Thread by @KaySohini

Hello, Twitterverse. I am a doctoral student at Stony Brook University by day, (trying to be) a digital illustrator by night, and today I am presenting in the #HCTwitterConf19! This is my first attempt to present something via tweets, so erm, you know—forgive the lack of (1)

structure. I have been told by the organizers that there’s no wrong way to do a Twitter Conference, so unlike what I tend to do in traditional modes, this one will be more about discussing the possibilities of a digital portfolio than a straight-up analysis or argument. (2)

In this presentation, I wanted to touch upon how, for the past year, I have been using my Humanities Commons Blog to gradually build a digital footprint. When I initially started my HCommons blog, it was supposed to be the home for my resume kaysohini.hcommons.org. (3)

But, over the months I have expanded it to include a host of things, such as a crowdsourced Graphic Narrative Catalog, a digital gallery of my art, a short comic on the crisis of creation (kaysohini.hcommons.org/short-comic-on… …), and, even this whimsical visual poem 🔽 (4)

Of late, I've been thinking about ways to put my research online in an accessible format. Considering that my doctoral work is squarely about how the accessible format of comics as a medium can change the way we read, tell, and interpret stories—especially stories about being (5)

Otherized & the complex intersectionality of being by various groups of marginalized people—it only makes sense that I practice what I preach. Inspired by the nature of my work, & of course, by @NickSousanis, the first person to write a dissertation entirely in the comic form (6)

—I envision the same for my doctoral dissertation. (Thanks for leading the way, N!) Recently, I have wondered if—& how—I can record the process of making a comic dissertation over the years leading to its completion. This would not only help me visualize my data more clearly, (7)

but it would also serve as a demonstration of how academic comics work—the challenges, the pitfalls, the advantages, the works. Since comics is as much about the medium, the form, as it is about the content, (8)

it is especially important for me to understand how comics can “develop from itself” (Eisner), & consequently, how comics as a medium can lend itself to academic discourse—not just as source but as method. (9)

That’s where my HCommons blog comes in handy. Though the default interface does not quite accommodate the model of interactive learning through and by comics that I am going for, I recently discovered that one can combine the Wordpress powered HCommons blog with React (10)

(a JavaScript library for building user interfaces) to achieve the desired results. Once I am done honing my React skills, I plan to host my comic dissertation process on my HC blog. (11)

Moreover, to encourage viewers to get a first hand experience of the potential of the comic medium to articulate complex subjects seamlessly—I plan to add a BUILD YOUR OWN COMIC (BYOC) tab to the blog. (12)

Essentially, I am working on an “app” hosted on my blog itself, which provides prompts (i.e., difficult academic concepts, situations, etc) to visitors that they can then illustrate using the simple paint tools + paneling options provided. (13)

What convinced me irreversibly abt the versatility and the enormous potential of the comic form was not just reading a ton of comics, but *drawing* them myself. Via BYOC, I hope to not just demonstrate, but have users experience the intuitivity of the form for themselves. (14)

Plus, considering the precarious academic job market situation, a little extra innovation from my end wouldn’t hurt, right? Jokes (?) apart, the further I delve into my academic work, the more I realize the need for publicly accessible discourse. (15)

Thanks for reading and I would love to know what you all think. Come say hi in the comments! (16)

@Nsousanis*, I mean.