Summer 2025
Life Under Siege, Leningrad, Sarajevo and Gaza in Prose and Graphic Narratives. This course is at full capacity and is no longer accepting applications.
Dates: June 02, 2025 - July 10, 2025Day/Time: Monday; Wednesday; Thursday 10:00 AM - 12:15 PM EDT
Level: 100-Level
Certificate: Global Humanities*
Instructor: Anita Tarnai, Bard College
This course explores everyday life under siege in Leningrad (1941-1944), Sarajevo (1992-1996) and Gaza (1967-present) in survivor narratives and through the lens of comic journalism (graphic novels) drawing from and building on the lived experiences of those living under siege. Key themes emerging in survivor testimonies such as life and death, family, gender, age, adaptation, resilience, creativity and role of the arts in survival will be examined along questions of visual representation of war in graphic novels. As part of our inquiries, students will explore what it means to be a witness to oneself as well as a witness to the testimony of others. Students will have the option to adapt survivor testimonies to written or visual/comic narratives as part of their class project.
Credits: 4 US / 8 ECTS