GENDER 153Gender and Comics
Gender Studies · 4 units · Undergraduate upper division (100-199)
Study of cultural politics of comics—broadly defined to include comic books, cartoons, graphic novels, manga, manhwa, graphic memoirs, documentary comics, etc.—with focus on feminist genealogies and transnational dynamics. Introduction to comics as form of graphic storytelling and sequential art, beginning with primer on basic terminology for reading, discussing, and making comics. For historical context, consideration of gendered youth culture, superheroes, Cold War geopolitics, and comics industry in U.S. and beyond. Examination of comics written for kids and young adults as well as for mature audiences and critical readers, including comics that range from funny and heartwarming to seriously dark, irreverent, and even risqué. These include alternative comics, underground comix, and feminist and queer comics that circulated through alternative newspapers and small presses before rise of graphic novels.
Examination also of graphic memoirs, comics journalism, etc. P/NP or letter grading.
When it runs
Not on the schedule for any of Fall 2025 through Spring 2027. UCLA publishes only that window, so this does not mean the course is gone — check the official listing.
Requisites
UCLA lists no requisites for this course.
Requires
Everything that has to come before this course, not just the courses named in the requisite above.
Nothing — this is an entry point.
Unlocks
What this course is a requisite for, and what those courses lead to in turn.
No course in the catalog lists this as a requisite.