The Use of Sequential Art in Therapy: A Qualitative Study

I received this request over email from Roderick Castle, and I'm posting it here in hopes that some of you might choose to participate. --Gene

I am a graduate student in Art Therapy at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. My thesis is a qualitative study on the use of "comics" in counseling and education. I would appreciate any help you could provide in getting responses to this short questionnaire on the subject. This study has already been approved by my school's Human Subjects Research Board. Thank you. Here is the link:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/181557/the-use-of-sequential-art-in-therapy-a-qualitative-study-questions-for-professionals

CFP: SANE journal (July and October)

This looks like it could become a very important new journal...

CFP: First and Second issues of
SANE journal:
sequential art narrative in education
(ISSN 2153-2613)

SANE journal is now seeking submissions for works of research, practitioner-based articles, reviews, and rationales regarding its first two themed issues. Information about this new peer-reviewed, open access interdisciplinary journal covering all things comics-and-education-related, from pre-k to doctorate, can be obtained by visiting http://www.sanejournal.net. For more information, e-mail James Bucky Carter: jbcarter2 at utep dot edu.

V1.1 (late 2010 release or per article as considered ready by review board): “Comics in the Contact Zone.”

Mary Louis Pratt defines the contact zone as “social spaces where cultures meet, clash and grapple with each other, often in the contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today” and where those involved in the educational experience may “reconsider the models of community that many of us rely on in teaching and theorizing and that are under challenge today.” Texts are social spaces, of course, and the comic book may be the best indicator of this fact. How do you see comics as meeting, clashing, and grappling with social issues in your classrooms when you teach them? How do comics illustrate contact zone precepts such as speech acts, transculturation, unsolicited oppositional discourse, autoethnography, and safe houses? How does the integration of comics themselves set up contact zones in the classroom? Which texts do you teach to get at notions associated with contact zone pedagogy? How does teaching a comics course set up a contact zone with professional colleagues, departments, university officials, etc? Articles should make explicit mention to contact zone theory and its component concepts. Deadline July 2010.

V1.2 (planned 2011 released or per article as considered ready by the review board): “Teaching the Works of Alan Moore.”

Alan Moore may be the most influential and controversial comics writer of the 20th and 21st centuries. How do you teach his complex, multilayered works in your high school classrooms, your college courses, etc? What are the challenges associated with teaching his texts or specific texts and how do you and your students address them? Can they be addressed? How does his output “fit” with notions of literature, literary, canon, etc. as you teach them in your courses? Articles may cover several of Moore’s texts or focus specifically on one. Deadline October 2010.

CFP: Critical Approaches to Teaching Graphic Narratives in the Literature Classroom (edited collection; 9/15/2009)

Thanks to ComicsResearch.org pal Dennis Gouws for the tip.
Friends from graduate school + Facebook = networking deluxe!

Critical Approaches to
Teaching Graphic Narratives
in the Literature Classroom

Deadlines: proposal by September 15, 2009; essay by December 15, 2009.

This edited collection is tentatively titled Critical Approaches to Teaching Graphic Narratives in the Literature Classroom. Commonly known as book-length comics, graphic narratives cover a broad range of topics and formats. The past three decades have seen an increase of readership of graphic narratives as well as scholarly interest in this subject. This collection brings together scholarly essays that discuss the challenges, methodologies, and strategies for using graphic narratives in both undergraduate and graduate classes. This volume hopes to fill in the gap between the texts and the classroom by providing a platform for scholars to discuss the connection between graphic narratives and other genres, themes, criticism, and theories. With scholarly essays from various disciplines as well as interdisciplinary fields this collection aims to promote discussion on critical approaches and pedagogical and methodological challenges facing instructors. Emphasizing a combination of practical and theoretical strength, this collection encourages dialogues among teacher-scholars, advances the new constellation of scholarship on the teaching graphic narratives, and provides students with useful references and critical approaches to analyzing particular texts as well.

Each chapter is between 6000 and 7000 words including notes and works cited (MLA format). Please send a 500-word proposal, a 2-page CV, and a paragraph of bio note by September 15, 2009. Essays are due by December 15, 2009. Please do not submit works that are under consideration elsewhere or have been published previously.

Send inquiries and proposals to:

Lan Dong
English Department, UHB 3050
University of Illinois
Springfield, IL 62703
Email: baerchendong@yahoo.com

TeachingDegree.org's "Comics in the Classroom: 100 Tips, Tools, and Resources for Teachers"

The TeachingDegree.org Blog posted a great entry this past Sunday: Comics in the Classroom: 100 Tips, Tools, and Resources for Teachers. I'll let the site speak for itself...

Gone are the days of children sneaking comics past diligent parents and teachers watching out for sub-par literature. The comics of today not only have plenty to offer, they are gaining well-deserved recognition and awards. Take advantage of the natural affinity children have for comics and use them as a powerful teaching tool in your classroom. The following tips, tools, and resources will get you started.

They've organized these 100 links into the following categories:

• Understanding Benefits and Usage in the Classroom
• Resources for Using Comics in the Classroom
• Suggested Comics for the Classroom
• Tools
• Creative Ways to Use Comics in the Classroom
• Lesson Plans for Elementary
• Lesson Plans for Middle School
• Lesson Plans for High School
• Lesson Plans for All Ages
• Manga and Anime
• Free Comics for Educators

That website again: Comics in the Classroom: 100 Tips, Tools, and Resources for Teachers.

Big thanks for the tip to sister-in-law extraordinaire Alessandra Gillen, who in turn found this website listed on MetaFilter. Those among you who study comics or use comics in the classroom will be at turns encouraged, saddened, and horrified by the comments posted at the MetaFilter link. Many of them are textbook examples of people arguing "from the gut," knowledge or facts be damned. Sigh.

CFP: Graphica in Education (Fordham University; Jan 31, 2009; Proposals Due Dec. 1)

Graphica in Education:

Bringing the Discussion of Graphic Novels
Out from Under the Desk
January 31, 2009
Fordham University
Lincoln Center Campus, New York, NY

Hosted by the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University

General Information
The inaugural Graphica in Education conference is designed to open a discussion among educators about the place of graphica in the field of education. It will serve teachers, instructional designers, administrators, librarians, and other interested individuals who would like to explore the use of graphic novels and other graphica in the classroom. Participants in the conference will have the opportunity to hear from authors, teachers, and researchers about the nature of writing, reading, and teaching graphic novels.

The conference will offer a full day of workshops to complement a keynote address and panel discussion. The conference will also include sponsor presentations and exhibits. Lunch will be included with conference registration.

Invitation to Respond to the Call for Proposals
The Graphica in Education Conference planning committee seeks interactive and engaging proposals for presentations in the breakout workshops of the conference. Workshops will be approximately 60 minutes in length. Paper presentations may be combined into panel discussions. Proposals from practicing teachers about pedagogical methodologies and from researchers about application of graphica in the classroom are encouraged.

Proposals should include:

• The type of presentation (e.g., paper presentation, teaching demonstration, panel discussion)
• A brief description (50 words or less) of the presentation or workshop
• A summary (500 words or less) of the workshop, including rationale/theoretical grounding, practical application, and participant involvement (the benefit to participants)
• The name(s), contact information, and affiliation of presenter(s)

Proposal submission deadline: December 1, 2008

Proposals should be submitted electronically to krturner [at] fordham.edu.

Conference Registration
Presenters for accepted proposals will receive free registration to the conference.

For More Information
For more information on the proposal submission process or the conference in general contact Kristen Turner at krturner [at] fordham.edu.

Study SF & Fantasy Writing with Neil Gaiman

Clarion is accepting applications for this year's Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Workshop, to be held June 29 - August 9, 2008 at University of California, San Diego. The instructors for 2008 include Kelly Link, James Patrick Kelly, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Nalo Hopkinson, Geoff Ryman, and Neil Gaiman. From the website:

The Clarion Workshop is an intensive six-week summer program focused on fundamentals particular to the writing of science fiction and fantasy. It is considered a premier proving and training ground for aspiring writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Now in its fortieth year, the Clarion Workshop boasts national and international visibility. Instructors are among the most respected writers and editors working in the field today. Over one third of our graduates have been published and many have gone on to critical acclaim.

Applications are due by March 1st. For more information on applying, click here.

Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonist's Academy to Hold Monthly Seminars with Legendary Artists

Here's a press release about a series of artist appearances in New England - and information about Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonist's Academy:

Meet World-Famous Comic Book Artists of
Marvel Comics, Flintstones and Popeye:
Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonist's Academy to Hold
Monthly Seminars with Legendary Artists

Contact: Angie Gilchrist
Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonist's Academy
237 Hopmeadow Street
Simsbury, CT 06089
Tel. (860)651-4400, fax (860)651-6688
e-mail: info @ gilchristcartoonacademy.com

SIMSBURY, CT, January 24, 2008 -- Silver Age legend of major comic publishers, Marvel and DC, Richard "Dick" Ayers will kick off a monthly series of seminars as special guest at Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonists Academy. Located at 237 Hopmeadow St., Weatogue, the seminar will be held on Saturday, March 1, from noon to 3:00 p.m. Call early to register for this full afternoon of family fun, as there is limited seating, 860-651-4400.

Ever since serving his country in WWII, Dick Ayers has created some of the greatest comic book art of all time: The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, Captain America, and the Two-Gun Kid. You have a chance to meet Dick and spend an afternoon hearing about his life and art. He will demonstrate drawing techniques, answer questions, autograph his books and art prints, and pose for photos. See original 1949 live TV footage in which Dick and his cartooning were featured on the CBS suspense show, The Comic Strip Murder, starring Lili Palmer. The film was lost for decades, and was only recently found. Refreshments will be served, and tickets are $30 per person to help the Academy fund the military scholarship, outreach programs, special enrichment programs such as this one, and the filming of this lecture for future students.

April's workshop, with Mike Valentine is two workshops in one: an hour will be spent on how to draw Flintstones, followed by a 2-hour course, "How to Draw Caricatures for Fun and Profit." Mike Valentine is the artist of all Hanna-Barbera characters, including The Flintstones, Captain Caveman, Scooby-Doo, Huckleberry Hound, and many more. Mike's seminar will be held at the Academy on Saturday, April 12, from noon to 3:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served and cartoons of featured characters will be shown. Admission is $25, and again, please call early. This is a great family event for all ages, and a wonderful chance to learn from a master caricature artist, with lots of one-on-one, in a small setting.

Yet to come is George Wildman, comic book editor, primarily known for drawing Popeye. All three legendary artists, Dick Ayers, Mike Valentine, and George Wildman, have decades of professional experience in many styles of illustration appearing in numerous forms of media. For more information, please call 860-651-5733 for availability and also visit http://www.gilchristcartoonacademy.com.

Guy Gilchrist is the award-winning cartoonist of Nancy®, Mudpie, Your Angels Speak, and The Muppets, and is a writer and illustrator of children's books. His internationally syndicated column Night Lights & Fairy Flights appears weekly in the Sunday Hartford Courant and in 100 papers around the world.

Note: For media interviews contact Angie at info @ gilchristcartoonacademy.com.