Tilley shares comics research at European universities

Carol Tilley
Carol Tilley, Associate Professor

Associate Professor Carol Tilley shared her expertise in comics research at several invited talks in Europe this month.

Tilley served as the keynote speaker for the international conference, "Comics, the Children and Childishness," at Ghent University in Belgium. In her keynote, "Re-Centering Children in Comics," she encouraged researchers studying comics and children to give more focus to the lived experiences of young people, moving away from an over-reliance on studying specific texts or their uses.

On September 15, she gave an invited talk, "Finding Kids in (Sometimes) Unexpected Places: Children, Comics, and Archives," at the University of Siegen in Germany, and on September 22, she presented "Children and Comics: A Look at Historical Popular and Participatory Cultures in the U.S." at the University of Bordeaux in France.

"In all three talks, I draw extensively on my research from the past decade that seeks to center the ways in which children and teens did things with and through comics during the mid-twentieth century in the U.S. Some of the examples focus on activities such as participating in cartooning contests, creating personal and community collections of comics, and critically engaging with debates about the value of reading comics. Additionally, I provided guidance in reading sideways through archival and primary source collections to recover and contextualize additional examples of young people's experiences," said Tilley.

Tilley is a founding member and past president of the Comics Studies Society. She serves as director of research for Reading with Pictures, a nonprofit organization that promotes literacy through the use of comics in the classroom, and as associate editor for peer-reviewed scholarship for Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society. Tilley has served as a judge for the Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards, Ringo Awards, and Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize. At the iSchool, Tilley teaches courses in comics reader's advisory, media literacy, and youth services librarianship.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Desai defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Smit Desai successfully defended his dissertation, "Designing Metaphor-fluid Voice User Interfaces," on June 10.

Smit Desai

Student says ‘thank you’ with a helicopter ride

Last month, Michael Ferrer showed his appreciation for one of his MSIM instructors in a unique way—by inviting him for an insider’s look at his work as a reservist in the Illinois Army National Guard. For the ILARNG BOSS Lift, which took place on June 18 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Ferrer selected Michael Wonderlich, iSchool adjunct lecturer and senior associate director of business intelligence and enterprise architecture for Administrative Information Technology Services (AITS) at the University of Illinois.

Michael Wonderlich and Michael Ferrer hold a U of I flag in front of a military helicopter

Project helps librarians use data storytelling to advocate for public libraries

A toolkit for public librarians can help them use data to communicate the value of their services and justify their funding needs. The Data Storytelling for Librarians Toolkit helps librarians present data in story form using narrative strategies. It was developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign information sciences professors.

Kate McDowell

Chan to deliver keynote at SIGCIS 2024

Associate Professor Anita Say Chan will deliver the keynote at the 15th annual conference of the SHOT (Society for the History of Technology) Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society (SIGCIS), which will be held on July 14 in Viña del Mar, Chile. SIGCIS is the leading international group for historians with an interest in the history of information technology and its applications. The theme for SIGCIS 2024 is "System Update: Patches, Tactics, Responses."

Anita Say Chan

Mattson receives ISTE Making It Happen Award

Adjunct Lecturer Kristen Mattson has received the 2024 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Making It Happen Award. The award honors educators and leaders who demonstrate outstanding commitment, leadership, courage, and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students.

Kristen Mattson