The Gryphon Lecture is given annually during the spring semester and features a leading scholar in the fields of youth literature, media, and/or culture. Gryphon Lectures are free and open to students and the public. A reception to discuss issues raised, network across departments, and meet with the speaker follows each lecture. Illinois educators are eligible to receive professional development credits for participation.
This year’s Gryphon Lecture will be presented by Anastasia Ulanowicz, Associate Professor of English at the University of Florida. More details to come.
Past Gryphon Lectures
2024
2024: “Grappling with Martin Luther King Jr. in Youth Literature: Sequence as Resistance.” Presented by Katherine Capshaw, Professor of English and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Connecticut. Recording. Transcript.
2023
2023: Implementing the TEAACH Act: Using Asian American Children’s Literature as a Tool to Resist America’s Long History of Anti-Asian Violence. Presented by Dr. Sohyun An, Kennesaw State University. – Recording Flyer with Abstract
2022
2022: Picturing Young, Gifted, and Black: Phillis Wheatley’s Image and the Creative Black Child. Presented by Dr. Brigitte Fielder, University of Wisconsin–Madison. – Recording Flyer with Abstract
2021
2021: “Going Global: Transnational Networks and the Spread of Early Modern Children’s Books”
Presented by Dr. Matthew Grenby, Dean of Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of Eighteenth-Century Studies at Newcastle University. Flyer with Abstract
2020
2020: “(Re)Presenting Korea: The Carpenters and the White American Imaginary”
Presented by Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen, Associate Professor in the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) Program at St. Catherine University. Flyer with Abstract
2019
2019: “Taking a Teen-Centric Approach to Adolescent Online Safety”
Presented by Dr. Pamela Wisniewski, Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida and 2018-2020 iSchool Research Fellow.
2018
2018: “The Forever Fandom of Harry Potter: Fan Fiction, Festivals, and Charitable Works”
Presented by Dr. Marianne Martens, Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University.
2017
2017: “Check the Rhyme: Harnessing Hip Hop’s Enduring Literacies with Youth in Libraries”
Presented by Dr. Kafi Kumasi, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science (LIS) at Wayne State University.
2016
2016: “The True Story of Teens and Social Media: Using Teen-Centered Research to Break Down Pervasive Stereotypes”
Presented by Dr. Denise Agosto, Professor of Information Science at Drexel University.
2015
2015: “Research on Children, Youth and Media: Applications for LIS Education and Practice”
Presented by Dr. Rebekah Willett, Assistant Professor of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
2014
2014: “Augusta Baker and the Art of Storytelling: Gateway to Children’s Literacy and Literature”
Presented by Dr. Michelle Martin, Augusta Baker Endowed Chair of Children’s Literacy at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina.
2013
2013: “Paradoxically Speaking: Just One of the Ways Children’s Folktales Engage Listeners”
Presented by Dr. Brian Sturm, Associate Professor at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
2012
2012: “Grounding Our Perspectives in Children’s Literature”
Presented by Dr. Margaret Mackey, Professor of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta.
2011
2011: “Books Build Better Brains: Wanderings at the Intersection of Children’s Literature and Early Brain Development”
Presented by Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, pediatrician at Madison’s American Family Children’s Hospital and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health.
2010
2010: “Children’s Search Experiences in the Age of Google, Today and Tomorrow”
Presented by Dr. Allison Druin, Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) and an Associate Professor in the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies.
2009
2009: “What’s So Funny About Children’s Literature?”
Presented by Dr. Karen Coats, Director of English Education at Illinois State University and current reviewer for the Bulletin.
2008
2008: “‘Because really they only have a few books I like…’ Why Reading Teens Don’t Use Libraries“
Presented by Dr. Lynne McKechnie, Beverly Cleary Professor in Services and Literature for Youth at the Information School at the University of Washington and Professor at the Faculty for Information & Media Studies, University of Western Ontario.
2007
2007: “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”
Presented by Roger Sutton, Editor-in-Chief of The Horn Book Magazine, former Editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.
2006
2006: “Stony the Road We Trod: African American Children’s Literature, Stories of a People’s Journey”
Presented by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, Faculty Emeritus, School of Teaching and Learning, Ohio State University.
2005
2005: “Becoming What You Eat: Identifying with Food in Children’s Picture Books”
Presented by Perry Nodelman, Professor of English at the University of Winnipeg