Conferences
The abstracts for Brighton's Science and the Public Conference are now up (link to pdf).
Three other conferences that might be of interest:
1) Eye of the Storm: An interdisciplinary conference on scientific controversy. Run by Arts Catalyst at Tate Britain, 19 / 20 June 2009
2) Feeling Good: Health information for children and young people, Chester, UK, 23rd & 24th June 2009
3) CFP for IBBY UK/ NCRCL MA conference: Comics and Graphic Novels, to be held at Roehampton University, London 14th November (details below cut)
Graphic novels are becoming increasingly popular and diverse in the UK and have been highly valued in many countries, notably France, Belgium and Japan, for many years. The 2009 IBBY UK/NCRCL MA conference will explore the developing interest in this medium from a variety of perspectives, in addition to considering developments in the range and content of comics available to children and young people.
The conference will include keynote presentations by well-known writers, publishers and academics. Proposals are welcomed for workshop sessions (lasting about 20 minutes) on the following or other relevant issues:
* International perspectives – comics and graphic novels in a particular culture and/or across cultures
* Comics from a contemporary or historical perspective. Has the number and range of comics declined and, if so, why?
* Manga - its origins in Japan and developments and adaptations in other cultures
* New literacies – the changing interface between visual images and text
* Links between media – computer games, films, internet comics, character toys
* Animations and cartoons
* The work of individual and collective creators of comics and graphic novels. What collaborations are involved in the production of a graphic novel? Is the author a major or minor player in the design of a graphic novel?
* Use of artistic styles – colour/black and white artwork/photography/fonts and typography. What are the technical complexities of producing comics and graphic novels?
* Engagement of children and young people with/through this medium. Is there a particular appeal to the ‘reluctant’ reader?
* Gendered reading. Do comics and graphic novels have more appeal to male readers?
* Controversial issues/taboo subjects – the notion of ‘appropriate’ material for
* What is the appeal of a graphic novel as against an illustrated book? How do picture books compare in popularity with graphic novels for a younger age group?
We welcome contributions from interested academics and others. of these areas. Brief accounts of the papers that are presented at the conference will be published in the Spring 2010 issue of IBBYLink, the journal of British IBBY. Also we hope that the proceedings of the conference will be published later that year in full in book form.
The deadline for proposals is 20 July 2009. Please email a 200-word abstract (for a 20-minute paper) as an attached Word document to Pat Pinsent and also contact her if your require any further information on this call for papers. Please also include a short biography and affiliation. patpinsent@aol.com