Martin, J. F. (2025, May). The Primacy and Potential of Superhero Narratives: Insights from   Developmental Psychology.  Paper presented at the Art of Storytelling: Archetypes in Focus Conference for the London Arts Based Research Center, Oxford University [I Presented Online].

• Relevant publication(s): Black Panther (2021), Comics and Citizenship (2023), Superheroes and Children’s Moral Understanding (2023), and Social Superheroes (2024)

By broadly situating Oz’s transition from a young aspiring criminal to a ruthless crime boss within a developmental context, The Penguin…invites us to consider the role of means-ends relations in the morally-relevant actions committed in the show, and how this relationship may inform some of the decisions we may make in our own lives.

Martin, J. (2024, April). Something from Nothing?: Joker and Moral Development. Guest lecturer for 

Comparative Cultural Studies 2: Seminar 120 IBM at University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany (Pre-Recorded on April 5th, 2024).

The potential benefits of using superhero media as a context to study older children’s more interpretive or constructivist view of the mind may include familiar characters, the consistency of morally relevant considerations, and the frequent comparison of superheroes and supervillains across contexts that parallel those within children’s social worlds.

Martin, J. (2023, October). Toward a Developmental Analysis of Superhero Media: Lessons from Wakanda. Guest lecturer for English 1105: Superheroes and Society at Centenary University, Hackettstown, NJ (Pre-Recorded on September 26th, 2023)

• Relevant publication(s): Black Panther (2021), Comics and Citizenship (2023), and Social Superheroes (2024)

Both of these features [separating moral from nonmoral understandings of social interactions and applying those understandings to complex situations]...are suggested through Mr. Freeze’s motivations to use cryogenics to save and improve people’s lives, his sense of unjust treatment, his sometimes selective use of harm, and his expressions of vulnerability….Therefore…we can learn a little something about ourselves through villains like Mr. Freeze.

Martin, J. (2023, April). Toward a Developmental Analysis of Superhero Media: Lessons from Wakanda. Guest lecturer for Public Philosophy Night at the Spokane Public Library, hosted by Eastern Washington University, Spokane, WA.

• Relevant publication(s): Black Panther (2021), Comics and Citizenship (2023), and Social Superheroes (2024)

• Martin, J. (2019, April). Wakanda’s wisdom: Agreement, disagreement, and the complexities of social life.  Paper presented at the forty-ninth annual meeting of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Washington, D.C.

  • Relevant publication(s): Black Panther and Development (2019), Black Panther and Civics (2021)

• Letizia, A., & Martin, J. (2021, June). From super to civil: What Marvel’s Civil War conflict can teach us about society and freedom.  Paper presented at the fiftieth annual meeting of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Online.

• Martin, J. (2022, April). Cold-Hearted: An analysis of Mr. Freeze through the lens of moral development.  Paper presented at the fifty-first annual meeting of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Online.

  • Relevant publication(s): Mr. Freeze and Moral Development (2023)

Martin, J. (2020, July). Comic Book Justice: Potential Associations Between Popular Culture and Developmental Psychology. Paper presented at the Conference at the End of the World, Online. [Website no longer active]

• Relevant publication(s): Superhero Justice (2025)