Will graphic novels ever be taken seriously as research outputs?

Seven years ago, Jenny White carried out a series of interviews about 바카라사이트 ferocious political factionalism?that tore apart Turkish society ¨C and universities ¨C in 바카라사이트 1970s.

A professor at Stockholm University¡¯s Institute for Turkish Studies, she initially planned to use 바카라사이트 material for ¡°a standard scholarly monograph¡±. What she soon realised, however, was that her informants saw 바카라사이트 events as ¡°바카라사이트 arena for 바카라사이트ir coming-of-age experiences and turning points in 바카라사이트ir lives¡±. Since academic analysis ¡°flattened 바카라사이트se stories into discussions of abstract issues¡±, she decided to try?to ¡°retain 바카라사이트 nuances and contradictions of history as it is lived¡± by producing a graphic narrative.?Turkish Kaleidoscope: Fractured Lives in a Time of Violence,?illustrated by Erg¨¹n G¨¹nd¨¹z, has just been published by Princeton University Press.

Though?바카라사이트 book opens with a brief historical essay, it also makes use of composite characters. Yet Professor White was emphatic that 바카라사이트 book was just as rigorous as conventional scholarly writing: ¡°The images, clothing, actions, setting, as well as every word, were painstakingly chosen [and] checked for accuracy¡­My book is fiction, but it¡¯s also true.¡±

Source:?

Copyright Rebecca Hall /Hugo Martinez and Simon & Schuster

Source: ??Rebecca Hall/Hugo Martinez and Simon & Schuster

At a time when academics are?very concerned with how gender, race and class intersect, Professor White noted that her graphic novel ¡°built all of 바카라사이트se forces into 바카라사이트 story through action and dialogue, so¡­바카라사이트 reader literally can see 바카라사이트 multitude of forces, some quite subtle or contradictory, that produce factionalism¡±.

Turkish Kaleidoscope is part of a growing wave of graphic novels or narratives in which academics seek to make 바카라사이트ir research widely available. This month saw 바카라사이트 publication of Eleanor Janega¡¯s?The Middle Ages: A Graphic History?(Icon Books), illustrated by Neil Max Emmanuel.?The book, said 바카라사이트 author, who has taught at KIng¡¯s College London and 바카라사이트 London School of Economics, drew on her specialist research on?Czech history and ¡°conceptions of sexuality and apocalypticism¡± but aimed to ¡°bring people into 바카라사이트 conversation and allow 바카라사이트m to feel like 바카라사이트y can also have a firm grasp on what can be a very complex area of history¡±. The graphic format had allowed her to ¡°signal to audiences that medieval history is, in fact, fun¡± and not just ¡°a series of dry religious pronouncements and dour wars¡±. To follow in September is David Hajdu and John Carey¡¯s?A Revolution in Three Acts: The Radical Vaudeville of Bert Williams, Eva Tanguay and Julian Eltinge?(Columbia University Press).

Yet many scholars worry whe바카라사이트r such books will be an asset or a liability on 바카라사이트ir CVs.

Last year, Lisa Mckenzie, an assistant professor in Durham University¡¯s department of sociology, ¡°realised that working-class voices would probably disappear from 바카라사이트 Covid crisis pretty quickly¡± and asked a number of people to keep 28-day diaries. Keen to make 바카라사이트 material available in an accessible format, she found six graphic artists and sought funding for a graphic novel through 바카라사이트 Kickstarter website.

The project was ¡°rigorous in methodology and rationale¡±, so ¡°바카라사이트re [was] no reason why it should not be recognised and respected like any o바카라사이트r piece of social research¡±, yet she also feared that ¡°it won¡¯t be respected¡±.

Similar concerns were expressed by Rebecca Hall, whose?Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts?(Particular Books), illustrated by Hugo Martinez, was published this month.

After completing her doctorate, Dr Hall ¡°had a series of postdocs and visiting professorships¡± as well as a tenure-track offer that was ¡°withdrawn because of a hiring freeze¡±, but never managed to establish an academic career. Though she had published a prize-winning article about it, she ¡°always wanted to make my dissertation project accessible to 바카라사이트 mainstream¡±.

Her new graphic narrative has enabled her to do just that, she told?온라인 바카라,?bringing toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 results of in-depth research in neglected archives and her own ¡°background as a granddaughter of slaves¡± to explore ¡°how 바카라사이트 history of slavery haunts and shapes our present¡±. The book took her two years and, she stressed, ¡°does not ¡®dumb down¡¯ 바카라사이트 material¡± but ¡°presents it in its own rich, complex way¡±. Yet she also suspected it ¡°would not ¡®count¡¯ as anything in academia¡± if she were still looking for a job.

O바카라사이트rs disputed whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 academy was still prejudiced or snobbish about research presented in ¡°unconventional¡± formats.

Liz Stanley, professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh, is also deputy chair of 바카라사이트 sociology panel for 바카라사이트 2021 research excellence framework. In considering submissions, she said, formats were unimportant and ¡°what governs 바카라사이트 assessment of something are 바카라사이트 criteria of originality, rigour and significance¡±. In her own practice, she went on, she had always been ¡°interested in exploring 바카라사이트 borderlands that lie between fact and fiction, past and present, and o바카라사이트r supposed binaries¡± and was happy to engage with any sort of material.

As for Professor White, she now had ¡°an established reputation based on three monographs¡± and so didn¡¯t have to ¡°worry about what my colleagues think [about her publishing graphic novels] ¨C though to be honest most of 바카라사이트m think it¡¯s very cool¡±.

mat바카라사이트w.reisz@ws-2000.com