Dear researchers, as a student of literary studies, I have noticed that graphic novels and comics are hardly ever covered in lectures. This is presumably due, on the one hand, to the distinction between high culture and popular culture and, on the other hand, to the fact that this medium is not primarily or predominantly text-based – even though text is certainly present within it and can exhibit a high degree of literary or poetic quality. Particularly given that the graphic novel *Feeding Ghosts* won the Pulitzer Prize in the ‘Memoir or Autobiography’ category (‘An affecting work of literary art and discovery whose illustrations bring to life three generations of Chinese women.’ [Source: https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/650]), thereby reigniting the debate on the question ‘What constitutes literature?’, the following question arises for me: Are there any literary studies initiatives and/or theoretical frameworks (e.g. in the field of text-image theory) aimed at integrating this medium into the scope of literary studies?
Dear Patric,
apologies for the delayed reply: I hadn’t forgotten your question…
The canonisation process has begun
Well, whilst I’m no specialist in narratology, I have long been interested in the relationship between text and image. In Text-and-Image Studies, or more generally speaking: in Intermedia Studies, graphic novels (GNs) are playing an increasingly important role. GNs achieved their international breakthrough as a recognised literary (sub-)genre with Art Spiegelman’s Maus in the 1980s and 1990s. This development – with the usual European, and in this case specifically Swiss, stylistic lag – was not caught up with in Switzerland until the 2010s, with Nando von Arp’s Three Fathers. It is now fair to say that graphic novels are among the canonised new literary genres.
‘Trash and pulp’ prejudices in the German-speaking world
Whether they have, however, already given rise to entirely new theoretical approaches in European narratology, I do not know. Here, it is important to highlight the cultural differences between the Anglophone, Francophone and Germanophone academic and cultural spheres. Whilst in the USA and France the history of graphic novels stretches far back and is deeply rooted in the culture of comics and the bande dessinée, graphic literature in the German-speaking world continues to grapple with long-standing prejudices against popular (and thus implicitly ‘inferior’) reading material. Since the literacy campaigns of the 18th century, so-called ‘trash and pulp’ debates have been repeatedly held in this context.
Theoretical development in the Francophone context
For the Francophone context, I can refer to the work of my colleague from Lausanne, Raphaël Baroni, whose research interests lie at the intersection of narratology and intermediality – with a particular focus on the French-language bande dessinée.
Tentative approaches from the field of German studies
As far as German studies in Germany and Switzerland are concerned, there have so far only been tentative and belated attempts to engage with the subject. That said, a few years ago I sat on an appointments committee where a colleague was appointed on the basis of a lecture on Kafka adaptations in which graphic novels played a – if not the – decisive role.
More on Raphaël Baroni: