The (Super)Power of Comics, Zines, and More in the Religion Classroom

In this non-traditional roundtable, panelists will share how they use graphic novels, zines, comics, and even Legos in their classrooms. Our presentations engage a variety of religious traditions, topics, and methodologies, including religion and incarceration, American Muslim experiences, trans religious lives, Black theology, and Hindu sacred texts. Throughout the session, attendees will rotate in small groups to discuss various materials and pedagogical approaches. Together, we will explore how using non-traditional material as “text” highlights diverse voices from populations often excluded from the religious studies classroom and facilitates engagement with the thematic, artistic, emotional, ethical, practical, and lived dimensions of each text or creation. By inviting students into this dynamic analysis, we also encourage them to participate reflectively in the process of meaning-making themselves. Our conversation-station format will lend itself to a deeper dialogue on how non-traditional materials might work in each attendee’s specific courses, fields, lived identities, and institutional contexts.