Zines

Here are some reasons why zines should be considered in student research:

1. Zines are primary sources.

2. Zines are written by marginalized and oppressed voices. These are the voices oftentimes missing from standard scholarly resources.

3. Zines humanize our research. When students read zines on their topics, they get to really hear the methodologies section that they mostly skip over (because it's boring).

4. Zines allow students to really think about their topics and how it relates to not only their own lives but the lives of others. Research and education should be about liberating others. Zines are just one way this can happen.

Using zines in your classroom is pretty easy! There are a few ways this can be accomplished:

1. You can assign zines to be read just as you would other types of resources for your course. We can even put them on course reserve for you. 

2. With advance notice to zine librarian Julie Setele, you can assign students to browse the Butler Library Zine Collection and select a zine to present to the class and/or write about.

3. You can allow students to use zines in the understanding of their research. This means giving them permission to use them as cited sources in bibliographies and works cited pages. 

4. You can assign your students to create a zine as either a group project or as an individual project. 

5. You can have a zine workshop where students learn about zines and make their own.

For more information, check out:

Want to assign zines as a final project? Here are three simple steps!

1. Have you students read the What are Zines section of this Libguide and watch the presentation titled Zines and Research Justice.

2. Invite Julie Setele into your class to explain HOW to make zines. This includes looking at examples of zines in our collection (which is soon to include zines that previous Buffalo State students have made).

3. Make materials and workshop time available to your students. To make zines in the analog/physical way, you will need: paper, scissors, glue sticks, writing utensils, and old magazines or books that students can cut out. To make zines digitally, you will need: Canva, Adobe Express, or similar. Ideally, the zine assignment would be appropriately scaffolded for your course.

That's it! We are here to guide you through the entire process - from brainstorming how to fit zines into your class all the way to printing the finished zines.

There are countless way to incorporate zines into your course but scaffolding the zine project works best. Here is an example of what that might look like:

If you are thinking about incorporating zines into your course design, I'd love to work with you!

Below are some materials from Salem State zine librarian Dawn Stahura, who has worked on a number of course redesigns that include creating rubrics and zine project guidelines. With permission we are sharing some of those materials here so that you a) don't have to reinvent the wheel and b) can brainstorm how zines might fit into your courses. 

Zine Assignments:

In the Zine Activity Worksheet below, students are asked to view the SSU Student Zine Collection through the Digital Commons. They are to select a zine to read and fill out the worksheet. This activity helps students become acquainted with zines while also reading a zine from a SSU student.

Zine Rubrics:

Course Designed Specifically Around Zines:

Zines can be an important research tool in any discipline. From healthcare to sociology, zines present information in an accessible and easily digestible format.

Here are some examples of zines created by students at Salem State University:

To read about how other faculty have incorporated zines into their classrooms: