
Starting Friday, October 15 this is a pretty interesting looking two day virtual conference that’s worth checking out from the looks of it, even if you’re not a big nerd for the niche of Can-con Comics!
FYI you need to be registered for the event to log into discussions. It’s free!
Schedule for the conference is…
FRIDAY OCTOBER 15,
2021 10:30-11:00:
Welcome!
Symposium Organizers
Dominick Grace (Brescia University College)
Candida Rifkind (University of Winnipeg)
Zachary Rondinelli (Brock University)
Meaghan Scanlon (Library and Archives Canada)
Ivan Kocmarek (Independent Researcher)
11:00-12:00 DAY ONE KEYNOTE
“Canadian Comics Culture: From Marginal to Mainstream”
John Bell in conversation with Ivan Kocmarek
B R E A K
12:30-2:00 ROUNDTABLE 1
The Past 80 Years in Canadian Comics
Discussion based on pre-recorded presentations
Moderator: Dominick Grace
Andrew O’Malley, “WECA Comics & their Young Readers”
Amie Wright, ” ‘Alberta’s Forgotten Censor and the Continued Campaign Against Comics Post-1954″
Julie Rak, “Nelvana in the Classroom: Challenges”
Fiona Smyth, “From Sad Clowns to Psychdelooolia – Stripping Through the Late 20th Century”
Chris Reyns-Chikuma, “What is ‘Beyond the Two Solitudes in the Canadian World of Comics/BD’ Project?”
2021 2:30-3:45 PANEL 1
Rewriting Canadian Comics History
Discussion based on pre-recorded presentations
Moderator: Benjamin Woo
Brian Montgomery, “Queering Canadian Comics History: Voices & Stories”
Darren Wershler, “Canadian Comics Studies, Canons, and the Coach House”
Lorraine York, “Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, ‘Canadian’ Comics, & the Ethical Space of Engagement”
Jamie Michaels, “Confronting a Colonial Legacy: The New Comics Historians Write Back”
B R E A K
4:00-5:30 ROUNDTABLE 2
Canadian Comics in GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums)
Moderator: Meaghan Scanlon
Joe Ollmann, “Curating This is Serious, a National Survey of Canadian Comics”
Lucia Cedeira Serrantes, “Canadian Comics Memory: Making, Preserving and Communicating”
Deborah Meert-Williston, “ALL IN: Transforming comics donations into an emerging academic collection”
Rick Stapleton (Head, Archives & Research Collections, McMaster University)
Mark Shainblum (writer)
SATURDAY OCTOBER 16,
2021 11:00-12:00 DAY 2 KEYNOTE
Cole Pauls & Ho Che Anderson in Conversation
Moderator: Candida Rifkind
B R E A K
12:30-2:00 ROUNDTABLE 3
Canadian Comics Publishing
Moderator: Andy Brown (Conundrum)
Julia Pohl-Miranda (Drawn & Quarterly)
Niigaan Sinclair (Highwater Press)
Luc Bossé (Pow Wow Press)
Frédéric Gauthier (La Pastèque)
Sarah Sawler (EMANATA)
James Waley (writer and co-founder, Joe Shuster Awards (pre-recorded presentation)
B R E A K
2:30-3:45 PANEL 2
Canadian Comics Today
Discussion based on pre-recorded presentations
Moderator: Peter Birkemoe
Irene Valentzas, “On Diversity: A Survey of Canadian Readers 2021”
Rotem Diamant, “Contemporary Small Presses and the Canada Comics Open Library”
Matthew Barrett, “Graphic History and Comics as Scholarship”
Lucas Tromly, “Ghosts of Home: Filipino Canadian Comics”
Zviane, “Publishing in a small market: the wonders of the French Canadian comic scene”
4:00-5:30 ROUNDTABLE 4
The Future of Canadian Comics
Discussion based on pre-recorded presentations
Moderator: Anna Peppard
Leah Brochu & Rachel Osolen, “Making Comics Accessible: Inclusive Approaches to a Visual Medium”
Sandra Dumais, “Making Comics Through Tough Times”
Amy Mazowita, “Towards a Network of Graphic Care: The Comics, Comments, and Communities of Instagram”
Eva Karpinski, “Beyond studying comics: Research as/with comics and the future of innovative scholarly publishing in Canada”
B R E A K
5:30-6:00 CLOSING COMMENTS:
THE WORK TO COME
Eleanor Ty in conversation with Zachary Rondinelli.