CFP: Sequential Art, Graphic Novels, and Comics in Education (collection; Jan. 15)

Sequential Art, Graphic Novels,

and Comics in Education

Edited by Robert G. Weiner and Carrye Syma

Texas Tech University Library

In recent years the use of graphic novels, comics, and sequential art in education has exploded. This is due not only to the boom in superhero movies that are based on comic book characters, but also to the wide literary range that graphic novels now have. There are now literally hundreds of college and university courses all over the world that are using graphic novels in their curriculum. The days when comics were just seen as children’s trash, with no redeeming literary or educational value, are hopefully behind us.

Contrary to the idea that comics “dumb” down material, it takes both sides of the brain to read and interpret sequential art stories: the right side to interpret the pictures and the left side to understand the narrative text. Our goal with this collection is to provide the educator and scholar with a collection of essays that show how graphic novels and comics are being used in the classroom today, as well as some historical pieces that detail how the educational fields often have and have had a “rocky” relationship with the use of comics in educational settings. We want both theoretical and practical essays showing how sequential art can be and is being used to teach and illustrate concepts and ideas. We are especially keen on pieces related to higher education, military and government uses of comics to educate, but all aspects of comics and education are under consideration. In addition, we would like to have educators from a wide spectrum of the educational fields from K-12, to undergraduate and graduate educational levels. Those using sequential art in adult education and pre-school are encouraged.

Some possible questions/ideas that could be addressed include:

• The Military’s use of comics to teach.
• Graphic Novels and comics in library science education.
• How relationships can be understood through the use of graphic novels in human science education.
• Teaching mathematical concepts using graphic narrative.
• Grade school use of comics.
• Middle school use of comics.
• High school use of sequential art (say something like Maus to teach the Holocaust).
• Comics and Film to teach about blockbuster cinema.
• Philosophical issues raised by graphic novels (The Watchmen in a philosophy class about ethics).
• Biological and scientific concepts using graphic novels.
• The use of mainstream superhero stories in the classroom.
• Superman, Batman, Spider-Man to further understand the concept of the hero Mythology (i.e., Odysseys, Hercules etc.).
• Graphic Novels and history, how effective a tool is the graphic novel in teaching a historical concept?
• Sequential art in teaching foreign language or English as a second language.
• Comics in literacy and adult education programs.
• Graduate courses using graphic novels.
• The History of sequential art in education.
• Medical education using comics.

Please send 200 word abstracts by January 15th 2011 to Rob Weiner Rob.weiner@ttu.edu

Final papers will be due February 28th 2011. No exceptions. Please note the submission of an essay does NOT necessarily mean publication in the volume. Essays will be going through a rigorous peer review process and we have asked a number of scholars to serve in this capacity. We are striving to put together as an excellent collection with diverse viewpoints covering all aspects of comics and education. Authors are also expected to follow the editor’s style guide and be willing to have their work edited.

Thank you

Carry Syma
Texas Tech University Library

Rob Weiner
Texas Tech University Library

CFP: Pulp Fiction as Genesis of Genius, PCA/ACA (Dec. 15; April 20-23)

Of related interest... 

Call for Proposals

Giving Birth to Greatness:

Pulp Fiction as Genesis of Genius

Pulp Studies Area

Popular Culture Association/

American Culture Association National Conference

San Antonio, TX

April 20-23, 2011

ABSTRACT: Although often viewed as a site for literary works with little value and short shelf lives, pulp fiction has in reality been a very effective mechanism for launching the careers of authors who would become literary giants, many of whom would move on to publish novel-length works that have become embedded in the canon of American and British fiction. In spite of its status among the literati as being of little worth, the pulps—particularly those of the early 20th century—have played an important role in shaping popular genres of modern fiction, including detective, adventure, spicy, science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Further, these working-class fictions, with their focus on action and adventure, gave voice to the hopes and fears of the common working man in a way that was often ignored by so-called “literary” fiction. Pulp magazines have also often been the site for the introduction of new—and often controversial—cultural issues, such as space travel, alien abduction, drug addiction, homosexuality, sado-masochism, crime, and pornography.

As we inaugurate our Pulp Studies area this year, we encourage sessions that somehow address the surprising role that the pulps have played in the careers of the authors, artists, editors, and publishers.
Suggested authors and topics:

• Magazines: Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Wonder Stories, Fight Stories, All-Story, Argosy, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Spicy Detective, Flying Aces, Black Mask, and Unknown, to name a few.
• Editors and Owners: Street and Smith (Argosy), Farnsworth Wright (Weird Tales), Hugo Gernsback (Amazing Stories), Mencken and Nathan (Black Mask), John Campbell (Astounding).
• Influential Writers: H.P. Lovecraft, A. E. Merritt, Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, Fritz Leiber, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Donald Wandrei, Clark Ashton Smith, and Henry Kuttner.
• Influences on Pulp Writers: Robert Bloch, H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, and Edgar Rice Burroughs were all influences, along with literary and philosophical figures such as Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edgar Allen Poe, and Herbert Spencer.
• Popular Heroes: Conan of Cimmeria; Doc Savage; Solomon Kane; Buck Rogers; Northwest Smith; Jiril of Jiory; Zorro; Kull of Atlantis; El Borak; The Shadow; The Spider; Bran Mak Morn; Nick Carter; The Avenger; and Captain Future, among others.
• Artists: Popular cover artists included Margaret Brundage (Weird Tales), Frank R. Paul (Amazing Stories), Virgil Finlay (Weird Tales), and Edd Cartier (The Shadow, Astounding).
• Periods: The dime novels; Argosy and the ancestral pulps; Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, and the heyday of the pulps; John Campbell’s reforms; the 1950s; the decline of the pulps in the 50s and 60s; pulps in the age of the Internet.
• Theme and Styles: Masculinity, femininity, and sex in the pulps; the ethos of plot and action; compact vs. purple prose; Social Darwinism; technocracy vs. naturalism; social roles; drugs and addiction; the aesthetic of violence; detective as hero; pornography and the cover girl; the savage as hero.
• Reinvention of the Pulps: Pulps in film, television, comics, graphic novels and other forms are especially encouraged. Possible topics could include film interpretations such as Conan the Barbarian, comic book incarnations of pulp magazines and series; “new weird” reinventions of the pulps such as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Watchmen; fan films; and newer productions, including the recently released Solomon Kane and the forthcoming Conan.

These are but suggestions for potential panels and presentations. Proposals on other topics are welcome.

Final Submission Deadline: December 15, 2009

• When submitting your paper, abstract, proposal, or panel please include your name, affiliation, and email address. For those submitting a panel, include the name, affiliation, and email address for each participant and note who will be the principle contact and panel chair.
• Abstracts should be approximately 250 words in length.
• Indicate if presentation media is required. Projectors will be present in most locations, but presenters must supply their own computers.
• A preliminary version of the schedule will usually be posted on our website in January. Due to the number of panels and participants, we are unable to accommodate individual scheduling requests. We encourage participants to come for the entire conference. The final version of the schedule will be distributed in hard copy at the conference with addendums if needed. For privacy reasons we do not publish email addresses in the online version of the program.
• Only one paper is accepted from the same presenting author. All presenters, including invited panel speakers and session chairs, must register and pay the conference registration fee. If you need an early confirmation for visa or budgetary reasons, please indicate this in your submission.

Submit proposals to:
Justin Everett
University of the Sciences
600 S. 43rd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Email: j.everet@usp.edu

OR:

Deirdre Pettipiece
West Chester University
Anderson Hall 119b
West Chester, PA 19383
Email: dpettipiece@wcupa.edu

Talking Tintin: Gene on the Radio This Thursday

This Thursday, I'll be a guest (possibly the guest along with Alex Buchet) on the Wisconsin Public Radio show Here on Earth, for an episode entitled "The Adventures of Tintin." That's right, the world-famous Belgian boy reporter gets his own hour-long radio show here in the States. Tune in from 3:00-4:00pm Central Time to get the low-down on the stories, the controversies, and more, in anticipation of next year's Steven Spielberg-directed adaptation. The show will also be available on-line as an MP3 podcast after the broadcast.

Contemporary Brazilian Literature Study Group's First Meeting of Graphic Novels Studies, September 2

As reported on the Comics Scholars Discussion List, The Contemporary Brazilian Literature Study Group of the University of Brasilia, Brazil, is holding its first Meeting of Graphic Novels Studies on September 2nd. For more information, visit their website.

Latest Additions and Revisions to Our Bibliography

Here are the latest new and revised ComicsResearch.org bibliography entries. As always, we've also been correcting old links and adding new ones throughout the website. If you have suggestions or would like to contribute reviews, please let us know.

The Amazing Transforming Superhero! Essays on the Revision of Characters in Comic Books, Film and Television. Edited by Terrence R. Wandtke. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2007.

Bildgeschichten für Chinas Massen: Comic und Comicproduktion im 20 Jahrhundert. By Andreas Seifert. Böhlau, 2008.

Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels: Page by Page, Panel by Panel. James Bucky Carter, editor. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2007.

The Comic Book Curriculum: Using Comics to Enhance Learning and Life. By James Rourke. Libraries Unlimited, 2010.

The Comic Strip in America: A Bibliography, by David Manning White. Boston: Communications Research Center, Boston University, School of Public Relations and Communications, 1961.

Comics and the City: Urban Space in Print, Picture and Sequence. Ed. Jörn Ahrens and Arno Meteling. Continuum, 2010.

Foundation Course: Cartooning. By John Richardson. Cassell Illustrated, 2006.

Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics: Insights and Issues for Libraries. Martha Cornog and Timothy Perper, eds. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited - ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Our Hero: Superman on Earth. By Tom De Haven. Icons of America. New Haven: Yale UP, 2010.

CFP - Joint International Conference of Graphic Novels, Bandes Dessinées and Comics (Dec 1; July 5-8, 2011)

Joint International Conference of Graphic Novels, Bandes Dessinées and Comics

July 5-8, 2011

Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester, England

Graphic Novels and Comics July 5-6, 2011
The International Bande Dessinée Society July 7-8, 2011

The International Bande Dessinée Society and the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics are hosting a joint conference focusing mainly on two areas of research;

• Space and time
• Audiences and readership

Our policy is inclusive and we also welcome submissions from other areas of research such as:

• Manga, African, Latin American, Asian, Eastern European, etc.
• Connections between comics and other media

Abstracts of approximately 250 words should be in English and submitted to Matthew Screech , David Huxley , Joan Ormrod by December 1, 2010.

Papers will be considered for publication in Routledge’s Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics and Liverpool University Press’s European Comic Art.

Find out more about Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics at www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rcom