Teaching History Through Comic Books: Opportunities for Public & Visual History

Abstract

Of the many and diverse ways public history is put to work in the world, visual history is one of largest including museum exhibits, video games, monuments, zines, films, art installations, digital collections, graphic novels, and other popular media. Yet, for all of the diversity and vibrance of public history works, public history pedagogy and practice tends to still be text-based. Building on transdisciplinary approaches from art history, comic studies, and education as well as the author’s own experiences teaching, this paper explores new opportunities and approaches for historical education through comic books. Based on specific examples and potentials for graphic history didactics in Canada and United States the article proposes universal takeaways for teaching critical visual inquiry skills through the use of comics and graphic novels throughout public history. As the diversity of public history works grow, so too should our practice and pedagogy.