The book discussions will be 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 is required for the free reading and discussion series, and is open to interested adults who are able to participate in all four discussions. Dates and series titles are:

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

Books in the series are widely available from online sellers like Amazon, local bookstores Half Price Book on Lane Avenue and N. High Street, and Laughing Ogre, a comic shop located at 4258 North High St. Columbus Metropolitan Library also has numerous copies of each title available for lending.

Registration for the series is limited and will begin on Monday September 22nd. To register or for further information contact distel.1@osu.edu.

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.

To be placed on a wait list for possible future offerings contact Donna Distel at letstalkmodern@gmail.com or call 614.292.2594.

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.