abstract 140 words

This presentation will explore the ways in which "old" media, such as comic books and associative lyric poetry can provide a way to understand and produce essays in "new" digital media, facilitating literacy in these media. Specifically, I suggest that the comic book form can provide a framework for viewing, creating, and designing new digital media. This presentation will examine excerpts from comics and graphic novels through the lens of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, as well as composition scholars' theories concerning the "new" kind of composing engendered by digital media and then apply the insights gained from this examination to digital media compositions. This paper suggests that those of us in English Studies should be equipped to teach digital media literacy and composition in conjunction with literary literacy and traditional academic composition. In fact, these skills should inform one another.

Equipment needs: I will need access to the internet and a way to project from a computer (either a computer at the facility or my laptop). Sound and image will be part of the projection, so speakers should also be available.