The Deadly Literature Review

In this comic, the student reflects on the process of writing a “literature review,” a requirement for a course taught by Dean Scheibel called “Introduction of Research in Communication Studies.” The comics were created by students as a final course assignment. Students were instructed to create comics using photographs, drawings, or a computer program called Comic Life 3. The idea of reflection is important in education. These comics could be viewed as a response to reflective learning (or metacognition) about the idea of the literature review, or “research as inquiry.” Through reflection on what we do, we learn more deeply about our everyday experiences of life, death, love, God, and even literature reviews. Although “comix” have been the objects of critique by academics, these comics subject the work of the academy—the faculty member as teacher—to critique. Research is a process, and by having students reflect on the fears, errors, or mistakes made during that process they will experience new insights and discoveries