OU-Tulsa Student and Artist Discusses Diversity in Comics for DEI Week
Born in Tehran, Iran, Ghazal Ghazi is a multidisciplinary artist and Master of Library Information Science student at OU-Tulsa. During OU’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week, Ghazi sat down with OU-Tulsa DEI Director Jasmine Willis Wallace to discuss the topic of diversity in comics and why representation in this literary and art form matters.
Ghazi and Willis Wallace discussed a range of topics, such as options for what to read in the graphic scholarship space to learn about different communities and the reading that influenced Ghazi as an artist. They also cover the place comics and sequential art hold in American culture.
Their entire conversation may be viewed below.
“Comics really are the quintessential part of the American experience,” Ghazi said. “If you’re in America, you’re going to bump into Superman and Spiderman. Thinking about it as mythology helps sort of give it the respect that it deserves, and sort of recognizes the power of it as well. We’re not just talking about some doodles or some cartoons that need diversity; we’re talking about a fundamental part of how we understand American culture.”
Ghazi, who was chosen as a semifinalist in the National Portrait Gallery’s 2022 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., said her community plays an important part in her expression through art.
“Engaging with community is always something I go back to in my personal artwork – engaging with my community in any way that I can,” she said.
By Bonnie Rucker
Article Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2022