Calls for papers: Comic books and graphic novels
44th Annual Convention
Northeast Modern Language Association (NEMLA)

March 21 to 24, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts
Hosted by Tufts University

“Panels and Pedagogy: Teaching the Graphic Novel”

This panel works towards understanding and adding to emerging pedagogies of the graphic novel and other forms of illustrated works. What do these visual texts change about how we approach the classroom? Possible topics include but are not limited to adaptation and teaching across mediums and disciplines; the graphic novel as literature; approaches to visuality as composition; and the limits of genre and medium. Submit 250- to 500-word proposals by September 30, 2012, to Joel Simundich (joel_simundich@brown.edu) and Derek McGrath (derek.mcgrath@stonybrook.edu).

“The Sequential Monster: Reading Comics as Monstrous”

Comic books, graphic novels and webcomics generally combine words and images to create narratives. Though comics are often considered a form in their own right, it is also possible to see them as an amalgam of disparate forms of communication. If we think of comics that way, perhaps we can see them, fruitfully, as monstrous: beasts that combine the elements of verbal and visual, narrative and static communication forms. This panel will examine a social understanding of the comics form (and the kinds of literacies required to accept it) using Scott McCloud’s and Will Eisner’s comics theories as well as Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s monster theory. Submit abstracts of of 300 words to lauere@sunysuffolk.edu by September 30.

“Show and Tell: A Roundtable of Comic Book and Graphic Novel Creators”

This event hosts artists from a wide spectrum of roles as related to the creation of comic books and graphic novels. This roundtable welcomes participants from around the world and regardless of genre, medium, or years of experience. Artists in the roundtable should bring visual materials to facilitate discussion with a diverse audience of students, professors, and overall fans of this art form. Submit resumes by September 30, 2012, to Derek McGrath at SUNY Stony Brook (derek.mcgrath@stonybrook.edu).