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Crafting Contention through MadZines: Helen Spandler in conversation with Meg-John Barker

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The MadZines research project is exploring how zines craft contention about mental health knowledge and practice. One of the purposes of the project is to explore the potential of zines to foster dialogue about contested issues in mental health. As part of this, the project team are having a series of dialogues with Mad-Zinesters (people who create and share zines about madness and distress). In the following extract from one of these conversations, Helen Spandler (HS) talks to Meg-John Barker (MJB) about how the comic graphics in their zines ‘craft contention’ about mental health.    HS: Can you remember how… Read More

New Podcast Episode: The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby, Vol.2

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In this episode, MK talks with cartoonist Marek Bennett about the new book in his ongoing series, The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby Volume 2: 1863. Scroll down for images from the book and links to process posts by Marek about the creation of this impressive project. You can get the book on MarekBennett.com or order from your local independent bookstore. You can support Marek’s Patreon for additional insider information on the project! As mentioned in the episode, Marek drew all of the conference art for last year’s gathering in White River Junction, Vermont, such as the cover image… Read More

UPDATE: Medical Humanities in the Middle East Posters Accepted until October 8, 2018

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UPDATE: Medical Humanities in the Middle East Posters Accepted until October 8, 2018 The 1st International Conference on Medical Humanities in the Middle East at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar is accepting poster presentations and registration to attend until October 8, 2018. Visit the link below for full information. Contact: Professor Alan S. Weber, alw2010@qatar-med.cornell.edu URL: http://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/event/mhm

CFP: Drawing Yourself In and Out of It.

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The 2nd International Amsterdam Comics Conference Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 15-17 November 2018 Amsterdam Comics is pleased to announce its 2nd international conference, “Drawing Yourself In and Out of It,” which will take place from 15-17 November 2018 at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands. Comprised of parallel panel sessions, keynote lectures, and a roundtable discussion, the conference aims to encourage interdisciplinary connections between comics scholars from various disciplines, comics artists, publishers, and cultural workers from museums and other heritage sites. Keynote Speakers Joe Sacco, comics artist Nina Mickwitz, University of the Arts London   “So, where does a story begin? And if… Read More

Don’t be afraid of surgery! Comic monkey takes pediatric patients by the hand

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Guest post by Claudia Thomas & Anne Schirrmeister A large body of evidence indicates that dealing with pediatric patients’ anxiety prior to surgical interventions is not optimal, and that this is true worldwide. Literature shows that preoperative anxiety results in increased pain after surgery, a higher incidence of postoperative delirium and longer hospital stays. In addition, behavioral disorders like enuresis nocturna and separation anxiety as well as sleep disorders and nightmares often occur.   Developing easy-to-use and standardized tools for reducing preoperative anxiety in children could be an approach to address this problem. Using the ability of imagination and magic thinking… Read More

Comics & National Health Care Decisions Day

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April 16 was National Health Care Decisions Day,  an initiative of The Conversation Project, which works in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The intent of the day is to ” inspire, educate, and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.” In at least two events in the U.S., comics had an important role in getting people talking about their advanced care plans. In Chicago, Life Matters Media (wonderful backstory on their beginnings here) sponsored four projects asking participants and passers-by “What does living well mean to you?” In the first, Alex Thomas, Gary Ashwal, and… Read More

Parables of Care: using comics to enhance the impact of dementia care practice and research.

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From a blog post by Ernesto Priego: A public lecture, exploring how comics and taking an artistic approach can bring benefits to dementia care, will be held at the University of Chester. Tickets are free, but need to be booked in advance. To reserve a place, visit https://parablesofcare.eventbrite.co.uk Held as part of the University’s 2018 Research Festival 2018, Dr Simon Grennan will describe the making of the 2017 comic book Parables of Care, which presents a creative response to dementia care, as told by carers themselves. The lecture will take place on Thursday, April 12, from 6.30pm to 7.30pm in room… Read More

Graphic Medicine YouTube Playlist

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Our Graphic Medicine YouTube playlist now has over 50 videos.  Episodes of The Graphic Medicine Podcast are frequently posted as videos so images from talks can be seen. You can see a list of all videos in the playlist here. More very special content surprises are to come in the new year. If you don’t want to miss out, subscribe to our playlist to get email alerts when new videos are added.  

Call for Papers: Bodies/Borders in Jewish Women’s Comics

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Call for Papers: Bodies/Borders in Jewish Women’s Comics Edited by: Heike Bauer, Andrea Greenbaum, and Sarah Lightman  Scholarship and publications on Jewish women and comics have grown considerably over the last five years. Studies such as the Eisner Award-winning Graphic Details: Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews (Lightman 2014), How Come Boys Get to Keep Their Noses? (Oksman 2016) and our own special issue on “Contemporary Comics by Jewish Women” (Bauer, Greenbaum, Lightman, Studies in Comics 7:2 2015 ) have shown that Jewish women make a significant and varied contribution to contemporary comics. Prompted by the realization that… Read More