Affordances och undervisning i serieskapande : en intervjustudie med lärare på eftergymnasial nivå

Sammanfattning

In the growing field of comics research in Sweden, studies focusing on comics education at the post-secondary level remain limited, as well as research focusing on the perspective of teachers. The aim of this study is to explore how comics and comics making are taught and understood within post-secondary education, as well as to examine how teachers describe the affordances of comics, how they define comics, and how they perceive the status of comics as an art form. The study is based on qualitative interviews with three teachers working in comics education within post-secondary education. The material is analysed through a social semiotic and multimodal perspective. Primarily Gunther Kress’s theories of multimodality and affordance, as well as Selander and Kress’s design-oriented perspective on learning. The findings show that comics are perceived as offering several affordances that enable direct, personal, and intimate forms of expression, particularly suited to subjective storytelling, where the relationship between creator and reader is characterised by proximity and authenticity. The study also shows that definitions of comics are less important, and function more as orienting points for discussion than as fixed boundaries of what comics are or can be. Furthermore, the study indicates that comics have gained increased cultural legitimacy, making questions of status less central than before. As part of the study, a comics-based art piece is included intended for Konstfack’s spring exhibition. The piece, Merging Methods, explores the intersection between scientific and artistic practices and the authors position as both researcher and comics creator.