The Secret Language of Comics

Month: November 2023

“Halfa-Kucha” Reflection

Student Posts

resentation. How was it different to construct an argument that you were giving to the class as a presentation than to write an essay?

I felt that crafting an argument for this presentation was exactly the same process for an essay. However, the evidence needed support my claim during this project was more rough since my words didn’t need to be convey that eloquently when speaking. When finding an argument to talk about, I looked first to books I felt most comfortable with which was Stitches and Sabrina. I then read over past projects and in my close reading of Stitches and Sabrina, I discovered that much of my arguments were based on the actual drawings of the two comics. I structured my presentation in basically 4 parts; introduction, alternating evidence on each comic, some comparison, and a conclusion. When adding visuals, I included extra shapes to direct the audience’s attention so they could follow my presentation easier.

This format of this presentation was new for me and was a challenge to control my timings. Since I had no control over the timings, if I went over a slide’s time, I would have to spill over, but if I was really behind I had to skip some of my presentation. That being said, I liked the format in the way that there was a controlled amount of information you could include so that it was standardized.

Some things I noticed about my classmates’ presentations were their analysis. Since our prompt was focused on trauma and healing, many presentations mentioned the road to recovery is not a sure process. I enjoyed the many nuanced viewpoints on the same topic across the comic we read this semester.

Things I could have done better during my presentation is to stay on my timings better. I realized that my own computer slides wasn’t exactly synced up to the slides on the board which made me late on the timings and it only got worse as the slides progressed. I also didn’t follow instructions and made a full pecha kucha which was twice the work. 😦

Halfa Kutcha Reflection

Student Posts

Link to The Winding Path to Healing:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSTMEDG0TAwdDGA-4LqI-_5uHaGvm7WoiRNvCwKzS2R1aEqqdlgC2XqLNGw67JDwgJtqEYhtSnlEGU5/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=10000

The process of making this presentation looked like first brainstorming different connections I could make between texts and for some reason I felt that Stitches and Kindred could relate in some way. This hunch ended up being the basis of my argument when I read over the prompt and found the excerpts from  Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence — From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror where Judith Herman makes several claims regarding the trauma and recovery process.  I found that two quotes from the excerpt closely align with the ways this healing process went in the two novels that I chose so that’s when I decided to use the excerpt as my argument’s foundation.

The way I went about organizing this presentation is by creating a notes page where I wrote out everything that I wanted to capture for each slide. This allowed me to see my ideas clearly and expand in areas where deeper explanation would buttress my argument. This type of organization would be helpful when applied to written work because it can assist with getting over that first obstacle in writing where you don’t know where to start. Simply spitting out whatever ideas are floating in your brain without putting them under critique allows one to get their ideas flowing. I also feel that my addition of certain arrows and symbols allows for a more streamlined viewer experience where my audience can easily follow from one idea/point being made to another. Considering both of these organizational strategies could be used in written work, I can see myself using them in my next piece. I am also proud of the intentionality that went into choosing my visulas. I made sure that each image had some relevance to the title of each slide and that they would flow from one visual to the next in a manner that creates a cohesive argument. For example, when looking at the “Establishment of Safety” slide, I wanted to implicitly show a difference between present-day and the antebellum era so I used a not-equal-to sign accompanied by images that correlate to images on either side. 

When it came to the presentation of my slides, the whole concept of auto-advancing slides was sort of disorienting. Even though I had practiced, talking in front of an audience made me speed up involuntarily. In order to combat this I tried to slow it down a bit that proved to be disorienting as well because I was a little late in making my point on certain slides. However, when efficient and intentional practice is implemented to prepare for a Halfa or Petcha Kutcha, this form of presenting could be very effective and fluid in making an argument. Something that I could have done that I saw in other presentations was using captions on the images I used. This gave that much more clarity to what the audience should be focusing on for each slide.  All in all, this was an interesting medium to try out and I’ve learned so much about how to be a better presenter in the long run. 

Sketch 11: Assemblies

Student Posts

The banana stands for taking a closer look at the text and images, similar to how you have to peel a banana before you eat it. It demonstrates examining what details the author adds in each panel, and what this does for character and story development. The assignment that taught me most of this material was the Tracing Pages assignment which we analyzed specific pages of Spinning and Stitches.

The strawberry stands for attempting to write an essay with putting my thesis statement as the end of the essay, because I was taught to build my essay off my thesis statement, by putting it in my into my introductory paragraph in high school, similar to how a strawberry is the only fruit with seeds on the outside. This was a very important topic because it helps me take a more holistic approach to my writing and stay in the box of my thesis.

The pineapple stands for the visual note taking that we learned, because I believe that the pineapple is the most interesting looking fruit.I actually use the visual note taking technique in a few of my classes, because it help me understand topics that I am struggling with and topics that play a fundamental role in the class.

The blueberry stands for the literacy narrative that we did, analyzing our story for how we read and write. I chose the blueberry represents this because it has been my favorite fruit since my childhood. I thought this was an interesting assignment because it taught me why I read and write the way I do, and what role reading and writing has played on my life so far.

Apples represent how much I overlooked comics in general and the stories and messages they represent. Similar to how I thought apples where very overrated when I was in elementary school, but now I really like them. I always thought that comic where a elementary for of communication or one that was used for superhero stories, but these genre can provide really power messages, create very engaging stories, and provide a lot of deeper meanings.

Lastly, an orange represents the Halfa Kucha project what we did. The orange was one f the last fruits I learned to eat because when it wasn’t until late in high school when I finally learned to peel an orange by myself. The Halfa Kucha was a completely new experience because I never made a presentation in which each slide only lasted 20 seconds. In addition, it was good learning experience to present to the class audience, and it was interesting to see how my peers decided to go about their presentations.

Halfa Kucha Reflection

Student Posts

This assignment was harder than writing an essay because I had a limited amount of time to say everything that I wanted to say. Speaking in front of an audience is also a lot more challenging and nerve-racking than writing a paper (in my opinion). When I knew what two books I wanted to compare, I didn’t know if I should go back and forth between the books with each slide, or I should go through each book in its entirety and then compare the two at the end. I ended up going with the first option because it allowed for more synthesis and comparison throughout the presentation, even though it may have been harder to follow. When choosing my visuals, I tried to think of the most powerful and impactful images throughout each story. When presenting I didn’t really talk about the images specifically and let the images speak for themselves. I felt as though I didn’t have enough time to make the key arguments I wanted to and explain the images. This presentation helped me learn to practice going over presentations. Normally, I wouldn’t practice a presentation as much, but because I knew that the slides were advancing automatically, I put in more time to practice. I liked how some of my classmate’s included images that weren’t from the books, which I felt made it more engaging because it was new material. If I were to do it again, I would probably include some images that were not from the books.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRxse4ftFSchbrIuLA03QxFRDK-2Ld9v5ooTTW6ZKdqIVK4xqkyUC1y0Hih08yrCIJWRZgHOwy2yJDf/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=10000

Sunday Sketches~Sketch 11: Assemblies

Student Posts
This is my diagram with added annotations.

For this final Sunday Sketch assignment, I really wanted to come up with a diagram that would showcase all I have accomplished in ENGRD 101 this semester. I decided to make my image that of a stuffed teddy bear, expanding a little bit on my Triptych from Sketch 5.

The process I use to create and complete a piece of work has drastically changed since the beginning of the semester. Similar to the “skeleton” of the bear (the flat, floppy husk of a bear you get at Build-A-Bear), my work at first was a LOT of words with no real substance to them. Throughout the semester, I added stuffing to my bear, providing context about the comics I analyzed and summaries relevant to my literacy narrative. This made my work fuller (like the stuffing inside the bear), and gave it a clearer structure.

Moving on to the more specific parts of the bear–these elements exemplify the specific elements of my learning and writing techniques that have allowed me to flourish as a writer this semester. As seen in the above annotations, the eyes and ears of the bear represent the seeing and hearing aspects of learning. Listening to advice from Professor Morgen was very helpful when writing my reflections and projects, especially the analysis of Stitches and Spinning. The eyes are also important to note specific places that need revisions. For example, while looking over my literacy narrative, Professor Morgen pointed out a few specific places that could be improved. I listened to his advice (going back to the ears), and ultimately ended up with a much stronger piece of work that I was excited to share with others.

Another one of the elements that was key in creating my final work(s) was my attention to detail, represented by the paws and fur of the bear. This was especially the case for my Literacy Narrative Comic. I wanted it to be understandable to the reader, so I made sure to make my drawings as detailed as possible (note that I am not an artistically inclined person!). However, the paws do not take up much space on the bear; it is just at the feet. This relates to my experience that too many details can be a bad thing, just as was the case with my first draft of my literacy narrative. Professor Morgen noted how I was talking about too many ideas and it was better to focus on a single one, which ultimately ended up working out in my favor (back to the ears once again!).

Lastly, I want to draw attention to the facial expression of the bear. The bear’s eyes are wide open and it is smiling; both of these characteristics are representative of my learning style as a student. I always do my best to come to class excited and ready to learn, along with any clarifying questions I may have. Asking questions has been one of, if not the most, useful tools as a student. Knowing what my mentors and peers expect of me challenges and pushes me to make the best final product I can make; going back to my diagram, this ‘final product’ is the bear as a whole.

This assignment definitely forced me to think critically about myself as a student and be able to represent it and explain it through a medium other than words (relating to the “Visual Thinking” Learning Outcome). It makes me incredibly happy and proud to see how far I’ve grown as a writer since the beginning of the semester, and I can’t wait to see further growth in the near future!

Literacy Narrative pt. Reflection

Student Posts

The literacy narrative pt. 3 helped me meet the learning outcomes of the class by challenging me to revise and edit a text and a comic for a third time. The visual medium of the comic helped me separate my thoughts succinctly into cohesive paragraphs. Not only did I spend extra time on the assignment, but the prior two drafts really helped my final product. For one of the first times, I felt clear minded about my vision for the assignment and looking back reading the essay I think it came out and answered the prompt in a robust, successful way. My analytical thinking process was the same each time I completed the literacy narrative, whether it was parts 1, 2, or 3. However, I believe that it was the repetition of the assignment that was actually a good thing and enabled me to dive deeper into my thoughts and not just write and submit the first good one that comes to mind.

https://wordpress.com/page/observant-bschuchat.wordpress.com/144

Halfa Kucha Reflection Post

Student Posts

This assignment was a lot different than any other one I have done at Emory so far and throughout my high school career. This process was not more difficult than writing an essay, but it was different. For example, I knew I only had 20 seconds to get my argument across, so I could not be as descriptive as I wanted when writing an essay; I had to ensure I didn’t leave any essential parts out during those 20 seconds. I had to be clear and concise in my argument, while still ensuring it was persuasive. Providing my argument was compelling and concise enough for the time constraints was challenging. Overall, it was a good learning experience that taught me the importance of being mindful of time constraints when speaking. I also decided to use three books we read the semester because I did not want to make my argument sound repetitive by just using two books, which would cause me to “waste” time on my slides—conveying an argument I had already previously stated. 

The organization part of the presentation was already laid out for me, as I had 20 seconds to decide what information I wanted to convey to my audience. This assignment reminded me of the comic we had to make for our literacy narrative. Going from writing an essay to writing a comic meant that I had to be more concise in my argument and pick the more “important” parts of my argument, and I could not be as descriptive as my essay.  Similarly, in this project, I could not write down every thought and argument that came to my mind about trauma and healing through the book we have read this semester, I had to pick out the more critical parts of my argument and make sure I was being practical at the same time as well. 

For the visual part of my presentation, I decided to include pictures of the argument I was describing. The argument and the picture on the slide went hand in hand so the audience could follow my argument much better.  The slide was clear and concise, and it provided a visual representation of the points I was making. This allowed the audience to stay focused and engaged throughout the presentation. I enjoyed this type of presentation more because it enabled me to keep on track with my argument, not get too repetitive, and stray into another topic.  It also allowed me to emphasize the most critical points of my argument. Furthermore, it allowed me to provide the audience with a better understanding of my message. After watching my peers presentations I would change my to have more images from the text of the books that I analyzed, rather than finding most of my images from the web. I also liked how some of the presentation focused on one or two characters development throughout their presentation, while mine analyzed the book as a whole.

Link to presentation

Halfa Kucha Presentation and Reflection

Student Posts
Halfa Kucha PresentationDownload

Constructing this presentation in the form of half a Pecha Kucha required me to use trial and error to determine how to structure my argument and how long I’d have on each idea. After writing an outline, it surprised me that I had to cut down a lot of my writing to fit into the 20 seconds per slide. Because this wasn’t an essay, though, I realized I could eliminate lots of my descriptions and summaries of each scene, letting the images speak for themselves. 

I was unsure how to structure my presentation, and I initially thought I’d talk about Sabrina, then move onto Stitches. Partway through I changed my mind, however, and I rearranged my slides thematically. I found that I was better able to draw connections between the books I was discussing and I think it helped keep my argument organized into separate ideas. It also meant that I was structuring my ideas in a similar manner as I would with an essay. In that way, I think my analytical thinking process was similar to what it would be when writing an essay, but what differed was having the visuals serve as evidence, giving me more space for analyzing. 

I learned that evenly spacing my ideas into 20 second increments is quite difficult. I had a lot more to say on certain slides than others, so it forced me to learn how to be concise with my language. After presenting, I also learned that I spoke differently when presenting than when I practiced beforehand. I thought I had the timing down from doing several run-throughs of my slides alone, but it turned out I spoke slower when actually giving the presentation. For the future, when practicing, I’m going to make sure I have at least one person as an audience to better replicate what it will be like when presenting.  

Image credits for last slide: F newsmagazine

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