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As far as
I can remember, the first time I ever spoke about visual language-ish
things would have been in third grade, when my teacher let me
teach the class how to draw cartoon characters. And I haven't
been able to stop talking about the stuff since!...
I have spoken
about visual language
theory to audiences of students,
researchers, comic creators, scholars, and the general public.
My talks usually cover aspects of the structural features of visual
language, though I am prepared to talk about more general theory
and the relation of VL to comics and other socio-cultural issues
(Topics).
Speaking
All of my
presentations use rapid paced, image rich slide
shows and/or spontaneous drawings. Also, I have
considerable experience teaching how to create in this form as
well, and would welcome the opportunity to do more of it. My
presentations usually last anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes, depending
on the subject matter and venue. I’ll answer questions indefinitely.
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| Comic
Arts Conference 2007, San Diego CA |
If you are
interested in having me present at your venue, or just want more
information, I encourage you to email
me.
Here are
some of the topics that my presentations have covered. They reflect
most of the writing I have done or
am working on. I usually try to tailor
the topic and its presentation to the audience, and, pending on
my comfortability with the subject, I am willing to take requests
as well. Most likely, my lectures blend several of these:
- Defining
"comics" and their relationship to visual language
- What is
"visual language"? and cultural paradigms of graphic
expression
- Visual
Language Grammar: How sequential images create meaning
- The relationship
of visual representation and writing
- The structure
of Japanese manga, and its relation to American comics
- Multimodality:
Text and image relationships
- The ailments
of the American comic industry, and how it can overcome them
- ...and
a lot more!
Teaching
I love
teaching and speaking, and have taught full courses on "Comics
and the Mind" and "The Visual Linguistics of Comics"
at Tufts University.
Beyond the presentations described above, I am also prepared to
teach classes ranging from a week-long intensive to a full semester
class.
Due to their
scope, my availability for these types of events is far more limited.
However, I am most enthusiastic to teach these types seminars
and courses, particularly in the summer months. So, I encourage
you to email me if an
event like this interests you.
For video
clips from some of my previous presentations, click on the links
in the menu on the left. |
