It's official, but is it teachable?

[ow_tiobe_sb]

It's official: my syllabus for the junior/senior seminar on the contemporary novel (roughly 1970-present, although Pynchon's novel listed below was published in 1966) in Spring 2009 has been approved by the chair of the English Department, and I am pleased to report that it includes Mr. Alan Moore's and Mr. David Gibbons's Watchmen.  ^_^

My question to you, as readers of the comic book and graphic novel genres, is do you think this text is teachable to undergraduates?  Watchmen is arguably the Moby Dick or Ulysses of its genre in terms of its semiotic, intertextual, and metatextual density; can one coherently address at least some of the breadth of this novel's scope without leaving undergraduates (some of whom barely remember the 1980s) lost in the forest?  Obviously, I think one can; otherwise, I would not have offered it on my syllabus.  I would like to know from those of you who have read the book whether or not you agree or disagree and why.

In case anyone is interested, I have listed the remaining novels on the syllabus below:

If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (I plan to make several connections between this text--namely, its historical milieu, its characters' political views, and its setting--and Watchmen)
Tracks by Louise Erdrich
Sula by Toni Morrison
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon (again, more potential for connections to Watchmen and its conspiracy/mystery plot here)

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[tommyboy]

I think it is a good choice, as it is one of the few comic book/graphic novels to actually have depth and levels of meaning beyond the immediately apparent.
There are the obvious themes of 'deconstruction of superheroes', but other themes are explored too, from a complex analysis of morality shown by the positions of the various protagonists, but most pronounced in Ozymandias, Rorschach, the Comedian, Nite Owl and  Manhattan. This particular theme is also present in 'The Black Freighter' where it's a bit more simplistic than in the main narrative, but engagingly done nonetheless.
You also get a look at the politics and social background of the 60's, 70's and 80's, and although it's probably hard for those not around then to grasp fully the fear of atomic holocaust that underlines the doomsday clock metaphor. Perhaps an analogy to climate change/global warming could illustrate the pervasive feeling of being caught up in forces beyond the control of the individual but possibly not beyond the control of society as a whole.
Then you have the discussions of fate, predestination and free will represented by Manhattan, and echoed by the symbolic clockwork images that also refer to the doomsday clock.
And that's before you even start looking at the complex narrative structure and actual storytelling innovations Moore and Gibbons bring to the book, which pretty much shifted the whole industry, which then had a knock on effect of comic book sensibilities and characters permeating wider popular culture in a way previously unseen.
Yeah, you have a bunch of stuff in there that can be taught and discussed, and should be.

[The Enigma]

I did Ulysses at undergrad and coped ok, although I know a lot of people who just said "blah, it's too long and/or confusing. Not reading it." Watchmen has easily as much depth as the Calvino (which I've always thought was a nice conceit that was well realised, and interesting from a post-structuralist point of view but ultimately lacking a little as an actual story). All I can say is that I wish my English department had been as forward-thinking. I spent a while trying to get one of my lecturers to add Transmetropolitan to her cyberpunk course, unsuccessfully. The "nobody remembers the 1980s" thing is slightly flawed, as my first real memories (as a 22-year old) were of the mid-90s and it's impractical to write solely on things written since then. Besides, Joyce speaks to me as much as Coupland or DeLillo. Perhaps I am a little biased as I am a comics fan and to come to it from the outside to study might feel odd. I know my girlfriend took a long time to read Watchmen, although she did enjoy it a lot and, like me, is waiting with a combination of anticipation and trepidation for the film.

[ow_tiobe_sb]

I believe the biggest challenge for me (as someone who revels in the vast quantity of extant Joyce scholarship) will be where to draw the line to avoid losing students in one semiotic microcosm amongst the many that make up the Watchmen macrocosm.  I'll need to prioritise goals and limit the impulse to trace the various verbal and visual motifs (e.g., the silhouettes, the timepieces,  the smiley faces, the inkblots, etc.) to their (often ill-)logical ends and contextualise them within the various possible and often conflicting messages of the book.  I know this can be done productively with undergraduates, but I am certain 'twill take a great deal of planning on my part, given this will be my first shot at the book with undergraduates.

Thanks for your input, fellows. :)

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[Zippo]

Being an undergrad, and having taken a few courses similar to what yours seems to be, I'm gonna say that I would loved to have done Watchmen and would've relished the opportunity to do a nice analysis of it for school.
Ever thought about coming to Canada to teach :3 ?  :P

[GogglesPizanno]

Being horribly under-read, I think its totally doable  :)
...worse case, its got a movie adaptation now, so at least it will be currently relevant to them in some sense.

Though I would like to point out that tying it contextually to American Psycho is genius.

[daglob]

Never could get through Crying of Lot 49. Did finish Gravity's Rainbow, but don't remeber a word of it (except for the... um... pig scene. Owtch!).

[BWPS]

Though I would like to point out that tying it contextually to American Psycho is genius.

You're making people read American Psycho? Ouch!

[Mr. Hamrick]

To your original question, it is absolutely teachable.  Especially when you address literary themes that are present in the graphic novel and how those same themes are addressed in the other works you mentioned by Ellis and Pynchon.  You also have the critique of not just the superhero archetype as Tommyboy pointed out but of the hero archetype in general as seen in many pieces of classic literature. 

So yeah, it is.

[ow_tiobe_sb]

You're making people read American Psycho?

No, one cannot make students read anything (even if the text's message is as practically beneficial as "Look out!  A piano is prepared to fall on your head!"); however, one can put reading assignments on one's syllabus and hope for the best.  *his mind turns toward the old adage about leading a horse to water*  I fully expect that many students in my class will aggressively skim Ellis's novel for obvious (and understandable) reasons. 

[spoiler]Some skimming of that novel is actually permissible once one appreciates the point that sheer quantity of shallow detail--accumulated repeatedly via Bateman's fetishisation (which is, BTW, a form of erotic-cognitive dissection not unlike his skilled handling of knives) of designer clothing ensembles, top-brand electronics, high-end cosmetics, etc.--could be used by Ellis to inundate and, perhaps, nauseate the reader and, thus, perpetuate an uneasy reading experience.  However, there are a few important diamonds in that vast rough that I plan to point out to my students.  I think 'twill also be fruitful to compare and contrast Bateman and Ozymandias, both of whom have a sense of themselves as some type of brand but who also know how (Ozymandias far more frequently and successfully than Bateman) to filter out the noise of incessant advertising and media chatter to distill insights about their postmodern cultures.[/spoiler]

Ouch!

Be careful with that stick, son!  You might consider trading up for a cane someday...

You also have the critique of not just the superhero archetype as Tommyboy pointed out but of the hero archetype in general as seen in many pieces of classic literature. 

As luck would have it, what a (super)hero means to the Ojibwa also arises in Ms. Erdrich's gorgeously written Tracks, so I am certain that we will discuss certain heroic archetypes, including the ubiquitous Native American culture hero, the Trickster (or, in this case, "Nanapush").

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[Xenolith]

i've never found Watchmen to be very accessible.  i don't think a vast majority of your students will be able to get past the super-hero angle.  graduate level students perhaps could.  is the class aimed at first year students, or those moving toward graduate school?  i think that makes a difference.

[ow_tiobe_sb]

i've never found Watchmen to be very accessible.  i don't think a vast majority of your students will be able to get past the super-hero angle.  graduate level students perhaps could.  is the class aimed at first year students, or those moving toward graduate school?  i think that makes a difference.

From the initial post:

It's official: my syllabus for the junior/senior seminar on the contemporary novel...

Never in my drunkest states would I dream of offering this syllabus to first-year students or non-English majors (nor would the department approve this syllabus for freshmen or sophomores).  I'd like to hear more about the learning curve involved with "the super-hero angle."  I've been under the impression that the superhero comic book genre lacked much of an obtrusive "angle" as much as its reputation has suffered for lacking literary merit.  Obviously, I disagree with the latter contention (otherwise I wouldn't be teaching Watchmen and I probably wouldn't be spending much time on this forum).  I would also submit that a graphic novel might have the greatest possible appeal (even if the students are ultimately disappointed with the story), both visually and structurally (the text is rather cinematic in its flashing back and forth betwixt concurrent narratives), to college students 19-22 years of age, regardless of gender, who have been raised on a(n un)healthy diet of MTV, YouTube, and various live chat/messenger computer applications.

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Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[Podmark]

Well all I can say is that as someone who just finished his undergrad last spring, I would have loved it if one of my classes had had Watchmen on it's reading list. But I'm a comic fan who was looking for an excuse to read it, I currently am and I'm enjoying it.

[Talavar]

i've never found Watchmen to be very accessible.  i don't think a vast majority of your students will be able to get past the super-hero angle.  graduate level students perhaps could.  is the class aimed at first year students, or those moving toward graduate school?  i think that makes a difference.

From the initial post:

It's official: my syllabus for the junior/senior seminar on the contemporary novel...

Never in my drunkest states would I dream of offering this syllabus to first-year students or non-English majors (nor would the department approve this syllabus for freshmen or sophomores).  I'd like to hear more about the learning curve involved with "the super-hero angle."  I've been under the impression that the superhero comic book genre lacked much of an obtrusive "angle" as much as its reputation has suffered for lacking literary merit.  Obviously, I disagree with the latter contention (otherwise I wouldn't be teaching Watchmen and I probably wouldn't be spending much time on this forum).  I would also submit that a graphic novel might have the greatest possible appeal (even if the students are ultimately disappointed with the story), both visually and structurally (the text is rather cinematic in its flashing back and forth betwixt concurrent narratives), to college students 19-22 years of age, regardless of gender, who have been raised on a(n un)healthy diet of MTV, YouTube, and various live chat/messenger computer applications.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

I think that one potential issue with teaching Watchmen is that it deconstructs superhero cliches and tropes that a lot of the non-comic reading audience aren't even going to be aware of.  As a deconstructionist work, Watchmen is predicated on the body of work it's deconstructing - American superhero comics. Without knowing comic history and a great deal of familiarity with the comic superhero genre, some of what makes Watchmen so good doesn't come across.

[ow_tiobe_sb]

I think that one potential issue with teaching Watchmen is that it deconstructs superhero cliches and tropes that a lot of the non-comic reading audience aren't even going to be aware of.  As a deconstructionist work, Watchmen is predicated on the body of work it's deconstructing - American superhero comics. Without knowing comic history and a great deal of familiarity with the comic superhero genre, some of what makes Watchmen so good doesn't come across.

Excellent point, one that indicates the challenge that most educators who want to infuse their subject matter with a sense of history (or histories) must face within the American educational system.  The sad reality that I have met repeatedly (repeatedly) is that many American students, fresh from high school, possess a confused (at best) command of American history (much less a broader history of the world) limited to a few monumental moments and well-tread myths.  As it will be necessary for me to give my students a crash course in the history of U.S.-Chippewa relations, post-reconstruction race relations, and the political culture of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, I will make a point of providing a synoptic view of the history of American comic books.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[Xenolith]

Sorry I missed your opening statement about the class' level.  I apparently forgot it while reading the thread.  I can't being to anticipate the reaction you will have, to be honest.  Please let us know what happens.

[ow_tiobe_sb]

Once we begin discussing Watchmen in class next semester, I would be happy to post my lesson plans/questions for critical reading and thinking here to promote further discussion of this incomparable text.  It'd be like having our own little book club.  ^_^  I would certainly love to hear what others have to add to my undergraduates' discussion.

If anyone would be interested in this proposition, just let me know.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[The Enigma]

I would be greatly interested in this. With my degree now over, I'd love to feel like I'm still exercising the studenty part of my brain. If it's something I really enjoy, I'm bound to keep up my interest and get more involved too.

[BWPS]

what school do you teach english at?

[Gremlin]

Once we begin discussing Watchmen in class next semester, I would be happy to post my lesson plans/questions for critical reading and thinking here to promote further discussion of this incomparable text.  It'd be like having our own little book club.  ^_^  I would certainly love to hear what others have to add to my undergraduates' discussion.

If anyone would be interested in this proposition, just let me know.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

Oooooh this would make me happy!

[Uncle Yuan]

Once we begin discussing Watchmen in class next semester, I would be happy to post my lesson plans/questions for critical reading and thinking here to promote further discussion of this incomparable text.  It'd be like having our own little book club.  ^_^  I would certainly love to hear what others have to add to my undergraduates' discussion.

If anyone would be interested in this proposition, just let me know.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

Would we get credit?