Students, faculty and alumni from the College of Media, Communication and Information are headed to the Colorado Convention Center this weekend to take part in and its associated literary conference, . Members of the CU «Ƶ CMCI community have participated in the three-day pop culture fan convention since 2012. This year, CMCI participants will hold a roundtable discussion on action figures, a presentation on race and gender in the film Black Panther, a “dueling club” debate on the Harry Potter franchise and more.
Denver Comic Con CMCI participant schedule
Friday, June 15
"The Room Where it Happens: History and Politics in American Pop Culture”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
-
Chair: Rick Stevens
-
Featuring:
-
“The Secret History of Horror Comics” by Dan Yezbick
-
“I’ve Seen Injustice in the World and I’ve Corrected It! How Hamilton and the Marvel Cinematic Universe are Creating a New American Monomyth” by Dustin Dunaway
-
“Alexander Hamilton: America’s First Superhero” by Christopher Bell
-
“Trumping Presidential Frames: President Trump’s Early Comic Book Appearances” by Rick Stevens
-
“I Am The Vengeance! I Am The Night! I Am [A Comic Book, A Movie, A TV Series and Seven Different Action Figures]! Adaptation and Pop Culture Texts”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
-
Chair: Shannon Sindorf
-
Featuring:
-
“Kids on Bikes: The Nostalgic Staying Power of the 1980s with Stranger Things and IT” by Patricia Krmpotich
-
“Bringing the War Home: The Punisher’s Shades of Grey” by Shannon Sindorf
-
“All the World’s a Page: Trans-Medial Adaptation in Comics and Graphic Novels” by Natalie Sheppard
-
“An Elegy for Superman Part III: The Spectacle, Legitimation and Messianicity in Superman Returns” by Andrew Hallam
-
Saturday, June 16
“Dueling Club: Harry Potter Scholars Debate Canon, Controversies and Creators”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
-
Participants:
-
Tracey Bealer
-
Marley Williford
-
Christopher Bell
-
“Bridging the Expanse-Abaddon’s Gate”
-
Room 605 (Sci-Fi / Fantasy)
-
10:30 to 11:20 a.m.
-
Participants:
-
Andrea Bruder
-
Christiaan Martin
-
Michael Pea
-
Darius Rydahl
-
Rachel Lara van der Merwe
-
“We Can’t Have Nice Things: How Fandoms React When the Creator Turns Toxic”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
-
Participants
-
Dustin Dunaway
-
Shannon Sindorf
-
Patricia Krmpotich
-
Marley Williford
-
Christopher Bell
-
“Articulating the Action Figure: Toys and Action Figures Roundtable Discussion”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
3 to 4:15 p.m.
-
Participants:
-
J. Richard Stevens
-
Christopher Bell
-
Sunday, June 17
“Reverberating Vibranium: The Impact of Race and Gender via Characters from Black Panther”
-
Room 501 (Comics)
-
11 to 11:50 a.m.
-
Participants:
-
Daniel Paiz
-
“I Can Always Escape: Mental Illness, Trauma and the Seemingly Inescapable”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
Noon to 1:15 p.m.
-
Chair: Art Bamford
-
Featuring:
-
“The Gods Must Be Crazy: Mental Health and Religion in Moon Knight and Mister Miracle” by Art Bamford
-
“The Toxicity Meta[phor]: Harassment and Hostility Norms in the Overwatch Community” by Elyse Janish
-
“Mental Illness and its Representation in the Horror Genre” by Kate Lauer
-
"Playing with Gender: Kids and Scholars Talk Back to Today's Action Figures"
-
Room 304 (Education)
-
1 to 1:50 p.m.
-
Participants:
-
Arya Gangadharbatla
-
Harsha Gangadharbatla
-
Shannon Sindorf
-
Peter Stevens
-
Rick Stevens
-
Piper Thurston
-
“Learning To Splash: Getting Comics to Crossover into the Classroom”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
3 to 4:15 p.m.
-
Chair: Hailey Barr
-
“In the Third Person: Adolescent Face, Media Imitation and a Practical Pedagogy of Performance Studies” by Emily Nagle
-
“Balancing the Force: Reading the Humanities’ Future Through Star Wars” by Randall Fullington
-
“Don’t Tease Hawkeye Because He Doesn’t Have Powers: Comics as Public Pedagogy and Their Efficacy to Address Bullying” by Colin Ackerman
-
“Transforming Toys: 1980s Toy Franchises and Modern Fan Cultures”
-
Room 607 (Sci-Fi / Fantasy)
-
3 to 3:50 p.m.
-
Participants:
-
Christopher E. Bell
-
Rick Stevens
-
Peter Stevens
-
“Teaching through a Pop Culture Assemblage: The Necessary Complexity of Popular Culture in the Classroom”
-
Room 303 (Education)
-
3:30 to 4:20 p.m.
-
Participants:
-
Colin Ackerman
-
“Looking Backward, Moving Forward: Finding Cultural Value in Rock Stars, Video Games, TV Series and Comics”
-
Room 401 (Page 23 Lit Con)
-
4:30 to 5:45 p.m.
-
Chair: Lindsey M. Hanlon
-
Featuring:
-
“Beyond Positive Representation: The Imperial Logics of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Horizon Zero Dawn” by Rachel Lara van der Merwe
-
“The Afterlife of a Legend: Michael Jackson’s Legacy” by Angelica Kalika
-
“Thalaikoothal vs. Member Berries: Story-Telling Senicide in Contemporary Western Media” by Joseph Acosta
-
“‘The Noise and the TV’: Media Saturation in Transmetropolitan” by Lindsey M. Hanlon
-