Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians: Geek-Ed Panels

It's the GeekEd/College day of the Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians (CCEL)! Below is the current schedule of today's programs.

10:00 am, GeekEd: Civility vs. Anger—It seems that the odds of successfully surviving a discussion around politics these days are 3,720 to 1. The level of aggression in your average DC vs. Marvel argument at Comic-Con International parallels conversations around hot topics on college campuses. Are polarized positions part of the fun or do they create barriers to more rich and nuanced conversations? Are activities like rigging a movie review website just harmless fun, or attacks on free speech and creativity? Jen Stuller (writer, pop culture critic, GeekGirlCon), Keith Chow (Nerds of Color), Dr. La’Tonya Rease-Miles (UCLA), Tony B. Kim (The Hero Within), and David Surratt (UC Berkeley) join others to help us understand how to make civility our prime directive. Moderated by Brian MacDonald (UCLA). 

11:00 am, GeekEd: Caring for the Nerd Mind—Teachers, administrators, and higher ed professionals are increasingly called upon to respond to a variety of mental health concerns across the education landscape. This panel of educators and mental health experts, including Dr. Andrea Letamendi (UCLA, The Arkham Sessions podcast), Dr. Brent Crandal (Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego), Alfred Day (UC Berkeley), Sherard Robbins (University of Arizona), and Kirk White (UCLA), share how they have applied their passion for fandom and the lessons they have learned from superheroes to develop new best practices for promoting mental health and resilience in schools and on campuses. Moderated by Alfred Day (UC Berkeley). 

12:00 pm, GeekEd: University of Wakanda (Themyscira Semester Abroad)—The success of Wonder Woman and Black Panther have resulted in passionate discussions on college campuses around the importance of representation and inclusivity, and have created common touchpoints for engagement both inside and outside the classroom. When exploring cultures other than their own, how can students have a true immersive experiences rather than being colonizers? What courses and campus programs have been designed in reference to these and other stories? Join higher education professionals Alfred Day (UC Berkeley), Adrian Purdue (UCLA), Emily Sandoval (University of Southern California) and Rod Santos (UC Berkeley) as they explore cultural identity issues in pop culture and discuss how they use this intersection to engage students at colleges and universities.

1:00 pm, Comics Studies at Michigan State University—Ryan Claytor (MSU comics studio professor) discusses the high-caliber comics studies resources at Michigan State University, such as the MSU Special Collections library (the largest public collection of comic books in the world), the annual MSU Comics Forum, the MSU Comic Art and Graphic Novel Podcast, scholarship opportunities, and the recently minted Comic Art and Graphic Novel minor. 

2:00 pm, Cultivating a Comic Book Culture in Academic Librarianship—Raymond Pun (librarian), Allison Mandaville (professor of English), Michelle Pratt (library specialist), and Jenny Banh (professor of anthropology) discuss strategies and practices for academic libraries to collaborate with teaching faculty to create a comic book culture in the classroom and in universities today. 

3:00 pm, GeekEd: Career Advice for College Geeks—Have you ever wondered how you could earn a living during the hours spent reading comics or playing video games? Is your current major not tapping into your superpower? Come learn how our panelists used their nerdy interests in college to create a fulfilling nerdy career, and what college programs and services can help students to do the same. Join David Surratt (UC Berkeley), Aaron Trammell (UC Irvine), Tara Prescott (UCLA), Agustin Rios (HyperHeroes) and Kamil Oshundara (Monkeypaw Productions) as they set you up for your geeky future! Moderated by Brian MacDonald (UCLA). 

This is part of the 3rd annual Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians! Comic-Con International and San Diego Public Library have teamed up once again for this FREE five-day conference, which takes place during Comic-Con from July 18 - 22 at the Central Library. Through presentations and panel discussions, CCEL explores the role comics play in promoting education, engagement, and literacy for all ages. Library professionals and educators are invited to learn creative and exciting ways to incorporate comics and graphic novels into their work.

CCEL is free to attend, but space is limited and registration is required for each day. Comic-Con badge-holders with valid single same-day or four-day badges are welcome to attend and are not required to register.