While I have taken courses before which analyze many of these Victorian-period stories, this is the first course I have taken dedicated to interpreting and examining illustrations. I don’t have a particularly large knowledge of art history as an English major, so I am excited to learn about these contextual connections and hopefully have a more comprehensive perspective on these stories and historical multimedia. Although I’ve read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol before and seen many of the film and television iterations, I have yet to study it in an academic sense. I have never read the graphic novel version before either. That being said, I’m particularly interested to see how this visual medium carries over the interplay between text and image. As an avid graphic novel and comic reader, I know that powerful visual elements can be incredibly impactful for storytelling and can completely alter one’s understanding of a text. I’m certain that viewing the original illustrations meant to accompany these iconic stories will further expand upon the narrative capacities of these texts.
So far, the online Zoom session has been a somewhat anxiety-inducing experience for me. The short commute time to the screen is great, but the level of focus necessary to properly pay attention to class because of environmental distractions in my home wasn’t something I expected. I am nervous about the upcoming seminars due to any technological issues or malfunctions on my end, but today’s class went altogether fairly smoothly.