Rust Belt Lab
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rustbeltlab.bsky.social
Rust Belt Lab
@rustbeltlab.bsky.social
Our lab works to tell the story of this region through the voices of its people. Learn more about our work at Rustbeltstudies.org
We're currently accepting articles for our 2026 issue, The Regenerative Rust Belt. Send us your articles and write with any questions. Also, please share the CFP far and wide! @katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social #academicsky #booksky
August 26, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Seeking volunteers for a research study on experiences of racialized minorities in the rural Rust Belt
 
Looking for participants for virtual or in-person interviews (approximately 30 min-1 hour).
July 1, 2025 at 3:18 PM
When we hosted @andrewaydin.bsky.social in Cleveland, we had to have him do a reading of Taste of Justice--a superhero webcomic about superheroes and food, 2 things #CLE is known for--@dccomicsreal.bsky.social @literarycleveland.bsky.social Read it here: www.dcuniverseinfinite.com/comics/book/...
April 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Last week we hosted @andrewaydin.bsky.social at the Cleveland Foundation for the 90th anniversary of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards and Congressman Lewis, who won the award in 1999. Dawn Arrington, Dir of Comics at the Corner led the interview
@katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social
April 11, 2025 at 8:23 PM
What a weekend! We'll be sharing highlights from our 2nd Rust Belt Symposium, a chance to tell our own stories and imagine new futures rooted in community. Like the #splicecreamtruck, we are "powered by North East Shores" ... and stories! ❤️ @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social
April 9, 2025 at 1:07 AM
It was a true honor to host one of comics' greats this weekend when @andrewaydin.bsky.social visited Cleveland for the first time. He fit right in! Look for picture and videos: here is a sneak peek @katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @topshelfcomix.bsky.social #CLE #RustBelt
April 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM
We met w/ Dawn Arrington of Comics at the Corner today to plan her conversation w/ @andrewaydin.bsky.social at the Cleveland Foundation this week. Let's celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and John Lewis' legacy @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social
April 1, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Our reading of John Lewis, @andrewaydin.bsky.social, and @natepowell.bsky.social’s March with students from Tri-C and Ursuline College continues. Pictured are some of our book club members. @topshelfcomix.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social #comics #Cleveland #rustbelt
March 28, 2025 at 11:15 PM
We have a handful of additional tickets available for our April 4th Symposium. Please email katharine.trostel@ursuline.edu if you're interested! @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social
March 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Next week @andrewaydin.bsky.social will be at the Cleveland Foundation in honor of the 90th anniversary of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which John Lewis won in 1999. #booksky #comicssky @topshelfcomix.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social #comics #Cleveland #RustBelt
March 26, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Getting our swag ready for our Rust Belt Symposium at #ursulinecollege! Our bags are from Found Surface "Manufacturing eco-friendly soft goods in Cleveland, Ohio." Our event is sold out but you can learn more about our work: www.rustbeltlab.org. @katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social
March 15, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Next month: Books at the Market at Cleveland's historic, West Side Market w/ @andrewaydin.bsky.social. Will we see you? Join @literarycleveland.bsky.social, Cleveland Public Library, Comics at the Corner, more! #comics #booksky #CLE #RustBelt @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social
March 13, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Students @ Ursuline College & Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland are reading March 1-3 by John Lewis, @andrewaydin.bsky.social, & @natepowell.bsky.social this Spring! Prepping for Andrew's visit! @topshelfcomix.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social #comics #CLE
March 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Only three tickets remain for our 2025 Rust Belt Symposium @ursulinecollege on 4/4! Join us as we co-create humanities ecosystems in the Rust Belt. Make connections, learn about opportunities to collaborate, and explore public humanities initiatives in our region. secure.acceptiva.com?cst=6DKzh4
March 4, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Join us on 4/4 & hear from Midstory "a non-profit thinkhub that progresses the narrative of the Midwest by incubating bright, diverse and interdisciplinary thinkers to ... envision the future of our region." secure.acceptiva.com?cst=6DKzh4 @katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social
February 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Interested in how comics document place? Consider submitting an abstract for a proposed panel on Rust Belt comics for the 2026 MLA conference in Toronto--@modernlanguage.bsky.social. @katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social
#academicsky #rustbelt #comics Learn more www.rustbeltlab.org
February 24, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Join us on 4/4 for our Rust Belt Humanities Lab Symposium at Ursuline. Learn about the amazing work of the Charles W. Chesnutt Archive Team as they spotlight the legacy of a transformative Cleveland writer & build community around his work. @katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social
February 19, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Our symposium will feature the Splice Cream Truck: "An ice cream truck with an analog recording studio, splicing communities together through stories!" Tell a story about place for an ice cream! Register: secure.acceptiva.com?cst=6DKzh4
@valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social
February 17, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Sina also documented Cleveland for us, located Ursuline College in the heart of the Rust Belt, and cartooned a portrait of Edith Anisfield Wolf, founder of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, which is central to our class. You can learn more about this work and other projects at RustBeltStudies.org #CLE
February 13, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Thank you @sinagrace.bsky.social for drawing books we read: @derfbackderf.bsky.social's Kent State, @andrewaydin.bsky.social & @natepowell.bsky.social, and John Lewis' March, works by Tiya Miles, Natasha Trethewey, Tracy K. Smith, Isabel Wilkerson, Ned Blackhawk, @atrubek.bsky.social, and more.
February 13, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Last month @katietrostel.bsky.social and @valentinolzullo.bsky.social presented their work "Rhetorics of the Rust Belt" at the meetings of the MLA. With funding from the Teagle foundation, we have revamped our composition courses to focus on writing about place. #academicsky #booksky #RustBelt #CLE
February 13, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Join us on April 4th at Ursuline as we co-create humanities ecosystems in the Rust Belt. Make connections, learn about opportunities to collaborate, and explore public humanities initiatives in our region.
secure.acceptiva.com?cst=6DKzh4
@katietrostel.bsky.social @valentinolzullo.bsky.social
February 12, 2025 at 4:17 PM
The Rust Belt Humanities Lab Symposium will be held on Ursuline College Campus on Friday, April 4, 2025. Featuring Midstory, Splice Cream Truck, the Charles Chesnutt Archives and @andrewaydin.bsky.social #booksky #academicsky #RustBelt #Cleveland

Tickets available at secure.acceptiva.com?cst=6DKzh4
February 10, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Help us study the Rust Belt and tell the story of our region by submitting to Rust Belt Studies. Our first issue comes out later this year and we're looking for submission for our next issue: The Regenerative Rust Belt! #academicsky #booksky @valentinolzullo.bsky.social @katietrostel.bsky.social
February 3, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Honored to sponsor Rust Belt Fibershed Symposium: Enlivening Our Place through Fibers and Textiles--a joyful gathering reminding us of interconnected world, ecosystems, stories we tell about place, and push for regeneration in our region. What can we make, grow, & build together in the Rust Belt? ❤️
January 30, 2025 at 11:22 PM