The Fan Studies Network

CFP: Virtual/Physical Fan Spaces for Special Edition of the Journal of Fandom Studies

As proven by the popularity of this year’s San Diego Comic Con, fan spaces are increasingly important culturally and financially. Media creators and producers have come to acknowledge the significance of their fans and the need to communicate with them, particularly through social media. Fans, however, also insist upon their own self-contained spaces where they can share their opinions and observations, as well as their transformative works, metatexual analyses, and cosplay. These spaces exist both physically (as, for example, fan run or commercial conventions, fan meet ups, and pilgrimage sites) and virtually through social media platforms such as Tumblr, twitter, and Archive of our Own.

Papers on virtual and physical fan spaces are being sought for a proposed Special Edition of the Journal of Fandom Studies. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

-creating or delineating fan spaces
-fan shrines or pilgrimage sites
-for-profit conventions such as San Diego Comic Con, Wizard World, or any run by Creation
-fan run conventions such as Otakon, 221bCon, or GallifreyOne
-policing and harassment in fan spaces
-virtual fan spaces including Tumblr, twitter, Archive of our Own, and fanfiction.net
-fan spaces functioning as or failing to function as “safe spaces”
-cosplay and crossplay
-authenticity of mediated and live fan spaces
-language of fan spaces
-theorizing fan spaces
-differences/similarities between virtual and physical fan spaces

Priority will be given to papers that go beyond introductory level treatment of their topics. In order to round out our existing selection of papers, priority will also be given to those focusing on the physical side of fan spaces. We are especially interested in articles dealing with conventions.

Abstract submissions should be sent to elizabeth.j.nielsen@gmail.com by 1 November 2015 and should include the author’s CV, a short biography (100-150 words), and their abstract (250-500 words).

Articles will be due 1 March 2016. For more information on the Journal of Fandom Studies, check out http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=213/view,page=0/

This entry was posted on July 21, 2015 at 10:09 am and is filed under CFP, Publications. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.