Program Description
Event Details
Explore the role comics play in promoting education and literacy with the 7th Annual Comic Conference for Educators & Librarians (CCEL), hosted by San Diego Public Library and Comic-Con International®. Comic enthusiasts are invited to learn new ways to incorporate comics and other popular arts into their professional work and promote comics and graphic novels as powerful mediums for learning. By using comics and their unique storytelling capabilities, libraries may foster a deeper connection to the local community.
These panels will be presented in the 8th floor Helen Price Reading Room at San Diego Central Library. Check-in will being 15 minutes prior to event start time.
CCEL is free to attend, but space is limited and registration is required for each day. Please note, Comic-Con COVID-19 vaccine verification or proof of a negative COVID-19 test is required to attend. See more information here: https://www.comic-con.org/cci/covid-19-faq
=====Programming Schedule=====
10 a.m. – 11 a.m. | How to Support LGBTQIA+ and Neurodiverse Communities through Comic Books & Pop Culture
From cosplay to fan fiction, how do we create a more diverse and inclusive community? How do we apply this knowledge in a cultural context and through social-emotional learning? What is neurodiverse? Neurodivergent? Neurovariant? What is trauma-informed? What would Gene Roddenberry think of all of this? Moderator Lorran Garrison (school psychologist, Little Brainstorm) joins Chance Calloway ( Pretty Dudes, Amazon Prime), Robert Rice (Demonhuntr, Amazon Prime/HereTV), Tara Madison Avery (Stacked Deck Press, We’re Still Here), Natasha Lee (Insomniac Games, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales), Mark Nazal (Diwata Komiks) and Perry Clark (Untangle and Grow Counseling) to discuss how to support creative thinking in students and adults. There will be giveaways!
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Raising Fankids: Teaching Young Geeks to be Self-Confident and Successful
Pasquale Piro (secondary teacher, father of two) hosts a panel with Alissa Piro (mother of two, high school teacher), Deseree Gonzalez (mother and educator), and Sean Emmons (middle school teacher), discussing techniques and experiences that help kids grow up nerdy without the negative connotation.
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. | Diversity and Comics: Multimodal Media and Comics
Graphic India co-founder and creator, Sharad Devarajan (Chakra The Invincible, Shadow Tiger, Astra Force, The Legend of Hanuman, Baahubali The Lost Legends) offers an engaging session about globalization, east meets west, the new diversity, and culture in comics and the renaissance of new Indian and global superheroes. Graphic India representatives will also discuss their projects, including the top Indian animated series The Legend of Hanuman on Disney+Hotstar; as well as new comic book projects to be unveiled.
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. | Comics Catalog Curation for Adults
Led by Barbra Dillon (editor-in-chief, Fanbase Press), Matthew Noe (librarian, Harvard Medical School), Moni Barrette (director of Collection Development & Publisher Relations, Library Pass), Jordan Hart (writer, Ripple Effects), and Jameson Rohrer (judge, 2022 Eisner Awards) discuss what they consider when curating a comics catalog for adult readers. Topics will include avenues for finding both mainstream and independent titles, how to curate an inclusive catalog in terms of creators, characters, and stories, how to navigate challenging themes and content, and more.
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. | Forging New Pathways for Comics in Academia
More than ever before, comic books are making their way into classrooms at all educational levels, providing opportunities for readers and educators alike to analyze, learn from, and inspire through sequential art. Led by Barbra Dillon (editor-in-chief, Fanbase Press), this panel–including Dr. Theresa Rojas (founding director, The Latinx Comic Arts Festival), Amber Padilla (artist, The Secret Garden on 81st Street), and Katlin Marisol Sweeney-Romero (Ph.D. candidate in English, The Ohio State University)–will discuss the various applications of print and digital comics from an academic perspective and the new pathways that are being forged across mediums in the 21st century.
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. | Defending Comics in Schools and Libraries
With book challenges sweeping the country, especially against comics and graphic novels, this panel of experts is here to help. Eisner Award–winning cartoonist Jeff Smith (Bone, RASL, Tuki), Moni Barrette (GNCRT president and co-founder of Creators Assemble! Inc.), Jessica Lee (district librarian, Berkeley Unified School District), and Dr. Ashley Dallacqua (literacy professor, University of New Mexico) join moderator Jack Phoenix (librarian, Brodart’s Graphic Novel Selector, author of Maximizing the Impact of Comics in Your Library: Graphic Novels, Manga, and More) to discuss how community members can support schools and libraries during such challenges, how they can help prevent the challenges to begin with, and why comics are worth defending. There will be a brief history of challenges to comics and a Q&A.
4:00 - 5:00 p.m. | Strategies for Defending Comics in Your Library
The landscape of censorship has changed in the last several months. Instead of occasional and localized attempts to ban comics, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and its coalition partners have seen organized nationwide campaigns against comics and other books, vitriolic protests at school board meetings, and political attacks. In this program, CBLDF Coalition Director Betsy Gomez, ALA GNCRT president-elect Moni Barrette, and public librarian Jack Phoenix will use ripped-from-the-headlines censorship scenarios to provide proven strategies and resources for countering censorship in your community.
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. | Kapow, Woosh, Zap! Engaging Students with Comics in the Classroom
Jaime Chavez (intervention counselor, San Diego Unified), Mick Rabin (resource teacher, Youth Advocacy Dept., San Diego Unified), Ella "Dizzy" Rogosin (teacher, Sweetwater UHSD), Scott Nielsen (mild/moderate special education teacher, Grossmont UHSD), Lorran Garrison (school psychologist), and Zeinabu Davis (professor and filmmaker, UCSD) dive into their experiences using comics in the classroom. Hear how incorporating comics into the curriculum increases engagement and access for all students while developing a love for learning (and secretly powering up literacy skills), and how the Comic-Con Educator Book Club brings together teachers from across the region in pursuit of great reads, community, and strategies for the classroom. You, too, can become a super teacher! Panelists will share resources, tips, and tools you can add to your utility belt, and they would love for you to join their league of super educators. Moderated by Jewyl Alderson (San Diego County Office of Education).