On JUNE 6, 2024 Chris Reyns is giving a guest lecture on the "REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENOUS IN COMICS". The following week, on JUNE 11, he will be talking about "HOW GRAPHIC NOVELS NARRATE" as part of the Lecture Series "The Power of Narrative: Forms, Contexts, Politics". The scholar is staying in Innsbruck from May 25 to June 17, 2024, as part of the Faculty Exchange between the Universities of Innsbruck and Alberta, Edmonton.

Chris Reyns-Chikuma, PhD, is a Professor of French and Francophone Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta’s Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies. Following the completion of his Master’s degree in Japanese Studies, a Ph.D. focusing on Holocaust literature, and the publication of a book on "Néo-japonisme in France," he has shifted his focus towards studying Bande Dessinée/Comics/Manga. His current research primarily explores issues of diversity within the world of graphic novels. In 2022, Chris Reyns curated the exhibition "comic sans" at the Art Gallery of Alberta.

It will be Chris Reyns’ fourth stay in Innsbruck: from May to June 2016, he taught a course on "How the superhero tradition became multicultural" at the Department of Romance Studies, and gave a guest lecture on "French- and German-speaking traditions of the graphic novel: a comparison". Seven years later, on June 2, 2023, he was part of a workshop called "The Handmaid’s Tale Revisited", organized by the Department of English, and the Canadian Studies Centre. During the workshop, the three lecturers had their students explore different media adaptations of Margaret Atwood's classic "The Handmaid’s Tale", with Chris Reyns focusing on the graphic novel. In small groups, students created different posters on the topic, of which three of them won the Margaret Atwood Society Poster Prize.

However, Chris Reyns will not just be spending time indoors: during his free time, he is looking forward to returning to the lovely area he first explored during an exchange program with his Belgian middle school when he was 12. He especially enjoys hiking, and savouring local food and drinks.

"Representation of Indigenous in Comics"
June 6, 2024,  8.30-10.00 a.m., room 4O 735

"How Graphic Novels Narrate"
June 11, 2024, 5.15-6.45 p.m., lecture hall HS 5¾ ("GEIWI" building)