#Academic Convention

[somthing-wicked-this-way-comes]

Someone should make a gimmick blog reverse image searching the uncited ◇☆aesthetic☆◇ art posted on here because usually the top result is author and title.

[dereksmcgrath]

The images from Anime Expo scare me.

Above is an image of the lobby of the Los Angeles Convention Center when I attended Anime Expo in 2017. I’ll talk more about this below, but as irritating as that large a crowd can be, it didn’t make me feel too unsafe–definitely due to me having my privileges, worrying little over how accessibility affects me personally and, honestly, being too naive when it comes to how I would get out of there in case of a fire or other emergency. 

That image above doesn’t look too different from how Anime Expo looks now. 

This weekend is the 2022 Anime Expo–and that same lobby looked just as crowded after the attendees were let in but before the sales floor and other rooms at the convention finally opened. Between 2017 and now has been COVID, and while I appreciate Anime Expo requiring masks and vaccination, without social distancing, better ventilation, and a smaller turn-out, I would not feel safe there and would spend the next two weeks, at least, panicking that I caught COVID. 

Granted, as people commenting about the crowded lobby at Anime Expo 2022 pointed out, once the doors opened to the merchandise booths and artist alley, the lobby was now less crowded, so that helps…but now the merchandise booths were crowded, so that doesn’t help. 

And granted, my fears about COVID have weighed on my mind a lot since 2020. 

Before 2020, I used to travel a lot. 

It wasn’t just a part of my jobs, first as a teacher, then as a conference organizer–it was part of the academic profession. 

College teachers and independent scholars are expected to present frequently each year at conferences; the expectation I set for myself was one conference per year, one per semester if time allowed for it. 

After numerous presentations at both regional and national conventions, in fields of literature, comics, and popular culture, on topics including domesticity and masculinity in nineteenth-century literature, gender disparities in anime, and serialization in superhero cinematic narratives, I supplemented my work with positions helping to support and organize conventions. 

In addition to teaching, writing, and publishing, I had a busier schedule: as an administrative assistant and marketing coordinator for a convention, I was promoting local events, advertising deadlines, and facilitating reimbursements and payments for guest speakers. When I left the position, I had probably done almost every job possible related to the convention–as just about any administrative assistant does. 

These conference opportunities took me across a lot of the US and Canada: Vancouver, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Austin, San Antonio, Chicago, Ottawa, Toronto, Hanover, Boston, Hartford, New York City, New Brunswick, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC. 

I stayed at hotels, crashed on couches. I dined at restaurants, grabbed protein bars at pharmacies near the hotel, or rushed to any free coffee and brunch offered. 

This work and these travels were hectic, but they did satisfy a lot of my ambitions. I wish I had advanced more in my positions working at conventions, and I do think there were opportunities I should have pursued, or unoffered positions that I was qualified to have handled. Regardless how stressful the work could be, at least there were customers who personally thanked me for satisfying their requests, and supervisors who appreciated my support in helping them complete their tasks–and opportunities to get to see places far from home and gain new experiences from my travels. 

Then COVID happened. 

Before I dwell on negatives, I do want to acknowledge how much I appreciate academic groups that have fostered online conventions and forums, not only during the beginning of the pandemic but up to today, as we are still in this awful pandemic, and maybe of those conventions and forums remain free to watch live or on demand. 

I’m not about to do pros and cons about whether in-person conventions or virtual conventions are better: again, we’re in a pandemic, and skipping ahead in my argument, I do not feel comfortable risking my health for what, like an in-person convention, seems completely unnecessary for my personal career advancement and knowledge-gain when virtual conventions provide me with most of the same opportunities. I am seeking remote work opportunities (shameless plug: any job leads–in remote teaching, writing, editing, or convention labor and organization–emailed to derek.s.mcgrath@gmail.com are appreciated). So, at least for right now where I am professionally, virtual conventions seem more responsible and safer at limiting the chances I get COVID and at limiting the chance I spread the virus. 

But while I appreciate what virtual conventions offer, COVID itself has robbed me of a lot–all far less important than the harm it has done to people’s health, including the lives we have lost to it, and the needless social, economic, and political damage it has done due to corporations price-gouging and rightwing politicians who not only spread lies to demotivate people from vaccinating and engaging in social distancing but also perpetuate this hellscape without providing a basic income and services to make up for the opportunities this virus has taken away from us. 

Immediately after COVID happened, there was no more travel for me–no more seeing colleagues and friends and, for a long time, family, and no opportunities during off-time to see what new convention host cities had to offer in attractions, history, research, dining, and shopping. Pretty much all of this stays the same now: as I’ll talk about below, any travel I have done has been for taking care of my family’s health, and the only times I have gone out for the last three years have been to handle financial and legal matters after my father’s passing, to get vaccinated, to pick up mail from the PO box (on Sundays when no one is there), and to do curbside pick-up from grocery stores. No visits to museums, no seeing movies in theaters–and no conventions, whether they be academic, comic books, anime, or fan-oriented. 

Immediately after COVID, now my work in convention organizing was primarily from home. 

And, towards the end of my tenure, fighting for that privilege to work from home was a struggle. 

I had to fight to protect myself from working again in an office before I was fully vaccinated. And I was having to fight for this protection at a time when employees at my university were not mandated to be vaccinated. (However, at least the students were required to be vaccinated, barring exemptions.) And I doubt masking would have been enforced where I worked to a degree that would have satisfied me: in the last years in my previous position, my office was in a freaking music hall–the surrounding offices were checked out to undergrads practicing on the sax or brass instruments, so I am certain I would have been scared out of my wits as more and more exhalation out of musical instruments circulated around and around my hallway and into my office where you couldn’t even open the windows for ventilation. 

(Forgive this lengthy aside, but we really should have any work that can be done from home done from home. We can limit the spread of this goddamn virus. We can manage limited resources to help protect the environment and savie the time and money of employees from a gas-guzzling commute. And we open up more opportunities for people who cannot work in the office to help our organizations, especially to help our conferences include more presentations done remotely. We have this opportunity to employ more people whose schedules and commitments mean they can’t work in an office, and we hire more people who have previously been–and still are–barred by our refusal to provide accessibility to them because we instead prefer to keep up barriers against people with disabilities. But this is a lengthy digression suitable for another post.)

So, I was working from home, and I was to be rehired and expected to return to work in the office. Even with COVID continuing, I was expected to come back to work in that office, at a university that was going to see a significant increase in bodies present on campus as teaching moved from virtual back to the classroom. I would have to get back onto the public light rail, back onto the public bus, wind back through the halls, all to get back to an office to do the work I could just as easily do from home, and that could just as easily be monitored by my supervisors remotely without me having to be in that office. 

So, when I look at that 2017 photo of Anime Expo, my panic is personally less about how that crowd in that lobby today in 2022 would be a potential super-spreader, and more about imagining how many of those people are going to go back onto public light rail, back onto public buses, back through neighborhoods, back into offices, and potentially bring COVID and its variants back to their neighbors, coworkers, and families. 

And I think all of that about Anime Expo, rather than returning to the office at my job, because I’m no longer in that job. 

In the midst of the COVID pandemic, the contract for my previous position was not renewed, which further limited any experience I would have with in-person conventions. 

That doesn’t mean I haven’t traveled: as I said, I have had to take care of tasks after my dad passed. But I can’t look at the stage of this pandemic, and our refusal to take care of people traveling on planes and other mass transportation, and think that any of these conventions are preferable to virtual conventions. I know, if I had to travel to Anime Expo this weekend, I would be a bundle of nerves–because I already was just traveling to see family to take care of so much still after Dad passed away. 

My fears have only increased in number after that shithead judge in my home state of Florida kneecapped the CDC from doing its fucking job. Jesus Christ, of course a mask is going to help control a disease: only the most manipulative of communicators would abuse a language like English to say that the mask only contains the disease, not sanitize the air. 

But I’ll have more to say another time–because this was supposed to be a post about conventions and what they can do in light of COVID. 

And while I want to pursue work helping organize conventions, I don’t have advice about in-person conventions, because my advice would be “make it virtual.” 

And that really sucks, because while I have a lot of experience helping to put together virtual conventions and have presented at them, much more of my experience in my life has been at in-person conventions–something that I just don’t know how to do safely during a pandemic. 

I wish I could type advice for how to navigate travel, sessions, presenting, and vendors spaces like I did for pre-COVID times. 

But I’m out of my depth on this one. 

I’m not a medical doctor, I’m not a specialist in pandemics, and my travel has been exceedingly limited–traveling between New York and Florida to help take care of my mom after my dad passed away. 

I’m just lucky I have not yet tested positive for COVID: I have had a total of three vaccine shots, and I double-masked on my first flight and wore an N-95 and goggles on all subsequent flights. 

But despite my precautions, I have to imagine that nothing I do will be a 100-percent guarantee against contracting this virus. And looking at this weekend’s photos of Anime Expo, I’m not comfortable entering that space this year–or, really, any crowded spaces at this time. 

I’m not going to talk about stuff I have only read about as allegedly happening at Anime Expo: I’m not there–the guests, vendors, and speakers can share their experiences about whether people are masking, and whether vaccination status is being checked.

But I can speak to what I can see, and that is the lobby to the Los Angeles Convention Center. 

I can’t say I felt the same sense of dread as others when they saw all those attendees in the lobby packed together like sardines. 

I don’t mean that such a crowded room doesn’t make me fear the potential for the super-spreader: look at that photo, you know that we can do better at spacing people out, at better ventilating that space, at enforcing masking to limit the spread of COVID–all of that can and should be done. And this failure to do so is abhorrent and just one of many reasons, as I hope is clear right now, why I try to avoid going to crowded places. 

(And, when I am stuck on a plane or in an airport, have masked up, goggled up, triangulated my position to stand equidistant from any airport passerbys, contorted my body until my face is practically pressed against the airplane window because the jackass seated next to doesn’t mask up their fucking face).

But the reason I don’t feel that same dread–again, not the dread of a super-spreader, that is obvious, but the dread of a crowd–is that, as much as those crowds annoy me, piss me off, irritate me, exhaust me…despite all of that, I have dealt with these crowds enough that, I’m not going to call them fond memories, but they are experiences I have had and learned from. I am experienced enough to have survived crowded walks through Brooklyn to get onto the subway to Long Island Railroad to take the crowded train to work and classes at Stony Brook. I’ve weaved in and out of crowds at airports to make it to my plane on time. I have passed through the crowds at Anime Expo before, as well as at other (mostly less crowded) conventions, and lived to tell the tale. So, I have my experiences getting through crowds. 

But that was before COVID. Now we’re still in COVID. And I don’t think, after weaving through the crowds in the middle of this ongoing pandemic, that I would live to tell the tale.

Shameless plug again: I'm an independent scholar with a PhD in English (19th-century US literature, focus on representations of masculinity/gender). I have eight years of in-person and virtual convention organization and management experience. I blog about teaching, 19th-century American culture, comics, and anime. I'm available for remote work: teaching, copyediting, research assistance, writing, and virtual convention organizing. My CV/resume is here. Job leads emailed to derek.s.mcgrath@gmail.com are appreciated.

[barricadescon]

The deadline to submit both Academic and Fan Track programming for Barricades: A Les Mis Convention 2024 has been extended to Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Submissions can address any aspect of Les Misérables. If you’re looking for a bit of inspiration, some excellent programming from Barricades 2022 included: 

Les Mis Survival AUs: Building Character Community and Exploring What-Ifs by KCrabb88 and everyonewasabird 

South African Themes in Liesl Tommy’s Les Miserables by Christie McBride

Codes in Context: Queer Possibilities of Enjolras and Grantaire by Amelia Roberts

Fandom and Activism by starbright-cobweb and Isaac (yetintrepid)

Notification of proposal acceptance is still by April 15. 

For more information, please head over to our Submissions page linked here.

[simple-persica]

two out of four for the randomized design challenge. I'm realizing now that this would have been more fun as like...a cute little speedpaint. But eh, I'll keep that in mind for the next character set.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Today needs to be the day that I finish drafting The Paper of Doom. It doesn't need to be perfect; I just need to finish the last point and then come to some kind of conclusion. Hold me to it.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

me, leaning against the doorframe of my parents' bedroom as I mercilessly misuse grammatical conventions for the sole purpose of tormenting my mom: yeah so you have to learn the rules of grammar so that you can break them >:)

my mother, in the quietest, most long-suffering voice known to man (she has been dealing with me for twenty years): ...please don't break them

[sunriseverse]

i’m sick of being understanding of the usa’s naming policies i should get to change my surname to my grandmother’s very distinctly non white maiden name.

[kaustic]

…literally any good writing class

[roombagreyjoy]

I’m so ill-equipped for academic conventions though. Every year I’m like “maybe this time I won’t get bored out of my gourd by the third fucking conference of the day” and every year. Heh. Well. You can imagine what I’m about to say.

[thevampscene]

hello mcr nation! i could really use your help! im writing an essay about my chemical romance for a school project and i need some people to fill out this cool google form i made as a part of it. if you love mcr and want to answer some questions and write a little bit about what they mean to you, then this is the perfect opportunity to do so, there are only about 10-15 questions and many of them are optional! there is more information about what this is going to be used for and all that in the form so if you are interested please check it out!

[thefiresofpompeii]

so afraid of misinterpreting media (literature, art, music, film, tv, poetry, academic texts, historical artefacts, posts etc.), or not treating them with the just respect and attention to detail that they deserve, that i often tend to simply avoid and procrastinate approaching anything new from my endless to-discover list rather than risk facing it without the due care required and mishandling it, coarsening its texture, lightening its gravity — apprehension without comprehension. which leads to paradoxes such as ‘i can’t bring myself to write a paper for class at uni analysing [book] because i love it so much in a sacred way that resigning it to the scalpel of scientific scrutiny under a restricted word count and standardised essay structure feels like violation’ but heard through the tinny distortion of student speak that will without fail translate to ‘i’m lazy and don’t want to complete the coursework’. ofc it’s also partially about being lazy and not wanting to complete the coursework but doesn’t a poetic justification seem like a worthy hill to die on

[flavia8]

I hate reading academic papers fr

[sigmadecay]

Something sooo uniquely humiliating about having my chosen name & my correct pronouns on my Conference Lanyard & still going to the women’s bathroom bc I’m in Indiana & I know what I look like. I wish things were not this way!

[barricadescon]

Reminder – there are six days left to submit a panel idea for Barricades con by our March 31 deadline!

Less than a week until the deadline to submit programming for Barricades 2024!

Considering submitting programming for Barricades but not sure exactly what you want to do? There are three categories of panel we’re looking for. If you’re not sure which category your idea fits, submit it anyway; the review panel can help you decide where it fits if the idea is accepted. 

Here are the categories of program we’re taking submissions for: 

Academic Track

A presentation on any discussion topic backed up by scholarly research. Possible ideas include close readings of the text itself and panels that place Les Misérables in context with other works, or within the context in which it was written.  Academic panels on subjects adjacent to Les Mis (e.g. the social/political context of events that take place within the novel, 19th century French history, discussions of the themes that feature in Les Misérables through the lens of a specific field of study) will also be considered. 

Fan Track 

The possibilities are endless! Want to tell us all about your favorite fan theories/fanworks? Want to discuss an aspect of the brick in a low-pressure, informal way? Got a favorite adaptation, or staging of the musical? Want to debate which cast recording is the best recording? Are you working on a piece of transformative work or fandom-related project, and willing to discuss your creative process? We welcome submissions from all fans, whether you’ve just joined or been here for decades! Fan track submissions do not need to take the form of a formal presentation; informal discussions, Q&As or questions for other fans are all totally fine to submit. 

Social 

We’re also accepting ideas for light-hearted panels and opportunities to hang out with other fans; send us your silliest ideas for a good time!  Want to do a Les Mis meme review? A 19th Century France themed D&D campaign? Want to build a collaborative AU together? To debate who would win an all-ami battle royale? Go to our submissions page and let us know! 

For more information, please check our submissions page and website for further guidance.

[llycaons]

my favorite modern AU late teens/early 20s wwx involves him dropping out of a highly competitive program at some prestigious college for some headline-making event or disaster, being shunned by society for a while for his various acts of rebellion against various institutions, and then excelling, perhaps in a tangentially related or unrelated field due to his own brilliance and creativity, and finding an unexpected happiness in an unconventional life afterwards. there's something very significant about the trajectory of his narrative not heading in the direction that most people's do, and his eventual fulfilling and happy life looking nothing like what he expected, but being good all the same.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Here's the tentative outline of the TSG paper, as okayed by the professor whom I've been discussing the project with:

intro to the trend of recent adaptations/retellings reframing TSG as a story about grief

an assertion that the book is really about healing from childhood e m o t i o n a l n e g l e c t (CEN) (my thesis?)

defining CEN and distinguishing it from traditional grief

an analysis of CEN in the text

how this interacts with what these adaptations/retellings are doing

conclusion about the importance of the text’s depiction of CEN and why it’s worth acknowledging/exploring

It's a relief to pin this down and be able to go into this with some kind of focus. I've already got a start on the first paragraph. I'm trying a method of drafting by just constructing the basic argument and then working in all the evidence and research later. My college papers tended to take forever to write because I drafted them with Finished Perfection in mind for each sentence, which is stressful and easy to get bogged down with. We'll see how it works. The paper needs to be completed by October, probably the end of the month at the very latest, but I'd like to get it finished in enough time to fully polish and not have to stress about a tight deadline.

I can do this. Probably. It's been a few years but I might still have it in me.