{"id":740,"date":"2023-08-21T16:00:40","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T20:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/?p=740"},"modified":"2023-08-21T16:13:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T20:13:58","slug":"a-successful-comics-studies-society-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/08\/21\/a-successful-comics-studies-society-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"A Successful Comics Studies Society Conference!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the end of July 2023, UNT hosted the annual Comics Studies Society Conference<\/a> at the UNT Gateway Center. The conference included over 150 registered attendees, online and in-person, plus over a dozen artists, publishers, and libraries represented in the Artist\u2019s Alley, which was open to the public. The conference was organized and hosted by UNT’s own Dr. Jo Davis-McElligatt from the Department of English and Dr. John Edward Martin from the UNT Libraries along with the CSS Conference Planning Committee.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The conference featured 37 scholarly panel sessions and workshops, over three days, on topics related to this year\u2019s conference theme, \u201cComics on the Margins\u201d.\u00a0 They included panels like \u201cOn the Margins of Speech in Comics,\u201d \u201cCan Comics Be Decolonial?\u201d, \u201cBlackness and Futurity,\u201d \u201cComics and\/of\/as Resistance,\u201d \u201cDefying Taxonomies: Superheroes in the Margins\u201d, \u201cDrawing the Monstrous: Violence, Horror, and War,\u201d and \u201cDistant Viewing and Comics Studies,\u201d among others. These topics were meant to reflect on the idea of marginalization and its relationship to the formal structures, visual aesthetics, and sociopolitical positions of comics, their creators, and their audiences within various cultural contexts.<\/p>\n\"CSS \"Yellow\n

Presenters included faculty, students, comics creators, librarians, and independent scholars from all over the world, bringing expertise from a variety of disciplines, including literary and cultural studies, history and political science, women and gender studies, art and art history, disability studies, communication and media studies, library science, game studies, and many more.\u00a0 This reflects the interdisciplinarity of comics studies as a field, as well as the range and diversity of fan communities and the broader audiences of comics, animation, film, and other related media.<\/p>\n\"Conference \"Conference \"Conference\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event also featured three outstanding keynote addresses\u2014one each day–by Dr. Frederick Luis Aldama from the University of Texas at Austin, talk about why \u201cBIPOC Teen Comics Matter\u201d; pioneering comics writer and artist Rupert Kinnard, addressing \u201cCritical Race Queeries: The History of Cathartic Comics\u201d; and award-winning cartoonist MariNaomi sharing \u201cHow to Become an Overnight Success in 20 Years\u201d. Each of the speakers drew on their own experiences in the comics industry, academia, and public life to share some very powerful stories about how comics have engaged (or failed to engage) with history, culture, and the lives and experiences of marginalized people. Their talks were, in turn, heartwarming, horrifying, hilarious, and insightful, and everyone in attendance was grateful for their presence.<\/p>\n\"Frederick\"Rupert \"A \"Artist\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Besides the panels and talks, the event included a lunchtime comics trivia event, a cosplay happy hour at the d20 Tavern on the Denton Square, a comics mystery box drawing, and lots of great CSS swag.<\/p>\n

\"Cosplayers\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the Artist’s Alley brought local artists, comics and comics studies publishers, and exhibits from the UNT and UTA Libraries to share comics-related materials, original art, scholarly books, and merchandise for visitors to purchase.\u00a0<\/p>\n\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next year\u2019s 2024 CSS Conference<\/a> will be a virtual event, hoping to attract even more participants who may not be able to travel for various reasons, but also to encourage more sustainable, environmentally responsible, and accessible events for everyone.\u00a0 The following year, CSS will return to an in-person hybrid event at Michigan State University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event was sponsored<\/a> by a number of departments at UNT, including the UNT Libraries and its Comics Studies at UNT outreach initiative, as well as the UT-Arlington and Texas Woman\u2019s University Libraries, the TWU Department of Language, Culture, and Gender Studies.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Comics Studies resources at UNT, check out our Comics Studies Guide<\/a>, follow this blog<\/a>, and like our Comics Studies at UNT Facebook<\/a> page! And if you have questions, reach out to the Comics Studies subject librarian, John Martin<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 At the end of July 2023, UNT hosted the annual Comics Studies Society Conference at the UNT Gateway Center. The conference included over 150 registered attendees, online and in-person, plus over a dozen artists, publishers, and libraries represented in the Artist\u2019s Alley, which was open to the public. The conference was organized and hosted… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[50,9,10,1],"tags":[30,19,12,11],"class_list":["post-740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comics-events","category-libraries","category-scholarship","category-uncategorized","tag-comics-in-the-library","tag-comics-studies","tag-libraries","tag-scholarship"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/08\/css2023_sticker.jpg?fit=807%2C424&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9noXX-bW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":707,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/03\/28\/register-now-for-the-2023-comics-studies-society-conference-at-unt\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":0},"title":"Register now for the 2023 Comics Studies Society Conference at UNT!","author":"John","date":"March 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Registration is now open for the 2023 Comics Studies Society Conference, \"Comics on the Margins,\" coming to UNT this summer (July 27-29, 2023) at the Gateway Center https:\/\/comicsstudies.org\/2023-conference\/ This event will feature an Artist's Alley, exhibit tables by publishers and libraries, scholarly panels, workshops, a cosplay happy hour, and keynotes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Comics Studies Society, Conference, \"Comics on The Margins\".","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/03\/css-registration.png?fit=1200%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/03\/css-registration.png?fit=1200%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/03\/css-registration.png?fit=1200%2C300&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/03\/css-registration.png?fit=1200%2C300&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/03\/css-registration.png?fit=1200%2C300&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":688,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/01\/11\/comics-on-the-margins-2023-comics-studies-society-conference-coming-to-unt\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":1},"title":"“Comics on the Margins”: 2023 Comics Studies Society Conference coming to UNT","author":"John","date":"January 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"We're excited to share the news that the 2023 Comics Studies Society Annual Conference, \"Comics on the Margins\", is coming to the University of North Texas, July 27-29, 2023! \"The Comics Studies Society (CSS) is an interdisciplinary society open to all who share the goals of promoting the critical study\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Comics Studies Society, \"Comics on the Margins\" poster","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/01\/Comics-Studies-Society-Poster-225x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":827,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2024\/08\/15\/whats-happening-with-comics-studies-at-unt\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":2},"title":"What’s happening with Comics Studies at UNT?","author":"John","date":"August 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back, everyone, to the Fall 2024 semester and a new year of school, work, and Comics Studies at UNT! We've got lots of updates on our Comics Studies initiative and other comics-related events and activities happening at UNT. Over the last two years, our Comics Studies community has grown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2017\/12\/11\/a-briefish-history-of-comics-studies-unt-libraries\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":3},"title":"A Brief(ish) History of Comics Studies @UNT Libraries","author":"John","date":"December 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Comics studies at UNT dates back to at least 2011 when Dr. Shaun Treat, a Communications Studies faculty member, organized the first UNT Comic Studies Conference.\u00a0 \u00a0This was a\u00a0scholarly and pedagogical conference devoted to, \u201cbroadly surveying the diverse disciplinary approaches to studying or using comics as a resource for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics in the library"","block_context":{"text":"Comics in the library","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/libraries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"UNT Comics Studies Conference Facebook Page","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":723,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/07\/07\/exciting-developments-in-comics-studies-at-unt-libraries\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":4},"title":"Exciting developments in Comics Studies at UNT Libraries","author":"John","date":"July 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 As of this Summer 2023, \"Comics Studies\" is now an official subject area in the UNT Libraries Public Services division, and John Martin has been designated as the subject librarian for comics studies. In addition to providing research, reference, and instructional support for patrons and courses at UNT, subject\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics in the library"","block_context":{"text":"Comics in the library","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/libraries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2017\/10\/20\/welcome\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":5},"title":"Welcome to Comics Studies @UNT!","author":"John","date":"October 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to the brand new Comics Studies at UNT Blog! This blog is a project of the UNT Libraries, and will include contributors from across the Libraries' divisions, as well as from faculty, students, and others in the UNT community who share an interest in comics studies.","rel":"","context":"In "Comics in the library"","block_context":{"text":"Comics in the library","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/libraries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Poster for \"Comics in the Library\" Exhibit, April-August, 2017","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/comics-in-the-library-poster-e1513015933238.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/comics-in-the-library-poster-e1513015933238.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/comics-in-the-library-poster-e1513015933238.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/comics-in-the-library-poster-e1513015933238.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/comics-in-the-library-poster-e1513015933238.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":779,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740\/revisions\/779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}