The Graphic Novel Dissertation: Twisted Garden

An experiment in radical accessibility

This dissertation challenged the extractive nature of traditional research in communities of color—where stories are often taken without benefit to those who share them, and findings rarely leave academic spaces. In contrast, the project was grounded in arts-based and participatory methodologies that centered youth voice, racial justice, and public accessibility.

The research engaged seven New Orleans public high school students in a youth participatory action research (YPAR) process focused on storytelling racialized experiences within the city’s school system. Over the course of 12 Saturday sessions, participants took part in critical dialogue about the history of New Orleans public schools, reflected on their own experiences, and explored the role of education policy narratives in shaping public understanding and systems change.

Each student wrote a five-page comic script based on a personal story that highlighted a structural or policy problem within the school system. These stories were then professionally illustrated and compiled into a graphic novel that traces the arc of education in New Orleans—from past to present—while imagining futures rooted in justice, care, and youth insight.

The Graphic Novel Dissertation was both a research process and a public storytelling project—designed to disrupt academic gatekeeping and offer a more accessible, collaborative vision of what scholarship can be.