Contemporary life is full of change: AI, Racial Reckoning, the COVID pandemic, Global Warming, etc. All these events generate a sense of uncertainty that signals dystopian catastrophe for some, while promising long-awaited possibilities for others. ReggieCon LIVE! 2024: Ruins, Reflections, Creations, and Dreams will be held from Saturday, April 27, 2024, through Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Bone Student Center, University Galleries, and other locations across the Illinois State University campus.
ReggieCon was created in the fall of 2020 to be a forum for generating diverse, creative interactions geared toward directly addressing these ambiguous, challenging spaces. ReggieCon Live! 2024: Ruins, Reflections, Creations, and Dreams is a four-day celebration of the creativity that lies at the heart of these efforts.
Members of the ISU community and the public at large will have the opportunity to showcase and encourage the development of these creative skills. Daily events scheduled thus far are as follows.
Student Creativity Showcases
Saturday, April 27th, 12:00 – 9:00 pm, Free and Open to Public
Amy Kurzweil Comics and Graphic Memoire Workshop!
Digital Music Showcase!
Students presenting during Digital Music Showcase:
Zétény Nagy
Irvin Hooker
Jael Oriekaose
Issac Shores
Kyle Retsky
Wilson Andrews
Teala Torres
Steven Jones
Max Sensibar
Caden Petersen
Wyatt Gotter
Nick Marchigiani
Nate Gottcent
Annie Wagner
Tyler Lavigne
Josiah Wilcoski
Andrew Overbeck
Willow Whitlow
Brian Murphy
Andy Garcia
Hannah Kaplan
Shane Fields
Zander Caesar
Eduardo Almanza
Helen Ward
Maalik Hopkins
Nathan Olson
Shemar Luke
Redbird Studios RSO
Games and Comics Showcase!
Department of English Student Panels!
Saturday, April 27th, 4:00-9:00 pm
Old Main Room, Bone Student Center
4:00 – 5:00 pm
5:00 – 6:00 pm
Apocalyptic Reimaginings: A Gernerative Flash Fiction Experiment
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Creations from Ruins: Working with Archival Materials in Milner’s Special Collections
7:00 – 8:00 pm
Our Monsters, Ourselves: Societal Concerns Through a Pop Culture Lens
8:00 – 9:00 pm
Memoirs: Ruins, Reflections, Creations, and Dreams
Sunday, April 28th, 10:00-6:00 pm
Free and open to the public!
At the Ruins of Contemporary Culture:
What Will Tomorrow’s Minds Say about Today’s Selves?
Entrance to the “At the Ruins of Contemporary Culture” conference/workshop is free and open to the public.
Click on this line for conference/workshop program
Monday & Tuesday, April 29th and 30th
Free and Open to Public
Talks, Viewing, and Exhibits
Participation in the “Talks, Viewings, & Exhibits” events (Monday, April 29th) is free and open to the public.
Monday, April 29th
Art Exhibit with Award-Winning Artist, John Jennings
Discussion about India, Postcolonial Literature, and Identity with Dr. Gurpyari Bhatnagar
A Philosophy of Horror with Dr. Dylan Trigg!
“X-Men in Dystopia” with Dr. Elisabetta Di Minico
Physicist Dr. Harald Atmanspacher discusses the application of mathematical structures to mental phenomena!
Free Movie Viewing of John Carpenter’s “The Thing” with Philosopher of Horror, Dr. Dylan Trigg
Why do living systems do what they do? Is it all a genetic plan, or might context at every level, from genes to culture, matter? What would happen if a living system that evolved in a different set of contexts on a planet other than earth, tried to actually live on earth? Join ReggieCon Live! 2024 as we examine these issues through the lens of John Carpenter’s Body Horror Classic, “The Thing.” Philosopher Dr. Dylan Trigg, author of “The Thing: A Phenomenology of Horror” will ponder these questions with us during a panel immediately following the movie. And don’t be scared. We know why living systems do what they do. Or do we?
Tuesday, April 30th
A “Brown Bag” (i.e., bring your lunch) discussion of why some teachers use comics and graphic novels in their classes.
A Conversation about Sita’s Ramayana, Comic Panels, and ‘Othering’
ReggieCon Live! 24 is sponsored by:
- Sage Trust Fund
- Society for Mind-Matter Research
- Office of Enrollment Management and Student Success
- Graduate School
- University Marketing and Communicaitons
- Department of English
- Department of Physics
- Department of Philosophy
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
- Creative Technologies, Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts
- Graphic Design, Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts
- School of Theater and Dance, Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts
- Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program
- Office of Equity and Inclusion
Also, many thanks to the following faculty, administrators, and chairs/directors for their efforts in bringing this four-day celebration to fruition:
- Dr. Byron Craig, Office of Equity and Inclusion
- Dr. Katherine Ellison, Department of English
- Dr. Chris Horvath, Department of Philosophy
- Professor Rose Marshak, Creative Technologies, Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts
- Dr. Matthew Smith, Creative Technologies, Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts
- Dr. Archana Shekara, Graphic Design, Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts
- Dr. Juliet Lynd, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
- Dr. Daniel Holland, Department of Physics
- Dr. Jana Albrecht, Enrollment Management and Student Success
- Dr. Noelle Selkow, Graduate School
- Dr. Allison Bailey, WGSS
- Dr. Connie DeVeer, School of Theater
- Ms. Julie Mana-ay Perez, UMC
- Ms. Dani Schroeder, UMC
- Mr. Sean Thornton, UMC
- Ms. Kelly Harman, Department of Psychology
- Ms. Angie Davis, Department of Psychology
- Edcel Javier Cintron-Gonzalez, Department of English
- Sneh Vora, Department of Philosophy