News and Events
My Journey to Become an American Mangaka
September 27, 2022
4:30–6:00 PM ET
Franklin Environmental Center, The Orchard-Hillcrest 103
531 College Street
Middlebury, VT 05753
Open to the Public
Kofi Bazzell-Smith is an artist, a graduate student at the University of Illinois, and a professional boxer. Pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in New Media, Kofi is currently a Mellon Foundation Interseminars Initiative Fellow with the Humanities Research Institution.
A US-Japan Bridging Scholar, Kofi studied manga in Japan and creates works in both English and Japanese. His goals are to publish in Japan, to open avenues for more diverse representation in the form, to bridge cultures through art and language, and to pioneer teaching Japanese manga in the United States. In Summer 2022, Kofi taught the first studio-based manga production course in the US at the University of Illinois.
Sponsored by:
Museum of Art; American Studies; East Asian Studies; Black Studies; Luso-Hispanic Studies
Manga workshop with Artist in Residence Kofi Bazzell-Smith
September 29, 2022
7:00–8:15 PM ET
Kofi Bazzell-Smith will share his knowledge about manga techniques that he learnt under the tutelage of Japanese artists and will teach the audience how to draw Japanese comic books.
Sponsored by: Museum of Art; Japanese; American Studies; East Asian Studies; Black Studies; Luso-Hispanic Studies
Lunch & Learn with Burlington Taiko
Thursday, Sept. 29 12:15-1:30pm
On the lawn behind the Mahaney Arts Center
Rain or Shine* (*severe weather location at MAC, Dance Theatre)
Bring your lunch—drinks & cookies provided
Wear comfortable exercise clothes!
Sign up at GO/TAIKOLUNCH or call Cathy at x5624
Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series - Enrique Garcia: “The Representation of Japanese Culture in Comic Books”
October 5, 2022
4:30–6:00 PM ET
Franklin Environmental Center, The Orchard-Hillcrest 103
531 College Street
Enrique Garcia, Professor of Luso-Hispanic Studies
“The Representation of Japanese Culture in Comic Books from the Americas: From Orientalist Narratives to New Globalized Aesthetics”
Japanese manga narratives (comic books) are currently among the most influential Asian cultural products in the world. They promote Japanese culture through the financial and critical success of their franchises and their global influence in other media industries such as animation (anime), live-action films, toys, and videogames. This presentation focuses on how comic books from some of the countries in the Americas portrayed Japanese culture before and after the boom of Japanese manga distribution around the world. We will see how the visual and narrative representation of Japanese culture evolved from early 20th century stories that were influenced by Orientalist literature and “yellow peril” tropes to more complex appropriations from artists of Japanese descent and non-Japanese artists that have been influenced by manga narratives. The talk will include samples from Mexico, USA, Brazil and Puerto Rico originally published in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.
Sponsored by: Academic Affairs
