The Ethnography Studio: Graphic Ethnography Workshop

The Ethnography Studio invites you to participate in a workshop on graphic ethnography with Dr. Carly Schuster. This workshop will take place in person at USC in Taper Hall, Room 309K on November 13th from 10am-1pm. Lunch will be served. We will explore comics and sequential art as a medium for communicating research and learn how to do it yourself—no drawing skills required!

Workshop Description: Graphic ethnography is on the rise! In this hands-on workshop we will explore how anthropological research has been presented in comic books, both historically and in contemporary writing. Participants will engage with sample materials from a range of styles and comics traditions. Then, we will explore the creation of sequential art as a tool and medium for communicating research. Can sequential art be used to convey the value of ethnographic insights? What are the practical and theoretical opportunities and limitations of this tool, especially in comparison to traditional research outputs and the conventions of ethnographic writing?

What to expect?: In the first 60 minutes we will discuss graphic ethnography as a genre and mode of anthropological analysis. Then we will read the script for a comic (The Recruits) together, and we’ll work on writing our own scripts for a 1-page comic. To prepare for this exercise, it would be helpful to have thought about a scene, key characters, setting, and [this is crucial!] dialogue, that you want to build your script around. Finally, we’ll work on some drawing exercises to consider how sequential art can organise time through space (on a page), how to communicate the ethnographer’s ‘point of view’ in comics storytelling, and how to balance text and visuals.

To apply: Please complete this form by October 25st.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Ethnography Studio Team [email protected]