Allusive Meaning in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: Digital Humanities as Curricular Enhancement

Conference Year

Online Northwest 2018

Session

Type

Lightning Talk

Presenters

Lynne Stahl, Emporia State University

Abstract

Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home puts an oft-neglected feminist canon into allusive conversation with conventionally "classic" authors such as James Joyce and Oscar Wilde. Fun Home has carved a place on countless syllabi, fostering rich discussions of form and content, memory and family, and sexual politics. However, many who encounter it have not read Ulysses, Fear of Flying, or the myriad other texts Bechdel invokes.

This talk details an open-access digital humanities resource developed to help readers navigate these allusions without providing “answers.” Through a comprehensive catalog, it makes a landmark text more accessible to all.

Learning Outcomes

Gain familiarity with an open educational resource that serves as a curricular aid for a popular contemporary text.

Gain an understanding of one way in which the digital humanities can enhance humanities pedagogy.

Learn about the platform Scalar and its potential as a user-friendly medium for digital humanities and other projects that requires no experience in programming or coding.

Links