Edited by Shawn Gilmore
Ongoing Call
The Vault of Culture publishes writing aimed at a broad audience that takes a scholarly (or semi-scholarly) stance on one or more aesthetic/cultural objects, giving those writings some editorial guidance, a nice visual presentation, and a home beyond individual blogs, facebook posts, twitter, etc. We’re quite open to the kind of work people might want to do, including previously-written or new material, one piece at a time or in series. While the site doesn’t exclusively focus on comics studies, I’d like to grow that category this year.
A few examples of pieces that might be of interest to comics folks:
- Zach Rondinelli, on transformation, mysticism, and the father in Jeff Lemire’s The Underwater Welder
- Anna Peppard, on her love of undying superheroes, particularly Nightcrawler
- Jim Hansen, on superheroes, national desire, and race in HBO’s Watchmen
- Kelly Williams, on the problem of adapting the Dark Phoenix Saga
In addition, the site has started a recurring “On Comics” series for close readings of specific comics and/or elaborations of recurring themes, forms, and types.
Feel free to take a look at the site and poke around. Or, like the facebook page to see new entries as they go up or follow along on twitter: @vaultofculture. If you are at all interested in participating, you can see ways to get started on the “about” page, including inquiring about one-off pieces or recurring series. Or, reply here and let me know what you’re thinking of working on.
Feel free to prompt those far and wide that might be interested in such a thing—while the site currently features writers in my immediate scholarly circles, I would love this project to include a wide range of voices and approaches.
Thanks for your time and best of luck in these strange times.
Shawn Gilmore, PhD
Senior Lecturer, Department of English
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Editor, Vault of Culture [contribute | facebook | twitter]
Chair, Senate Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures
Secretary, Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition (NTFC), Local #6546 (AFT/IFT, AAUP)