Sequart Sponsors Tufts University Live Chat with Artist JT Waldman

Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is proud to sponsor a free live online chat with JT Waldman, collaborator with Harvey Pekar on the graphic novel Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me. The open talk, which will occur this Wednesday evening, 5 December, is part of the Tufts Experimental College’s “Religion and the Graphic Novel” course with Dr. A. David Lewis.

Beginning just after 6:30pm EDT, the event will be open to the public online, either through Google Hangout On Air for those with Google accounts or through this page on Sequart’s website.

“Religion and the Graphic Novel” has had several guest lecturers both times it has been taught at Tufts by Dr. Lewis, including Christine Hoff Kraemer (Managing Editor for Patheos.com Pagan Channel), Saurav Mohapatra (India Authentic, Mumbai Confidential), Mark Smylie (Artesia), and others. Waldman has announced the title of his guest lecture as “The Making of Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me” and plans to take questions and commentary thereafter.

The book’s publisher Macmillan describes the graphic novel as follows:

In Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me, the final graphic memoir from the man who defined the genre, Pekar explores what it means to be Jewish and what Israel means to the Jews. Over the course of a single day in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, Pekar and the illustrator JT Waldman wrestle with the mythologies and realities surrounding the Jewish homeland. Pekar interweaves his increasing disillusionment with the modern state of Israel with a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from biblical times to the present, and the result is a personal and historical odyssey of uncommon power.

Sequart Research & Literacy Organization has offered its site for viewers who may not have access to the open Google+ on Wednesday evening. Those with access to Google+ can get further information at https://plus.google.com/events/c0ae9f54mq6cjv9fbof9pvoqufs.

Follow the lead-up to the event, hear about the potential announcement of special guests, and post questions in advance on Twitter under #comicsreligion hashtag.

The Experimental College (ExCollege) at Tufts offers non-traditional and multidisciplinary courses that any undergraduate student can take along with department and program based courses. Each semester, more than 20 courses are offered that are new to the Tufts curriculum. Most instructors are recruited from the vibrant community of accomplished professionals in the Boston area.