The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) will be hosting a launch party upon its release of Freedom and Unity: A Graphic Guide to Civics and Democracy in Vermont on Thursday October 27 at 3PM ET. Susan Clark, town moderator and co-author of Slow Democracy, and cartoonist Dan Nott ‘18, (who was also the lead cartoonist for CCS’s graphic guide, THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE) will discuss the creation of the comic and what they discovered about how democracy works in Vermont.

Missed the event? You can
Watch the livestream via Junction Arts & Media:
https://youtu.be/8Wi9Qk_RLww

The Center for Cartoon Studies was offered a challenge by The Office of Vermont’s Secretary of State and Vermont Humanities: create a graphic guide about the past, present, and promise of democracy and civics in our brave little state. FREEDOM AND UNITY is the answer to that challenge. You can use this graphic guide to learn more about Vermont, cartooning, and to use comics to teach civics and history. Copies of FREEDOM AND UNITY will be given away at the event. We hope to see you at the launch party!

The FREEDOM AND UNITY launch party is a Vermont Humanities program and it is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The launch party is also part of the Vermont Humanities “Where We Land: Stories that Propel Us” Fall Festival featuring 11 events held across Vermont from October 3 to 29. The festival is a remix of the organization’s long-running annual Fall Conference, and this year occurs during National Arts and Humanities Month.  

The diverse lineup of in-person and hybrid events during the month of October concentrate on the themes of the Vermont Reads 2022 selection, THE MOST COSTLY JOURNEY. Several of The Center for Cartoon Studies faculty and alumni contributed comics to this important project which showcases the real-life stories of migrant farmworkers in their own words who are living and working in Vermont, most of whom are from Central America. Vermont Reads is the statewide one-book reading program led by Vermont Humanities. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the program.

Special thanks to The Office of Vermont’s Secretary of States and Vermont Humanities for making this project possible.