Comics and graphic novels are amazing resources for inspiring a love of reading and learning among students of all ages. CBLDF experts Betsy Gomez, Meryl Jaffe, Carol Tilley, and more examine how to use comics in classrooms, and provide strategies for combating the confusion that often leads graphic novels to be targeted by censors. They'll also offer suggestions for how to use specific comics in the classroom. Bring your challenges, questions and success stories!
Thursday July 24, 2014 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Room 30CDE
60 years ago this month, comics were put on trial in a nationally televised Senate subcommittee hearing that had shattering repercussions for this great American artform. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund presents the shocking history of moral panic that led to this historic hearing and the birth of the Comics Code Authority, which regulated the medium's content for more than 50 years. CBLDF executive director Charles Brownstein tells the tale at this CBLDF presentation.
Thursday July 24, 2014 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Room 30CDE
Graphic novels are often associated with violence and aggression. They can, however, be used to help kids gain a greater understanding of the often violent world around them, and they can often be used to defuse anger. Finally, they can be used to teach history, social studies, and social organization. This panel of educators, authors, and artists will show you how. They'll discuss the intertwining history of comics, violence, and censorship and provide teachers with classroom tools to integrate incredible graphic novels within language arts, social studies and science, effectively meeting Common Core State Standards while addressing ever-present resistance to the graphic text artform. Panelists include Meryl Jaffe, Betsy Gomez, Matt Holm, and Jennifer L. Holm.
Friday July 25, 2014 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Room 30CDE
How did a pioneering neuroscientist become one of the 20th century's most notorious censors? In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published the popular book Seduction of the Innocent, which inspired such moral panic that comics were placed on trial by the U.S. Senate. Wertham's efforts, although presented as science, were actually carefully manipulated to discredit the medium. The results nearly destroyed the comics artform in the United States. Carol Tilley, the professor whose recent research helped debunk Wertham once and for all, will take you back in time, behind the scenes, as she shares some of the little-known stories of Dr. Wertham's war on comics.
Friday July 25, 2014 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Room 30CDE
Bone, Fun Home, Maus, Persepolis, Sandman, Watchmen... they're not just some of the greatest comics ever made, they're also among the most frequently targeted for bans! This year's Banned Books Week celebrates comics and graphic novels and the CBLDF has everything you need to know to celebrate in your community. Jeff Smith, Gene Yang, Carol Tilley, Charles Brownstein, and others discuss how and why comics are banned and how you can fight back by participating in this year's comics-focused Banned Books Week!
Saturday July 26, 2014 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Room 30CDE
UPDATED: Fri, Jul 25, 07:20PM Mark the 60th Anniversary of the Comics Code and celebrate its recent demise by creating live art before your eyes. The only rule is that it would have been forbidden by the Comics Code! Artists will talk about censorship and make once-in-a-lifetime art! Get a chance to watch live art made before your eyes, learn about censorship, and bid to win the pieces made here to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
Sunday July 27, 2014 12:15pm - 1:45pm PDT
Room 5AB