Superheroes as Supermyths

Superheroes are modern mythologies, or supermythologies, offering moral and social instruction and instilling a sense of awe in their target demographic. Through story, artistry, and imagination, comic books, and superhero films bring to life alternative visions of our past, present, and future. Moving between his research in Papua New Guinea and the multiverse worlds of superheroes, Professor Halvaksz will explore what comic myths can tell us about our own sense of place.

This program will be held in-person and streamed via zoom at 6:00 p.m.

Jamon Alex Halvaksz is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio and has conducted fieldwork in Papua New Guinea since 1998. His research has focused on agriculture, conservation areas, and gold mining along the Upper Bulolo River of Morobe Province. Since 2015, he has taught a class entitled The Anthropology of Superheroes, exploring what it means to participate in the superhero subculture. He is the author of Gardens of Gold: Place-Making in Papua New Guinea (University of Washington Press, 2020)