We launched in Fall 2024 and saw interest grow dramatically over the academic year, and have even continued into the months of Summer 2025. Here are some of our accomplishments:
We organized and hosted 19 lab events, with a total attendance of 293. These activities include Working Wednesdays (AKA Drop-in-and-Draw), ‘De-stress with Comics’ during final exams, hands-on workshops with professional creators, and public lectures with scholars and creators. Participants have come from every UVM college and school!
We conducted 7 in-class hands-on workshops introducing the basics of creating research-based comics, engaging 121 undergraduate students in learning how to connect their research with comics storytelling.
In the spirit of public service, we created a library research guide on the topic of “Comics-Based Research and Comics Studies.” It includes original comics created by our lab research assistant, Sophie Hood (Class of 2025), who was our lead on this project.
We also started a listserv that now has 90+ people. Want to be on that listserv? Email Luis (lvivanco@uvm.edu).
We have received strong financial support from the Office for the Vice President for Research, the Humanities Center, the College of Arts and Sciences Deans Office, and the Anthropology Department. And we could not have done any of this without the ongoing support of the Silver Special Collections Library.
But perhaps best of all, CBR Lab has created convivial spaces where faculty, staff, post-docs, graduate students, and undergrads come together can learn, draw, and support each other.