UPDATE: SPOTLIGHT CONFERENCE EVENTS ANNOUNCED! CCS Feature Event on Thursday, August 16, 7pm Pencil Me In: The Process & Practice of Graphic Medicine at The Center for Cartoon Studies. by faculty Steve Bissette Location: Briggs Opera House, 5 S Main St, White River Junction As an instructor at The Center for Cartoon Studies since its founding in 2005, long-time cartoonist/writer/editor/publisher Stephen R. Bissette has been privileged to witness (and, at times, participate in) the creative process of various cartoonists as they created work that focused on their own personal health issues and histories. Bissette offers an illustrated overview of the path, perils, and potential inherent in the creation of such intensely intimate and introspective works.
CCS Feature Event on Friday, August 17, Doors Open at 7:30pm Carousel Comics with Cara Bean Suzy Becker MK Czerwiec Glynnis Fawkes Ellen Forney Jennifer Hayden Mita Mahato Marissa Moss James Sturm with Dave Lloyd Whitney Taylor Kriota Willberg Ian WilliamsHost: R. Sikoryak Location: Engine Room, 188 S Main Street, White River Junction
As an instructor at The Center for Cartoon Studies since its founding in 2005, long-time cartoonist/writer/editor/publisher Stephen R. Bissette has been privileged to witness (and, at times, participate in) the creative process of various cartoonists as they created work that focused on their own personal health issues and histories. Bissette offers an illustrated overview of the path, perils, and potential inherent in the creation of such intensely intimate and introspective works.
Hospitalist and Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago
Brian Callender, MD is a hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. His academic interests focus on the intersection of the medical humanities, graphic medicine, and the illness experience. He regularly conducts graphic medicine workshops and regularly... Read More →
Though I come from a background in literary theory (and comics) and religious studies (and comics), my current work focuses on cancer narratives in comics, specifically how the medium engages the illness and vice versa. Additionally, as part of MCPHS's new School of Healthcare Business... Read More →
MK Czerwiec, RN, MA is a nurse who uses comics to contemplate the complexities of illness and caregiving.She has been making comics under the pseudonym Comic Nurse since 2000. In addition to creating her own teaching and comic-making work, she co-runs GraphicMedicine.org, a website... Read More →
Hospitalist and Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago
Brian Callender, MD is a hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. His academic interests focus on the intersection of the medical humanities, graphic medicine, and the illness experience. He regularly conducts graphic medicine workshops and regularly... Read More →
My research is in graphic medicine and curatorial practice. I would be interested in possibly arranging a time to interview gm curators and artists about their practice, as well as gm exhibit visitors about their experiences. And, I would love to talk to anyone at the conference about... Read More →
Graphic Medicine is increasingly being taught in the classroom, with curricula being developed for undergraduates, medical students, graduate students and others. This working group is for people interested in sharing ideas about teaching Graphic Medicine, developing curricula, and creating a syllabus exchange for Graphic Medicine. Some questions to consider:
• How should Graphic Medicine be taught in the classroom? • What resources currently exist? • What methods are effective for teaching people to critically read comics? • What techniques are useful for helping learners create their own graphic narratives? • What’s the best way to share and disseminate curricula?
Working group participants are encouraged to bring their own syllabi and to avail themselves to the publicly-available syllabus created for the National Library of Medicine exhibit on Graphic Medicine: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/graphicmedicine/education-highered1.html
This session will take on topics from suicide to devastating illness, and advance directives, and how graphic formats help us to convey ideas and support discussion in a helpful if not painless manner. We will have brief presentations followed by a wrap up by MK and open time for community discussion.
• How can graphic narratives help us to grasp and tolerate the pain of devastating illness? • What are some ways that any person can use to create effective graphic content on difficult topics such as suicide? • How does the use of graphic content clarify complex topics we tend to avoid such as the need for advance directives? • How do we use story lines in graphic narratives to convey important content and meaning? • Can we use comics to break out of the usual ‘Hollywood’ style where everything turns out ok, to better reflect real situations?
MK Czerwiec, RN, MA is a nurse who uses comics to contemplate the complexities of illness and caregiving.She has been making comics under the pseudonym Comic Nurse since 2000. In addition to creating her own teaching and comic-making work, she co-runs GraphicMedicine.org, a website... Read More →
Author of the book, "Scattered: My Year As An Accidental Caregiver" and host of The Agewyz Podcast on caregiving and healthy aging. Presentation will be a mix of PPT and audio clips from interviews I've done with guest of the podcast talking about death and dying. Folks can talk... Read More →
This working group will address how we create, consume, and disseminate graphic medicine within the context of social justice. In recent years, we have seen an influx of personal narratives, comics journalism, and instructional materials related to health, wellness, medicine, and advocacy. We will discuss specific works while considering how access, distribution, cultural competency, education, industry gatekeeping, marketing, and other factors influence their reach, effectiveness, and impact.
Some discussion questions include:
• How do we define social justice in the context of graphic medicine? • How can we use comics and other forms of graphic medicine to address health disparities and other forms of injustice • What must we consider when creating and publishing materials intended to improve health literacy? • What are ways that we can make the practice of creating graphic medicine (and other forms of art) more sustainable for creators?
Group Facilitator: Whit Taylor, Conference Keynote Speaker
This working group will investigate principles of visual storytelling within the graphic medicine community. Can we effectively evaluate and honor the comics of the patient, cartoonist, caregiver, and scientist, using the same aesthetic criteria? Investigation of these issues is important in training artists, writers, healthcare professionals, educators, and others interested in creating or using graphic medicine in a variety of contexts. We’ll look at examples of graphic medicine narratives from a variety of sources. All attendees are invited to discuss aesthetic language and models of creative evaluation supportive of the needs of different creators.
Some questions for discussion include:
• Are there aesthetic values unique to this niche of graphic narrative making? • How much technical skill is necessary to create impactful narratives in this medium?
• How do we create dialogue regarding the technique and aesthetics of effective graphic narratives without dismissing the value of what might be called “naïve” rendering and writing styles?
• Should creators be informed of inaccurate data or biased language if they haven’t asked for such feedback?