After a childhood partly “wasted" onMazinger-Z and Hyakujuu-Ou Go-Lion(Tranzor-Z and Voltron in the U.S.), Brent was unaware that some of his childhood TV diet came from Japan originally. During his first week as a grad student at UGA, Brent came across a group of students who showed him the anime that he had long forgotten. Falling back in love with anime, he eventually wrote his doctoral dissertation on how anime fans teach other and learn about Japanese culture. Brent has been studying anime fandom and presenting his findings at academic conventions and anime cons ever since. He currently makes his living as an associate professor at University of North Georgia on a rural branch campus easily walked in two minutes. Brent also serves on the editorial board of the anime, manga, and video game-oriented academic journal Mechademia as well as on the editorial board of the Journal of Fandom Studies. He's also faculty advisor of his campus's anime club Anime Anonymous and loves visiting other anime clubs and conventions too.

• Creating Confident Readers Through Unconventional Texts
  Stevi Grimm (Jefferson Union High School District, Daly City, CA)

• Digital Literacy: Expanding Students' Literary Toolkits with Manga
  Alexandra Dean (Eastern Illinois University)

• Incorporating Anime and Manga into Gender Studies Courses
  Derek S. McGrath (Stony Brook University)