학술논문

Another Fever Year? Making Sense of Pandemics with a Historical Graphic Novel
Document Type
Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Author
Robin Griffith (ORCID 0000-0001-8910-978X); Jennifer M. Smith
Source
Literacy. 2024 58(1):83-91.
Subject
Childrens Literature
Cartoons
Novels
Current Events
History
Correlation
Teaching Methods
Information Dissemination
Information Literacy
Diseases
COVID-19
Pandemics
Discussion (Teaching Technique)
Undergraduate Students
Language
English
ISSN
1741-4350
1741-4369
Abstract
This qualitative study highlights how children's literature can serve as a springboard for discussing current events while making connections with a similar historical event. Undergraduate students enrolled in children's literature courses read the graphic novel "Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918" and discussed the parallels between the book and the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicate strong text-to-self and text-to-world connections between the events of the flu of 1918 highlighted in the graphic novel and those of the COVID-19 pandemic. Connections included restrictions and closures, mask mandates, vaccine development, medical theories, and theories of spread. Information dissemination and consumption was a prominent theme.