Resistance coded in comics: visual literacy in South Africa

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Last Modified
  • March 22, 2019
Creator
  • Young, Mona Schauer
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Art and Art History
Abstract
  • This thesis examines three South African comic books published by the South African Council on Higher Education and The Storyteller Group, both nongovernmental organizations, in the late 1980s/ early 1990s and argues that they functioned as subversive tools in the anti-apartheid movement. Distributed for free amongst black South African students, Down Second Avenue, Mhudi, and Equiano use historical events to raise awareness about contemporary issues, such as education, segregation, and unequal treatment. Through textual and visual analysis of the comic books and their worksheets, I examine how they create visual literacy for these youths, thus empowering their audiences. I situate these comics within a larger discourse of comic book culture in South Africa with an eye to understanding how popular media critically engages youths in their surroundings. Doing so provides much needed critical analysis of African comics, as well as adding to literature exploring the role of images in political struggles.
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  • In Copyright
Note
  • "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art History in the Department of Art and Art History."
Advisor
  • Ghosh, Pika
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Place of publication
  • Chapel Hill, NC
Access right
  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • March 18, 2013

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