Curated CV

EDUCATION:

Expected 2026           PhD History, The Ohio State University

2018                             MSt Women’s Studies, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

2016                             AB History, The University of California, Davis, CA

Highest Honors, 3.9 cumulative GPA

Departmental Citation; Dean’s List

Phi Beta Kappa

2013                            Transfer Program Los Angeles Mission College, Sylmar, CA

4.0 cumulative GPA

President and Dean’s list

TAP Honors Certification

Alpha Gamma Sigma

Masters Dissertation: “‘The Treasure of Love’: Romance Comic Books and the Construction of Gender Roles in Post-War UK,” University of Oxford, UK, 2018. Supervisor, Christina de Bellaigue.

Undergraduate Honors Thesis: “Romance Comic Books and Magazines: The Cold War, Anti-Feminism, and Teaching Women Their Place,” University of California, Davis, 2016. Supervisor, Kathryn Olmsted.

Funding, Awards, and Honors:

  • Distinguished University Fellowship, the University of Ohio, 2020-2021
  • Short-listed for a Fulbright Award to the United Kingdom at the London School of Economics, 2017. I was one of 3-5 applicants chosen out of over 90 applications.
  • Publication in Prized Writing, October 2016. Prized Writing is comprised of UC Davis’s undergraduate student writing, which is obtained through an annual competition. My piece was one of eight chosen out of 148 student papers and essays from the spring quarter.
  • The Provost’s Undergraduate Fellowship (PUF) for Honors Thesis “Romance Comic Books and Magazines: The Cold War, Anti-Feminism, and Teaching Women Their Place,” Fall 2015-Spring 2016.
  • Highest Honors, “Romance Comic Books and Magazines: The Cold War, Anti- Feminism, and Teaching Women Their Place,” University of California, Davis, Spring 2016.
  • Department Citation, History Department, University of California, Davis, Spring 2016.
  • Regents’ Scholarship, (Highest academic award offered at a University of California) (University of California, Davis, CA 2014).

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS:

Journal Articles:

  • Heifler, Sydney. “Romance Comics, Dangerous Girls, and The Importance of Fathers,” in Sexuality and Mental Illness in Comics, a special edition of Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, edited by Nancy Pedri and Irene Velentzas, May 26, 2020 (online).
  • Heifler, Sydney. “Teen-Age Temptations: Romance Comic Books and Condemning Precocity.” Prized Writing, September 2016.

Popular Scholarship:

  • “Women’s History Month: Trina Robbins,” on Comfort Food Comics, March 31, 2021.
  • “A History of Romance,” PanelxPanel, no. 36, June 24, 2020.
  • “Comic books v. ‘Women’s Lib,’” on Re-reading the Second Wave, March 2018.
  • “Romance Comic Books, the Cold War, and Teaching Women Their Place” on Ex Aula: Research From the Hall, March 2018.

Invited Talks:

  • Panelist, February 18, 2021. Pop Culture Panel Series: Romance in Graphic Novels & Comics, Virtual Panel at the Escondido Public Library with Steve Ammidown, Johnnie Christmas, and Sarah Kuhn.
  • Virtual Chat with the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center, Aug 30, 2020. I discussed the origin and the legacy with the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center as part of their “3 Days for 103” event, which celebrated what would have been the 103rd birthday of Jack Kirby.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “‘Half-Way to Heaven’: Romance Comic Books and the Construction of Gender in Post-War UK.” Micro-talk for True Colours: Micro Talks. Organized for Oxford Pride Week by the Equality and Diversity Unit, University of Oxford, May 29, 2018.
  • Keynote Speaker, OxCon III, April 21, 2018.
  • Guest Speaker, Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS), September 14, 2017.

Presentations:

  • Heifler, Sydney. “Seduction on the Page: Matt Baker, the Female Form, and a Celebration of Masculinity.” Paper presented as part of a group pane The Comic Art of Seduction for the Comic Arts Conference at WonderCon@Home, March 27, 2021.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “Fashion, Bodies, and Sex: Girls’ Comics and the Construction of the Teenage Girl.” Roun Table discussion with Trina Robbins and Joan Ormrod for the MSU Comics Forum, February 27, 2021.
  • Heifler, Sydney and Monica Geraffo. “Designing Van Dyne: The Wasp, Fashion, and an Excess of Femininity.” Paper presented for the Michigan State University Comics Forum on February 21-22, 2020.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “Masculine Memory in the Creation of a National History: Fandom and the Historiography of Western Comics through a Case Study of Romance Comics.” Paper presented for the Comic Arts Conference at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 18-21, 2019.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “They Must Be Contained: Romance Comics, Cars, and the Dangers of Independent Teenage Girls.” Paper presented via Skype for the Comics & Travel Conference for the Oxford Comics Network, July 5, 2019.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “The Emancipation of Women?: Batman, Catwoman, and the Cultural Enforcement of the Patriarchal Structure.” Paper presented as part of a group panel, Structural Supervillains: Patriarchy, Capitalism, Surveillance and Imperialism in Batman’s World for the Batman in Popular Culture Conference at Bowling Green State University, April 12-13, 2019.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “Paternalism, Infantilism and the Ideal Couple: Romance Comics and the Post-War British Notion of Masculinity and Femininity.” Paper presented as part of a group panel, Comics in the Global Marketplace for the Comic Arts Conference at WonderCon on March 29-31, 2019.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “Masculine Memory in the Creation of a National History: Fandom and Historiography of Western Comics through a Case Study of Romance Comics.” Paper presented via Skype for the Comics/Fandom Workshop at the University of Cologne on March 28-29, 2019.
  • Heifler, Sydney. “Dangerous Love: Violence, Gender, and Race in UK Post-War Romance Comics.” Paper presented for the Michigan State University Comics Forum on February 22-23, 2019.
  • Heifler, Sydney and Monica Geraffo. “From Romance Comics to X-Men: The Psycho- Symbolism of Fashion and Female Sexuality in Cold War Comics.” Paper presented for the Michigan State University Comics Forum on February 22-23, 2019.

Held Positions:

  • Programming Committee Member, LGBTQAI+ track, for Cartoons Crossroads Columbus (CXC), 2021.
  • Member-at-Large, Graduate Student Caucus for the Comics Studies Society, 2020-2021.
  • Student Representative, Steering Committee for MSt in Women’s Studies, University of Oxford, 2017-2018.
  • Women’s Representative, St. Edmund Hall, the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK 2017- 2018.
  • Organizer and Chair, the University of Oxford Empowerment and Struggle in Women’s Education Round Table Discussion, Hillary Term, 2018.
  • Organizer and Co-Chair, University of Oxford Feminist Thinking Seminar Series, Hillary Term, 2018.
  • Coordinator and Panelist, Feminism in Theory and Action, Hillary Term, 2018.