Transitions 6: Call for Papers
TRANSITIONS 6 – New Directions in Comics Studies 2015 Symposium – 31st October 2015, Birkbeck, University of London Keynote: Dr. Mel Gibson (Northumbria University) Respondent: Professor Roger Sabin (Central Saint Martins) CALL FOR PAPERS Deadline: 31st July 2015 We are pleased to announce the call for papers for the forthcoming 6th Transitions symposium, promoting new research and multi-disciplinary academic study of comics/ comix/ manga/ bande dessinée and other forms of sequential art. We welcome abstracts for twenty minute papers as well as proposals for panels. Possible topics include but are not limited to: text-oriented approaches – studies of key creators – historical and contemporary studies of production and circulation of comics – readerships and fan cultures – critical reception – formats, platforms and contexts – the (im)materiality of comics – archival concerns – formalist/narratological approaches – comics and aesthetics – adaptation, convergence and remediation – international iterations and transnational comics – children’s comics – political comics – comics and cultural theory – ideological/discursive critiques – web comics – graphic medicine – non-fiction comics – comics as historiography – comics practice and theory– cultural histories/geographies By thinking about comics across different disciplines, we hope to stimulate and provoke debate and to address a wide spectrum of questions, to map new trends and provide a space for dialogue and further collaboration. Abstracts for twenty minute papers should be no more than 250 – 300 words. Proposals for papers and panels should be sent as Word documents, with a short biography appended, and submitted by the 31st July 2015 to Hallvard, John, Nina, and Tony at transitions.symposium@gmail.com. Tweet Image by John Miers...
Conference Report: Transitions 5
by Jenna Johnston In its 5th year, the Transitions symposium is a unique element of The London International Comics Festival—Comica. As Paul Gravett, one of the Directors of Comica, noted in his introduction, there is no other conference of this kind that is free to attend, and the scale, breadth and distinction of content all highlight what a special event this is. The only problem was that this very diversity and abundance of panels to choose from presented the agonizing task of deciding between the events. As I learned in the closing comments and from the #transitions5 Twitter feed, I missed the quote of the day: 'Everyone likes a bit of tentacled porn'. Any of my conjecture on the context only reinforces my disappointment for all the panels I missed and so unfortunately I cannot do credit to the abundance and depth of content of the day. Fortunately, for the keynote speakers there was no difficult timetabling decision to be made and Dr Jason Dittmer and Dr Antonio Lázaro Reboll were as fascinating as they were diverse in their subject matter. This became a theme of the day in the extraordinary range of disciplines, backgrounds and focus of each event and speaker. They both drew attention to the fact that comics are not their primary field, confirming the way that comics have infiltrated so many disciplines and become an increasingly important branch of enquiry across the academic and cultural spectrum. This evolution could be seen not only in the topics and speakers but also in the audience and the range of media discussed at the conference. These included presentations of web comics, hypercomics installations and commercial utilisation in infocomics. Those attending the conference had backgrounds in illustration, production, technology and marketing as well as, of course, comics fandom. As well as the heterogeneity, there were also fortuitous connections and patterns that emerged throughout the day. Beginning with Jason Dittmer’s opening keynote, he raised the discussion of comics as assemblages, citing Joseph Cornell’s sculptural boxes in the early twentieth century. Particularly vivid was the detail that some of these works were created as gifts for people whose friendship Cornell hoped to attain. This reinforced the fundamental temporal dimension in the anticipation of a relationship still to come, as well as the human relationships that emerge from the material and visual. Dittmer surmised from this that ‘You’re transformed by the things and objects you’re in assemblage with’. These projected meanings and fluid notions of time were a key thread across the series of discussions. This thread was revisited in the Comics and Mental Health panel in the assemblage of the personal,...
Transitions 5: Call for Papers
TRANSITIONS 5 – New Directions in Comics Studies Saturday October 25th 2014 at Birkbeck, University of London Call for Papers Keynote: Dr. Jason Dittmer (UCL, Captain America & the Nationalist Superhero) Respondent: Dr. Roger Sabin, Central Saint Martins, Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels) We are pleased to announce the call for papers for the forthcoming 5th Transitions symposium, promoting new research and multi-disciplinary academic study of comics/ comix/ manga/ bande dessinée and other forms of sequential art. By deliberately not appointing a set theme, we hope to put together a programme reflecting the diversity of comics studies. We welcome abstracts for twenty minute papers as well as proposals for panels. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: text-oriented approaches – studies of key creators – historical and contemporary studies of production and circulation of comics – readerships and fan cultures – critical reception – formats, platforms and contexts – the (im)materiality of comics – archival concerns – formalist/narratological approaches – comics and aesthetics – adaptation, convergence and remediation – international iterations and transnational comics – children’s comics – political comics – comics and cultural theory – ideological/discursive critiques – web comics – graphic medicine – non-fiction comics – comics as historiography – comics practice and theory– cultural histories/geographies… Abstracts for twenty minute papers should be no more than 250 – 300 words. Proposals for papers and panels should be sent as Word documents, with a short biography appended, and submitted by the 30th of July 2014 to Hallvard, Tony and Nina at transitions.symposium@gmail.com. Transitions is supported by Comica, The Centre for Contemporary Literature (Birkbeck), and the Contemporary Fiction Seminar. See below for the conference programme. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME READ THE CONFERENCE REPORT HERE Tweet Image by John...
Transitions 4
26 October 2013 The Centre for Contemporary Literature was delighted to host the fourth Transitions conference "Transitions 4: Mapping New Directions in Comics Studies". Transitions has made a name as one of the UK's leading conferences dedicated to the multi-disciplinary academic study of comics/ comix/ manga/ bande dessinée and other forms of sequential art, now in its fourth year at Birkbeck. Part of Comica, the London International Comics Festival, Transitions 4 featured keynote addresses from Dr. Ann Miller (University of Leicester, joint editor of European Comic Art), with a repsonse from Dr. Roger Sabin (Central St. Martins, University of the Arts London). As the only regular academic comics event based in London, Transitions provides a platform where different perspectives and methodologies can be brought together and shared. As an event devoted to promoting new research into comics in all their forms the symposium provides a forum for research from postgraduate students and early career lecturers. Comics studies occupy a unique multi-disciplinary middle-space, one that encourages cross-disciplinary pollination and a convergence of distinct knowledges: literary and cultural studies, visual arts and media, modern languages, sociology, geography and more. By thinking about comics across different disciplines, we hope to stimulate and provoke debate, to address a wide spectrum of questions, to map new trends, and to provide a space for dialogue and further collaboration to emerge. • Download the schedule here • Download the poster here (designed by John Miers) Tweet Image by Nizam Uddin under a CC BY-NC-ND...
Transitions 3
3 November 2012 Transitions Comica Symposium is an annual one-day symposium promoting new research and multi-disciplinary academic study of comics/ comix/ manga/ bande dessinée and other forms of sequential art. Organized by Tony Venezia (Birkbeck) and Nina Mickwitz (UEA), the third Transitions event was hosted by Birkbeck, University of London as part of the annual Comica London International Comics Festival. Transitions is currently the only regular academic comics event based in London. The symposium provides a platform where different perspectives and methodologies can be brought together and shared. As an event devoted to promoting new research into comics in all their forms the symposium provides a forum for research from postgraduate students and early career lecturers. Comics studies occupy a unique multi-disciplinary middle-space, one that encourages cross-disciplinary pollination and a convergence of distinct knowledges: literary and cultural studies, visual arts and media, modern languages, sociology, geography and more. By thinking about comics across different disciplines, the Transitions team hopes to stimulate and provoke debate, to address a wide spectrum of questions, to map new trends, and to provide a space for dialogue and further collaboration to emerge. Programme Keynote: Julia Round and Chris Murray: 'Meanwhile, in the Batcave under The Ivory Towers…' Comics Scholarship and the Academy, or Scott McCloud Ate My Hamster. Panel 1: Image and Narrative Chair: Ann Miller John Miers: Comics authorship and the relations between visual form and narrative content Paul Davies: Animating the narrative in abstract comics Federico Pagello: The Cinematic Superhero: comic book imagination and the aesthetic regime Panel 2: Contextual Convergences Chair: Ernesto Priego Matthew Freeman: An historical approach to transmedia storytelling: Superman and the convergence of comics and other media in the classical Hollywood era Paul Williams: Art Spiegelman and J. B. Rund: The making and marketing of ‘Adult Comics’ in the 1970s Caroline Dahl: Comics disseminating science Panel 3: Politics and Representation Chair: Tony Venezia Louisa Buck: The boulder of Sisyphus in British political cartoons Harriet Earle: Traumatic representation and 9/11 in American Widow Jonathan W. Gray: Representing Revolt in Graphic Media: Magdy El Shafee, Martin Luther King, Jr and the Arab Spring Panel 4: Imagined Communities: Culture and Identity Chair: Jason Dittmer Adam Sherif: The duality of 1940s Wonder Woman comics: the war heroine in whose culture men do not feature Bharain Mac an Breithiún: The comic strip and the street sign – linguistic landscape and sense of place in Brussels Daniel Marrone: Seth’s historiographic metafiction: forging Canadian histories Simon Turner: Japan Online: ethnic identity, culture and race in Yaoi manga fan websites Respondent’s Remarks and Round-Table Discussion Roger Sabin (UAL), Paul Gravett (Comica), Chris Murray & Julia Round (StiC), Ernesto...
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