This course explores a range of recent graphic novels, films, comics, cartoons, pictographs, and hieroglyphic texts by ethnic authors/artists portraying ethnic characters. Course readings may include Ben Katchor’s The Jew of New York, Will Eisner’s A Contract with God, Erika Lopez’ Lap Dancing for Mommy, Jaime, Gilbert, and Mario Hernandez’ Love and Rockets, Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings, Cole Paul’s Dakwäkãda Warriors, Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s Codex Espangliensis, and Gene Luan Yang’s American Born Chinese, amongst others. We will read these visual texts as artifacts representing ways of considering and representing difference/similarity and narrating histories. We will study texts/images through the lens of intersectionality, focusing on ethnic identities as well as various other kinds of difference (i.e., sexual orientation, gender, class, disability, etc.), and we will also consider alternative writing systems (pictographs, hieroglyphs) where their engagement of text and image are relevant to the novels/comics in question. The final essay provides the option to submit a graphic novel on any topic authored either individually or with a partner.