Searching for the Comic Book Scholar: An Autoethnographic Study of Educators' Experiences with Comic Books

213 Pages·2017·1.994 MB·English

by  Christina L. Blanch

SEARCHING FOR THE COMIC BOOK SCHOLAR:
AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF EDUCATORS’ EXPERIENCES WITH COMIC
BOOKS
A DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTORATE OF EDUCATION
BY
CHRISTINA L. BLANCH
DR. THALIA MULVIHILL—ADVISOR

BALL STATE UNIVERSITY
MUNCIE, INDIANA
MAY 2017
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SEARCHING FOR THE COMIC BOOK SCHOLAR:
AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF EDUCATORS’ EXPERIENCES WITH COMIC
BOOKS
A DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTORATE OF EDUCATION
BY
CHRISTINA L. BLANCH
DR. THALIA MULVIHILL—ADVISOR
APPROVED BY:

___________________________________________ _______________
Committee Chairperson, Dr. Thalia Mulvihill Date

___________________________________________ _______________
Committee Member, Dr. Roger Wessel Date

___________________________________________ _______________
Cognate Committee Member, Dr. Cailín Murray Date

___________________________________________ _______________
At-Large Committee Member, Dr. Abel Alves Date

___________________________________________ _______________
Dean of Graduate School, Dr. Carolyn Kapinus Date
Copyright © by Christina L. Blanch. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the
author.
4

Dedication
I dedicate this dissertation to my children, Robb and Grace. You are what keeps me going every
day and you both make my world, as well as the world in general, a better place. This
dissertation took time away from all of our lives, so thank you for always understanding.

I love you both so much, more than I could ever describe. More than Star Wars.
Acknowledgements
For the participants:
I feel fortunate to be associated with a group of people as amazing as the group of comic scholars
included in this research, many of whom are now dear friends. In addition to those who are
included in the final product, Leonard Rifas assisted with early development of the
semistructured interview questions by participating in a pilot interview. Thank you to all of you.

For my committee:
I know other committees exist but not like this one. You have all gone above and beyond to
guide me through this process. When we meet, it feels like the Council of Elrond and I am
Frodo. And I would walk into Mordor with any you. One dissertation to rule them all.

Dr. Mulvihill, how do I thank you? I honestly do not think I have enough words to be able to
thank you for what you have done for me. When I wanted to quit, you would not allow it. Every
time I talked to you, I came away more confident, which for me is a big deal. Every moment
spent with you, I felt smarter. You make me feel like I make a difference. Meanwhile, you make
all the difference for so many people.

Dr. Wessel, you are the kindest person I have ever met. I lost count of how many of your classes
I attended, but I count you as one of the biggest influences on me finishing this degree. I will
never forget that you came to my shop, just to make sure I was going to finish. You are dedicated
and caring—amazing qualities in an amazing person.

Dr. Murray, I do not know anyone who is more committed to educating people than you are. You
have been such a guiding force in my education and I have a feeling that will never stop. You
make me want to do better. To be better. Thank you for always having my back. You are
irreplaceable.

Dr. Alves, from my first semester at Ball State so many years ago, I knew you were special. You
are the smartest person that I have ever met and I have met Neil DeGrasse Tyson. You touch the
lives of everyone you meet which is a rare quality in today’s world.

Thank you all for agreeing to be on this committee and for being a part of my journey. I know it
had its ups and downs and there was a time when you all doubted that I reach the end, but
remember “Not all who wander are lost.”

For my friends:
This has been a long journey that I could not have made without the encouragement of my
friends. The last year of this was super tough for me personally and all of you came through for
me. Whether you were my accountability partners, my cheerleaders, took me for a drink when I
needed it, or you simply just sent texts with support, I will never forget what you have given me.
So, Cailín Murray, Debbe Caine, Kyle Roberts, Sy Stiner, Chris Curry, Amber Keefer, Jessika
Griffin, Ashleigh Bingham, Amanda Latz, James Rediger, Andrew Scott, Craig This, Thom
Zahler, Shelly Nathan, Libby Pfeiffer, Evan Dossey, Aly Caviness, Dan Greenfield, Pete Kilmer,
6
Peter Coogan, with a very special thanks to Aaron Philebaum—thank you for everything. I
expect to celebrate this with you all.

For my family:
Mom and Dad, thank you for teaching me that learning was fun, that I could be Han Solo, and
for never giving up on me. And also for letting me watch Monty Python.

Luna, my beautiful puppy, you are perfect.

Robb, will you attend Motherboy XX with me? You are the only one I would go with. I am so
proud of the man you have become. I love you with all my heart.

Grace, what do I say to you? My beautiful, smart, wonderful daughter. I am honored to be your
mother. I love you. Always.
Abstract
DISSERTATION: Searching for the Comic Book Scholar: An Autoethnographic Study of
Educators’ Experiences with Comic Books.
STUDENT: Christina L. Blanch
DEGREE: Doctorate of Education
COLLEGE: Educational Studies
DATE: May 2017

PAGES: 200

This study presents an in-depth look at academics who identify as comic book scholars.
Comic scholars do not travel the same paths as most other scholars, melding fandom with their
scholarly pursuits. Through autoethnography and interviews with 21 other self-identify comic
scholars, it is found that this group is unique in their definition, their goals, and their identity.
While there is no guarantee of a job in the sparse field of comic studies, these educators continue
to create a space in the academic environment for themselves and for future comic scholars.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction ...........................................................................................................1
Statement of Purpose .............................................................................................................3
Research Questions ................................................................................................................4
Terms .....................................................................................................................................4
Researcher Positionality Statement........................................................................................6
Summary of Introduction .......................................................................................................8
Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................10
Summary of Study .................................................................................................................10
Review of Literature ..............................................................................................................10
History of Comic Books in Education ...................................................................................12
Stigma ....................................................................................................................................15
Comic Books and Education ..................................................................................................16
Motivation and Engagement ............................................................................................17
Popular Culture ................................................................................................................18
Multimodal Learning .......................................................................................................19
Teaching and Learning Methods ...........................................................................................21
Constructivist Learning ....................................................................................................21
Experiential Learning.......................................................................................................22
Transformative Learning .................................................................................................24
Active Learning ...............................................................................................................25
Reflective Learning ..........................................................................................................25
Comic Book Scholars ............................................................................................................26
Dissertations .....................................................................................................................27
Academic Programs .........................................................................................................28
Comic Book Courses .......................................................................................................29
The Comics Studies Society ............................................................................................33
What is a Scholar? .................................................................................................................34
Summary of Literature Review ..............................................................................................35
Chapter Three: Methods ..............................................................................................................37
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Design Framework .................................................................................................................37
Qualitative Research ........................................................................................................37
Trustworthiness ................................................................................................................38
Autoethnography..............................................................................................................40
Defining Autoethnography ..............................................................................................41
Theoretical Perspective ..........................................................................................................45
Population and Sample ..........................................................................................................46
Context and Data Collection ..................................................................................................46
Data Analysis .........................................................................................................................47
Confidentiality of Data ..........................................................................................................48
Rationale ..........................................................................................................................49
Representation........................................................................................................................50
Summary of Methods .............................................................................................................50
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................51
Overview of Findings ............................................................................................................51
The Comic Scholars ...............................................................................................................51
Janis Breckenridge ...........................................................................................................52
Gail deVos .......................................................................................................................52
Chris Galaver ...................................................................................................................52
Charles Hatfield ...............................................................................................................53
Ian Hague .........................................................................................................................53
Forrest Helvie...................................................................................................................53
Gene Kannenberg, Jr. .......................................................................................................54
Susan Kirtley ....................................................................................................................54
Andrew Lesk ....................................................................................................................54
Paul Levitz .......................................................................................................................54
A. David Lewis ................................................................................................................55
Roland Mann ....................................................................................................................56