Nick Sousanis (Columbia University)

Affiliation:  Interdisciplinary Studies in Education; Teachers College, Columbia University

Advisors: Ruth Vinz & Robbie McClintock

Description of Dissertation:

Rather than discussing visual thinking solely through words, by writing and drawing the dissertation entirely in comics, [Sousanis] argue[s] through through its very form for the importance of visual thinking in teaching and learning. Titled Unflattening, the dissertation employs the mechanisms by which we see as metaphors for considering new approaches to how we think and learn. Ultimately with this work, [Sousanis] want[s] not only to help challenge and redefine the boundaries of what is considered scholarly, but also to extend the reach of who is included in the conversation. Unflattening [was] published in Spring 2015 by Harvard University Press.

Tools Used: drawing – traditional and computer

Media Used: comic book form

URL: http://www.spinweaveandcut.com

Dr. Sousanis’s work has gained a great deal of attention in academic circles. For a Chronicle of Higher Education piece on his project, see “This Dissertation Will Be Comic.”