Professor Frederick Luis Aldama will be discussing his work by and about Latinos in comics and graphic novels-mainstream and alternative-that appears his book, Your Brain on Latino Comics. He will discuss mainstream comic book representations of Latino superheroes from the late 1970s till today as well as how Latino author/artists working today use the visual and verbal elements of the comic book medium to affect the cognitive and emotional responses of their readers.

Frederick Luis Aldama is Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English at the Ohio State University where he uses the tools of narratology and research in the cognitive- and neuro- sciences in his teaching and scholarship on Latino and Postcolonial literature, film, and comic books.  He is the editor of five collections of essays and author of seven books, including most recently A User’s Guide to Post-colonial and Latino Borderland A User’s Guide to Post-colonial and Latino Borderland Fiction.

Tuesday, October 6, 7 pm
Mauricio Espinoza, Ph.D student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, will present “Off-Color Heroes: The Emergence of Latino/a Superheroes in Contemporary U.S. Comics”.

Tuesday, October 13, 7 pm
Kenneth Goings, Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies and the Department of History, and Eugene O’ Connor, Managing Editor of OSU Press will present “They Dared to Call Their Souls Their Own: The Classics as a Tool of Resistance and Social Uplift”.

Tuesday, October 27, 7 pm
Dave Bruenger, Director of the Music, Media, and Enterprise Program, Associate Professor, School of Music will present ” Pirates, Impresarios, and Lawyers: Music and the Social Media.”

Tuesday, November 17, 7 pm
Ted Riedinger, University Libraries will share “A Mayan Classic: OSU Libraries and the Digitizing of Popol Wuh“.

OSU Libraries was pleased to present a new three part reading and discussion series Reading Comics: Krazy Kat, Gasoline Alley and Peanuts Revisited, in conjunction with the summer-long celebration of the transfer of the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection to the Cartoon Library and Museum.

The series was facilitated by Dr. Jared Gardner, Department of English and Lucy Shelton Caswell, Cartoon Library and Museum curator.

The book discussions were held on consecutive Monday evenings from 6:30-8:00pm in the seminar room adjacent to the Cartoon Library and Museum in the Wexner Center for the Arts, 27 W.17th Avenue Mall. Advance registration was required for the free reading and discussion series, which was open to interested adults in the community.

Dates and series titles were:
June 8, 2009 - Krazy Kat & Ignatz 1929-1930: “A Mice, A Brick, A Lovely Night”
June 15, 2009 - Walt and Skeezix Book. 1 (Gasoline Alley)
June 22, 2009 - The Complete Peanuts 1957-1958

The series was well attended with a full capacity registration and 20-25 participants attending each of the three sessions.

Thurber Talks Politics: an election day ReadAloud

Meg Brown from the Thurber House presented a special reading of the works of Columbus’ native son James Thurber. Meg read a few short fables with political undertones as well as a patriotic poem in celebration of what promises to be an historic election day. This lively reading was presented in collaboration with the Thurber House and the OSU Urban Arts Space.

The book discussions were held on Monday evenings from 6:30-8:00pm in the seminar room adjacent to the Cartoon Research Library in the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. Registration was required for the free reading and discussion series, and was open to interested adults able to participate in all four discussions. Dates and series titles were:

October 6, 2009 - Persepolis I&II by Marjane Satrapi
October 20, 2008 - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
November 3, 2008 - Epileptic by David B.
November 17, 2008 - Palestine by Joe Sacco

More information is available at http://library.osu.edu/sites/sel/sciencecafe/ .

OSU’s Science Cafe is sponsored by Sigma Xi-OSU Chapter, University Libraries, and the Department of Comparative Studies.

The day was billed as an “opportunity for people around the world to gather in community halls, classrooms, public parks, theaters, auditoriums, as well websites, email exchanges, and virtual environments to hear each other’s stories. We want this day to be especially dedicated to celebrating and promoting Life Story projects that have made a difference within neighborhoods, communities, and societies as a whole.”

Events
Digital Storytelling Showcase
9:30 –10:30 Wexner Center Film Theater
A screening of various digital stories, many made at OSU.

Theatrical Storytelling Presentations
11:00 –12:15
Wexner Center Film Theater
An hour of storytelling performances from various campus and community storytellers. Performers include Kevin Cordi, Olivia Bratich, Ruthmarie Mitsch, Tyler Termeer, Dionne Custer, Lyn Ford, Sally Crandall and more.

Panel Discussion
1:00 – 2:30 pm Wexner Center Film Theater
A Cross-Campus View of Story in Teaching, Research, and Outreach.

A lively conversation about how colleagues from across the campus use the notion of “story” to define and enhance their teaching, research, and outreach activities. Panelists included Adeleke Adeeko (English), Susan Fisher (Biology), Joe Ponce (English), Joy Reilly (Theatre), and Sabra Webber (Near Eastern Languages and Culture/Comp Studies).

Convener
David Herman, Dept. of English/Project Narrative

Welcoming Remarks
Pres. E. Gordon Gee

Co-sponsored by Project Narrative, The Digital Union, The Office of Faculty and TA Development, The Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning and Research, and Ohio State University Libraries

We were pleased to offer the community a five-part reading and discussion series called “Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Identity and Imagination,” which explores Jewish literature and culture though scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on a common theme. The library’s series explored the theme Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel, and was facilitated by Steven Fink, professor of English at the Ohio State University.

The book discussions were held on Monday evenings from 7-8:30pm in the seminar room adjacent to the Cartoon Research Library in the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. Registration was required for the free reading and discussion series, and was open to interested adults in the community were able to participate in all 5 discussions. Books for the Modern Marvels program were provided to series participants; dates and titles for discussion included:

March 31, 2008 - A Contract with God by Will Eisner. Set among 1930s Bronx tenements, four stories capture the brutal yet tender world of working-class Jews. The first “graphic novel.”

April 14, 2008 - The Complete Maus I&II by Art Spiegelman. The story of Speigelman’s parents—Jews reaching maturity in Europe on the verge of Nazism and their survival in a concentration camp. A 1992 Pulitzer Prize winner.

April 28, 2008 - Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer:Stories by Ben Katchor. A photographer documents a rapidly vanishing urban netherworld.

May 5, 2008 - The Quitter by Harvey Pekar
The author discusses the ways in his life that he quit before he could fail. The story ends with a hopeful message that it is possible to find one’s way. Explores the navy, mid-century race relations, and jazz.

May 19, 2008 - The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar. A rabbi engages his talking pet—who wants to become Jewish and have a bar mitzvah—in a debate, including topics such as spelling, parental love, and the very nature of Jewish identity.

“Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature” was made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association with local support generously provided by Paul Watkins, OSU Friends of the Library Board member. Promotional support was provided by our local partners: Cartoon Research Library, the Melton Center for Jewish Studies and Friends of the OSU Libraries.

A long-term commitment is not necessary. Students may choose to sign up for the program on a book-by-book basis. Please visit the Reading ReMix blog for more information.

The book discussions were held on Monday evenings from 7-8:30pm in the seminar room adjacent to the Cartoon Research Library in the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. Registration was required for the free reading and discussion series, and was open to interested adults in the community who were able to participate in all 5 discussions. Books for the Modern Marvels program were provided to series participants; dates and titles for discussion included:

October 1, 2007 - A Contract with God by Will Eisner
October 15, 2007 - The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
October 29, 2007 - Julius Knipl by Ben Katchor
November 5, 2007 - The Quitter by Harvey Pekar
November 19, 2007 - The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar

Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature was made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association with local support generously provided by Paul Watkins. Promotional support was provided by our local partners: Cartoon Research Library, the Melton Center for Jewish Studies and OSU Hillel.

Thanks to an enthusiastic response from the community, we have reapplied for the grant in hopes of repeating Modern Marvels in Spring of 2008. To be notified about a possible future offering contact Donna Distel at letstalkmodern@gmail.com or call 614.292.2594.