Multimodalities Multiplied: Teaching Comics in an Active Learning Classroom

Teaching the graphic novel in English and literature courses can be a challenge, because some of the most commonly used techniques for analyzing literature are not entirely compatible with the analysis of a multimodal form like comics. Additionally, the traditional classroom can be a problematic context for the graphic novel, especially in large lecture spaces, with their unimodal, instructor-centered design. The experience of teaching graphic novels in an active learning classroom suggests that a multimodal approach placed in a learning space designed for multimodal approaches can enhance and improve the experience of teaching the graphic novel in undergraduate courses.