The International Graphic Novel and Comics Conference 2020 The Resonance of Comics: Social Impact and Possible Futures Conference Guide Comics Research CoRH!! Hub Contents Welcome 2: Welcome Welcome to IGNCC20! This guide sets out what to expect from our virtual conference for all delegates. 3: Accessing the Conference As the 2019 House of Illustration exhibition Journeys Drawn: 4: The Sabin Award for Comics Scholarship Illustration from the Refugee Crisis shows, graphic narratives 5: How to Use this Conference Guide are not just for entertainment. Comics are frequently used in 6: Keynote Speakers more functional ways, in this case to raise awareness of the current refugee crises and the violent conflicts from which these emerge. 7: Workshops This year’s IGNCC will explore the impact of graphic narratives on 8: Papers a range of different social issues such as education, healthcare and politics, and reflect on our current position in the developing 12: Live Session Listings narrative of comics and comics scholarship. Due to C19 we have moved IGNCC20 online. It is free for all to access and there is no need to register. You can contact us with any questions via Twitter or by email at [email protected]. And please spread the word about this event using #IGNCC20! We hope you enjoy participating in this year’s event and thank you for your time and effort! Accessing the Conference This year’s event is hosted by UAL’s Comics Research Hub, based at We urge all our delegates to follow basic rules of good conduct Connection Problems London College of Communication (http://comicsresearch.arts.ac.uk/). online and will be moderating live Q&A sessions with this in mind. If you have connection problems and Collaborate is unable IGNCC20 will include both asynchronous and synchronous content. If you behave in a way that is offensive or causes distress for others to reconnect you, try closing your browser tab and then clicking in the room, your role will be downgraded to Participant. This will All papers/pre-recorded sessions will be available through UAL’s the room link again to reenter the room. allow you to continue observing the session but will bring your input Figshare platform at: https://figshare.arts.ac.uk/igncc. Papers to an end. If you include offensive content in your username you will If you are experiencing slow connections, try turning off will be available via Figshare on Tuesday 30 June 2020 so they can be removed from the session. If you feel that an attendee is behaving your video streaming and muting your microphone. Collaborate be accessed by delegates at any point. This allows the conference inappropriately but this behaviour has not been spotted by the is designed not to be resource intensive so we hope that this will materials to be accessible to people globally, irrespective of their moderator, you can use a private message to the moderators not be a major issue. time zone. Material will remain available in perpetuity, though we do in the text chat to make them aware of this. advise looking at material before attending the related live sessions Advice for Speakers (Q&As) if possible. and are attached to If you wish to ask a question, you can add it to the text chat, which is Abstracts speaker biographies We recommend preparing one or two talking points on your paper submissions on Figshare. accessed via this button: to kick off the discussion. This does not require you to repeat the Scheduled content for the event will take place between 1-3 July contents of the paper, it is a way in to the discussion and should be 2020. This includes Q&A sessions and workshops. These sessions seen as an opportunity to briefly summarise your argument, raise one will be delivered live using Blackboard Collaborate and will not be or two key points or ask questions of the audience/other presenters. recorded. You do not need to register to attend, simply use this guide We strongly recommend assuming that the audience has not seen to locate the details of the session you wish to attend, and click the Alternatively you can raise your hand using this button: your paper at the point of the Q&A. This will help to ensure that your relevant room link on the IGNCC website. The room will open in your discussion is inclusive and can still be valuable even if delegates view browser with no installation required. You may be offered a tutorial your paper after the live session. on how to use Collaborate as you enter the room; if you complete this once it will not show again unless you clear your browser cookies. Finally, all live sessions have been scheduled for one full hour to You can click ‘Skip’ if you do not need guidance on Collaborate. enable a good discussion on the topics addressed, but we do not The chair will select questions in the order they are asked. When you expect most to run that long. Please do not be discouraged if your Live Formats: How to participate click the Raise Hand button, a number will appear by the person icon. live session finishes early! When you enter the Blackboard Collaborate room, you will This indicates your position in the queue - the chair will generally Workshops automatically be listed as a Participant. Participants will not be try to ask person number 1 in all cases (as hands are lowered you will able to use voice, video or text chat, but they will be able to see the move up the queue to number 1). Workshops are 90 minute long live events in which the whole activity session. As you enter the room, the session moderator will convert All live sessions in Blackboard Collaborate will include two members will be presented in the session (i.e. there is no Figshare document your status to Presenter. This will allow you to use voice, video of UAL staff. The Chair will be responsible for running the discussion to refer to). These sessions include some creative activities and we and text chat. Moderators will convert entrants from Participant to - introducing speakers and asking them to kick off the discussion recommend having at least a pen and paper to hand to participate. Presenter as quickly as possible upon entry, but please do not be with one or two short talking points around their paper (see below). alarmed if you cannot activate interactivity immediately. The Moderator will run the technical elements of the session, keep Once you are a Presenter, you will be able to activate your camera an eye on behaviour and support the chair in maintaining the order and microphone using these buttons (both optional): of questions. The Moderator will generally not appear on screen or participate in the discussion. Please mute your microphone when you are not speaking. The Sabin Award for Comics Scholarship The Sabin Award for Comics Scholarship is awarded annually 2019 winner: to the best paper presented by a postgraduate student at the IGNCC Shromona Das, ‘The Perfect Victim’ conference. This is intended to recognise and encourage comics 2018 winner: researchers at an early stage in their career and to honour Professor Lisa Macklem, ‘A Taste of a Life: Lucy Knisley’s Life with Food’ Roger Sabin’s dedication to furthering the cause of comics study. It’s open to any student delegate registered on a postgraduate degree 2017 winner: and will be judged anonymously by a voluntary committee. Lauranne Poharec, ‘Focalized Split Panels: Bridging the Borders in Comics Form’ We would like to invite any delegate not eligible for the award to join this committee – please do contact the email address below 2016 winner: if you would like to take part in the judging. Dragos Manea, ‘Manifest Destiny and the Ethics of the Weird’ The award process is intended to be completely transparent and We are delighted to honour Roger by naming this award after him, and submissions will be judged against the following criteria: give him the final words: - originality and innovation of content ‘The work of emerging scholars represents the future of comics studies, and that future is bright. The annual International Graphic Novel and - clarity of structure and argument Comics Conference has always been a hub for incubating talent, and - appropriate theoretical or methodological framework every year my intellectual horizons are expanded by seeing amazing papers by newcomers. I am honoured to have an award named after Each paper will be marked out of ten in each category to produce me, but have declined the kind offer to have it appear in the form a shortlist. The judging committee will then agree on the best paper. of a 3D miniature of me in a superhero costume.’ Entrants should submit their abstract and paper in a single The presentation of the 2019 Sabin Award for Comics Scholarship, anonymised written document with a maximum word-count of featuring a discussion between Shromona Das, Roger Sabin and 4,000 words (excluding references). This can include images if Nina Mickwitz, is available to view via Figshare. desired. Please use any standard referencing system. After the conference, please email your entry to thesabinaward@gmail. com before the deadline of 1 October. Please also direct any queries to this address. The winner will be announced at the start of the following year. They will receive a certificate, free registration for the next IGNCC, a free personal subscription to the journals, and a small prize. How to use this conference guide On the following pages, you will find a listing of all the contributors to IGNCC 2020.