Hastings College student Celina Chrisman of Harvard, Nebraska, will present a Langvardt Scholar Lecture titled “Reframing Monstrosity: Exploring Disability Representation in Graphic Novels,” on Wednesday, March 6, at 1:30 p.m. at the Barrett Alumni Center (1001 N. 6th Avenue, Hastings). The lecture is free and open to the public.
Chrisman’s presentation develops the research she began into disability studies as a critical lens during her English senior seminar course last fall. The independent research project for that capstone course investigated common stereotypes of disability in young adult fiction.
Her current role as a student teacher at Sandy Creek High School in Clay Center, Nebraska, inspired Chrisman’s continuing research because her students have been reading graphic novel adaptations of literary classics, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. She wondered how the representation of disability works in such a visual medium and began diving into scholarship on disability aesthetics.
This year’s lecture has provided an opportunity for the Department of Languages and Literatures to fulfill a long-held wish of Dr. Art and Eunice Langvardt to reunite prior scholars for a reunion. At the recommendation of Krista (Schroeder) Cox ‘86, the inaugural recipient of the scholarship, alumni who received the award during their time at Hastings College have been invited to this year’s lecture, with a reception to follow. Previous Langvardt scholars include Rt. Rev. Craig Loya ‘99, the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota; Victor Short ‘10, a state public defender in Colorado; and Lyette Erin ‘22, who will soon graduate from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a MA in English and a Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities
The Dr. Art and Eunice Langvardt English Scholarship goes to an outstanding junior English major who has shown excellence in their English courses. It includes a financial award, and the Langvardt Scholar works closely with a member of the faculty on a special project they present in a public forum in their senior year.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
