Join U-M faculty members Barry Fishman, Phoebe Gloeckner, Melissa Gross, and Omar Sosa-Tzec in this lightly moderated conversation with special guest Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics). Please register to guarantee your admission!

In a 2018 study of social media use in America, the Pew Research Center found that 18-to 24-year-olds "stand out for embracing a variety of platforms and using them frequently." They use multimodal platforms more frequently than their elders and they are more likely to use platforms that are visually dominant (YouTube, SnapChat, and Instagram).

Are their skills in visual and multimodal communication evident in their academic engagement? How do our disciplinary curricula help them develop technical skills and prepare them to be critical practitioners in visual culture? What challenges and opportunities lie on the horizon, why does it all matter - and how does the study of comics apply?

Sponsored by the University of Michigan Library, the Duderstadt Center, the Ann Arbor District Library, the University of Michigan Arts Engine, and the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design.