READ: The Collector - Ynés Mexía: Graphic Biography

As the daughter of a Mexican diplomat, Ynés Mexía (1870–1938) moved around often. Her early life was full of struggle and disappointment, so Mexía moved to San Francisco to seek mental health care. She fell in love with the wilderness and joined the environmentalist movement there. At the age of fifty-one, she went back to school to study botany. During her short, thirteen-year career, she ventured into many wild areas across the Americas, collecting a stunning number of plant samples. She was the first to catalog hundreds of new species, many of which were later named after her.

The Graphic Biography below uses “Three Close Reads”. If you want to learn more about this strategy, click here.

First read: skimming for gist

This will be your quickest read. It should help you get the general idea of what the graphic biography will be about. Pay attention to the title, headings, images, and layout. Ask yourself: what is this graphic biography going to be about?

Second read: understanding content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed.

By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

Why does the comic call Mexía a “late bloomer,” and why is this important?
Why was Mexía’s career significant to the study of life?
What do the quotes written by Mexía tell you about sexism in the field of botany and how she responded to it?
How has the artist designed the page, text, and illustrations to tell you about Mexía?

Third read: evaluating and corroborating

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course.

At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions:

How does this biography support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about the types of people who study the development of life and do fieldwork in the sciences? Had you ever heard the name Ynés Mexía before?

Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to read! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished reading.

The Collector: Ynés Mexía (Graphic Biography)

Writer: Bennett Sherry

Artist: Kay Sohini

Download the Graphic Biography PDF here or click on the image above.

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