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Comics have long been touted (or tolerated) as teaching tools for engaging reluctant readers, but in recent years the genre has emerged as a serious, exciting genre of literature and journalism worth considering for its own sake. The ORIAS 2007 working group will explore graphic novels that support world history themes through language and visual arts. We have scheduled two meetings which focus on two of the leading auto-biographical "comix" - Maus and Persepolis. Both address themes of memory, migration, and living with the legacies of XXth Century political violence. Our introductory session with Prof. Hertha Sweet Wong from U.C. Berkeley's English Department will consider Art Spiegleman's Maus as literature with its own visual and verbal "comix" vocabulary. In our second session with Professor Minoo Moallem from the Department of Gender and Women's Studies we will look at Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, a coming-of-age story set in Iran, from an anthropological/historical point of view.

• Working Groups are free and open to all K-12 and community college educators and librarians.
• Materials provided for first 12 applicants
• Morning coffee and brunch provided.
• Registration required, space is limited.
• WHERE: 2223 Fulton Street 6th Floor, University of California, Berkeley
• WHEN: Sunday January 21 and February 2, 2007 - 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM

Sunday Brunch Sessions
10:00 AM - 1:30 PM

January 21st

Focus piece: Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman
Guest speaker: Professor Hertha D. Sweet Wong, English Department, U.C.B.

February 4th

Focus piece: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Guest speaker: Professor Minoo Moallem, Gender & Women's Studies, U.C.B.

February 24 Recommended off-campus event downtown Berkeley - not ORIAS

Comics in the Classroom: An event for teachers of all grades
2-6 pm (presentation 3-4 pm)
Where: Comic Relief Book Store, 2026 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA
Contact: 510-843-5002 | info@comicrelief.net
http://www.comicrelief.net/
Special guests:
Stephen Cary, second language learner specialist and author of Going Graphic: Comics in the Multilingual Classroom;
Thien Pham, teacher and creator of "I Like Eating" in the East Bay Express, Briana Miller, teacher and creator of "Break Comics";
Gene Yang, teacher and creator of American Born Chinese.

March 11th

Focus piece: Kampung Boy by Lat
Guest speaker: Cheong Soon Gan, History Department, U.C.B

ORIAS Working Groups are established to provide professional development support for K-11 and community college teachers with shared interests in international studies. The working groups provide teachers with the opportunity to extend their content knowledge by participating in seminars with University scholars; meeting with colleagues to share resources and experiences; and working independently or collaboratively on classroom materials with ORIAS staff.

Co-sponsored by the Office of Resources for International and Area Studies (ORIAS), the Institute of European Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at U. C. Berkeley and Bay Area Global Education Program at the World Affairs Council of Northern California.

For further information contact Michele Delattre at ORIAS: 510-643-0868 or oriasberkeley.edu