School of Information Sciences

Book chapter co-authored by Tilley examines comics as instructional tool

Carol Tilley
Carol Tilley, Associate Professor

Associate Professor Carol Tilley is the co-author of a chapter in The Routledge Companion to Comics, a newly published book edited by Frank Bramlett, Roy T. Cook, and Aaron Meskin. In the chapter, "Teaching and Learning with Comics," Tilley and Robert G. Weiner, a humanities librarian at Texas Tech University, examine how comics have been used as an instructional tool: 

This chapter emphasizes the use of comics in formal instructional settings, although some examples and discussions touch on elements of nontraditional and informal learning settings. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to provide a detailed review of the full history of conventionally published and educational comics used for teaching and learning, but we will highlight both historical and contemporary texts and practices with a focus on the United States. Furthermore, the emphasis will be on positive examples of practice rather than on critiques of comics as educational tools. Finally, we will touch on developments in scholarship and research that pertain to teaching and learning with comics.

"I'm pleased to be able to integrate some original research about the little known 1940s & 50s Comics Workshop at New York University. There's much left to tell about it, but this chapter offers a glimpse of what was perhaps the first comics studies program at the university level," said Tilley.

At the iSchool, Tilley teaches courses in comics reader's advisory, media literacy, and youth services librarianship. Part of her scholarship focuses on the intersection of young people, comics, and libraries, particularly in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. Her research has been published in journals including the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST), Information & Culture: A Journal of History, and Children's Literature in Education. Her research on anti-comics advocate Fredric Wertham was featured in The New York Times and other media outlets.

Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool researchers present at CSCW 2025

Several faculty, students, and recent grads will present their research at the 28th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2025), which will be held October 18–22 in Bergen, Norway. The online portion of the conference will be held on October 10. 

Downie appointed executive associate dean

The iSchool is pleased to announce that Professor J. Stephen Downie has been appointed executive associate dean. In this role, he will work closely with Interim Dean Emily Knox to realize the iSchool's strategic goals and objectives. He also will provide leadership for the internal administration of the School, coordinate the work of associate deans and assigned staff, and facilitate faculty affairs.

Stephen Downie

Join the iSchool at the 2025 ALISE annual conference

Join iSchool faculty, staff, and students for the annual conference of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), which will take place from October 6–8 in Kansas City, Missouri. The theme of the 2025 conference is "Decolonising Pedagogies: Agency, Identity, Practices."

AISLE awards to be presented to alumni, adjunct lecturer

Carolyn Kinsella (MSLIS '03), Beverly Frett (MSLIS '04), and Adjunct Lecturer Karen Egan have been selected to receive awards from the Association of Illinois School Library Educators (AISLE). They will be honored at an awards banquet during the AISLE Annual Conference, which will be held from October 5–7 in Champaign, Illinois.

School of Information Sciences

501 E. Daniel St.

MC-493

Champaign, IL

61820-6211

Voice: (217) 333-3280

Fax: (217) 244-3302

Email: ischool@illinois.edu

Back to top