Illustrated Journalism and Memoir

Courses 

Fundamentals of Illustrated Journalism and Memoir

Introduces the fundamentals of telling true stories in words and pictures, from single images to multipanel strips. Students become acquainted with the tools and terminology of the field. Quick bootcamp-style exercises build an immersive environment, enabling students to develop familiarity with concepts quickly and comfortably.

Reporting the Visible World: Documentary Storytelling

Documentary drawing — from casual urban sketching to reporting dynamic events — is a powerful and useful medium. Learn to make accuracy and transparency priorities in evidence-based storytelling while maintaining your creative voice. Develop skills in reporting on real-life characters and situations, combining text and images.

Telling Your Story: First-Person Illustrated Narrative

Develop and present your personal narratives through autobiographical and diary comics and illustrated personal histories and essays. In this course, students examine approaches to illustrated memoir, balancing autobiography with illustration to showcase themselves as main characters. 

Illustrated Journalism and Memoir Writers Group

Complete a long-form story or anthology of short work, from outline to publication. Discuss and critique work-in-progress with your instructors and classmates. Visiting professionals will discuss their work and experience. Final projects will be published online.

“Everyone has an interesting story — By telling it with words and pictures, you can express much deeper and broader experience than with words alone.”

Program Highlights

Who Should Enroll

• Anyone intrigued by the potential of comics journalism or graphic memoir
• Journalists working in multimedia storytelling
• Anyone interested in exploring comics and illustrated narrative
• Visual artists who want to add writing to their skill set
• Writers who want to add drawing to their skill set
• Business and technical communications professionals
• Filmmakers working in both scriptwriting and storyboarding
• Experience in cartooning, journalism, graphic design, or creative writing is useful but not required.

What You’ll Gain

• The ability to document real-life events, situations, and people and tell their stories
• The fundamentals of comics and sequential narrative visual art
• The ability to tell your own stories in a way that is engaging to readers
• Knowledge of the “third art” that emerges from the combination of words and pictures
• The ability to produce your own finished illustrated stories, regardless of drawing skill or experience
• Confidence in your original style and authorial voice and proficiency in employing them

How You’ll Learn

• Engaging video lectures and interviews with industry experts
• Direct interaction with faculty practitioners at the top of their fields
• Online collaboration and video conferencing
• Project-based learning focused on developing real-world skills and portfolio assets

Why The New School?

The professional landscape as we’ve known it has changed dramatically, and ongoing learning is more important now than ever before. At The New School, we champion every student’s creativity and growth. By combining integrated disciplines with collaborative problem solving, we deliver an immersive, transformative learning experience. With the leadership of Parsons School of Design — ranked #1 in the United States* — our faculty imparts the critical expertise students need to advance their careers or pivot to new ones in a constantly evolving world.

*Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (2022).