective vis-a-vis field dependence and field independence. Two presentations (treatments) were designed to model methods of reading editorial cartoons. The Whole Cartoon Analysis presented 25 editorial cartoons along with a 100-200 word interpretation of each cartoon. The Parse Analysis Treatment was accomplished in three steps rather than the one for the Whole method. In step one, the whole cartoon is presented with a short gloss of the meaning. In step two all of the cartoon is visually suppressed except for one visual meaning element. This element of the cartoon is discussed and then the next element of the cartoon is added, and so on until the entire cartoon is back on the screen at which point the overall meaning is discussed. The dependent variable of the investigation was the two-part Editorial Cartoon Interpretation Task. Part A asked each participant to enumerate the symbols in the cartoon and define them as to meaning. Part B asked the participant to write a short thematic interpretation of the cartoon. A two-way Analysis of Variance on the data revealed no significant differences in either the main effects or the interaction. / Ed. D.

The mass media have been widely studied because of their pervasiveness and effect on society. The comic strips, as part of the newspaper, are widely read. By their very existence and pervasiveness they mold our culture. The purpose of this study was to examine marriage and the family and how it is portrayed in the comic strips. A historical overview of significant family comic strips was done using comic strip texts. A content analysis of contemporary family strips was also done. The strips were analyzed to determine how often demonstrated affection and/or abuse occurred. In addition, the strips were analyzed to determine the quality and quantity of parent-child, sibling, and husband-wife relationships. Two month samples of 15 different comic strips were analyzed. The comic strip family emerged as a stereotyped group that was white, lower-middle class, with a father who worked at a white collar job and a mother who was a housewife. The family included several school-aged or teen-aged children. Neither demonstrated affection nor abuse was found to occur often in comic strip families. Parent-child interactions and interactions among siblings were judged to be more positive than negative. Husband-wife interactions were more often negative than positive, although there was a wide variance among individual strips. Interactions about leisure time and its use occurred more often than any other category. Household tasks, food, finances, in-laws or parents, dress and health comprised the other major categories of interactions. / Master of Science

This thesis presents three case studies in which comic-based digital storytelling is adopted as a means to support the reflection on particular situations involving conflicts. The potential of digital storytelling combined with the comic’s genre has been identified in previous works. Anyway, there is a need of empirical evidence on the advantages and disadvantages on which this approach can be based. Moreover, in most of the research, it has to be noted that digital comics have been identified, in the majority of the research, as a medium to access content, not to create them. Consequently, this thesis contributes to the investigation of employing digital storytelling based on comics informed by previous practices to narratives’ use. Therefore, the case studies are conducted to deeply explore how comic-based digital storytelling can support the reflection of significant troubling experiences. Quantitative and qualitative methods, related to both the user experience and the comics’ construction, are used, which show the benefits and drawbacks when adopting digital torytelling in the form of comics. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of this approach are described in the conclusion. As a matter of fact, in the conclusion, we report a final reflection on the engagement, stakeholder involvement, collaboration, technology, comics, and reflection concepts while considering possible future works on the research topic.

As to form, Wolfe's novels are deliberately loose, because that is important to his purpose. Conceiving America as an open society of potentiality, he could do no less than remain open himself. To do otherwise would have meant impotence if not sterility. In this thesis, I shall attempt to show that the episodes, divergences, and observations all illustrate and amplify this spiritual growth.

The problem under consideration attempts to answer the question: Will an original comic cartoon story used in classroom study of sixth grade arithmetic influence the amount of learning as much as the use of the ordinary text book?

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