Challenging Literature

Professor David Ball redefines the classroom and the canon

February 3, 2009

David Ball leads a discussion in his class, American Success, American Failure.

Yes, he uses comic books—graphic novels, really—in his classes, but don't call him the Comic Book Professor. David Ball, assistant professor of English, is fascinated with the genre, and there's an academic reason.

"Comics force us to see and read at the same time," Ball explains. "They can help us think about the expectations we have for writing itself. I think we're at a point now when our understanding of contemporary American literature has to include graphic work as well."

That comics are only popular culture, and easy to read, is a myth, Ball maintains. "These difficult—literary—comics require a severe degree of literacy," he says. "There's definitely a range, but a lot of students in my Graphic Narratives class have said, ‘I didn't really know how to read comics before this class.' "

When explaining a concept, Ball is full of kinetic energy, leaning forward to make his point. He jumps up to pull a book off the shelf, points to a poster on the wall then leafs through another book to show an illustration.

And he brings that same energy to the classroom, whether it's in his Graphic Narratives course, which he taught in spring 2008, or in his current sophomore seminar, American Success, American Failure.

Ball describes his teaching style as one of "exhortation, of helping students to formulate their ideas and provoking them at key moments. The most successful classes are classes where I'm a switchboard for their ideas."

Ball works through the toughest readings methodically. He opens with a question about the assignment; a student begins with a tentative response. He interjects with a pointed question. She recomposes herself, begins again by citing a specific paragraph then carefully explains her understanding of it.

He asks the class whether they agree, disagree, have more to say—all the while making eye contact with one student after another. They add their opinions. Ball continues to field questions, commentary and clarifications until the students appear satisfied with their responses. But he's not ready to move on just yet.

"You want students to respond to a work; at the same time you want them to engage with it critically, dispassionately," he explains. "When I sense a consensus forming in the class—even if it's a consensus I agree with—it's then my role to say, ‘Well, what about page 82? Have you taken this or that into account?' "

Although students are starting the semester with more traditional writing, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Success," they will be diving into a graphic novel later on: Chris Ware's The ACME Novelty Library Final Report to Stockholders and Rainy Day Saturday Afternoon Fun Book.

Ware is an important writer for Ball. He considers him "the James Joyce of comics" and is editing a collection of critical essays about Ware, the first of its kind. "The working title is Cult of Difficulty," he says. "It probably will end up being something more vanilla, though, like Critical Perspectives on Chris Ware."

Ware's work is notoriously dense—think William Faulkner, not Marvel Comics—and Ball hopes that the new book will introduce Ware into the American canon of literary greats. "We'll be reading Chris Ware in 20, 30, 50 years," he explains. "So this is a first foray into how we wrestle with this work: what are the key themes? What are the key concepts? How do we teach it?"

Ultimately, for Ball, using comic books in the classroom isn't just about reaching out to a new generation and making literature relevant: "I'm interested in comics as sort of a funhouse version of American literature—I'm less interested in those that don't have psychological depth, that don't have the texture and sophistication of literature."

Of course, he freely admits that he can make just about anything academic, explaining his advising of the student Swing Dance Club as an outgrowth of his own interest in Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance. He will give a lecture on the history and development of the lindy hop later this spring, complete with his own rusty dance steps.

And he recently encouraged a small group of students to form their own literary club—The Literati—when one of them complained that they never had the time to read what they wanted on their own: "They say, ‘I wish we had this, I wish things were different.' I tell my students, ‘Well, someone's got to rattle the cage, and why not you?' "

He pauses and smiles, then adds, "What I'm astounded by is the students' willingness to take up the challenge. They get it."