The full version of Bexy Cameron’s short film FanCulture: The Evolution of Influence is now available to view online for free on the Amplify website. Follow this link to view the film.
Synopsis:
A short film exploring the role fans could, and should, play in brands and marketing. Featuring expert opinion and insight from academics, marketeers and the fans themselves, this documentary looks at how a brand can identify their fans and, more importantly, harness their passion.
NB: As the morning session was conducted in French – and my own grasp of the language is poor, at best – this report will cover just the English afternoon session. However, those of you more cultured than I may find the Storify live tweet report of the event useful, as the #CultFan hashtag was used throughout the day. A special mention must also go to Sebastien Francois, who provided English commentary on the French content.
Organised in association with the Maison des Sciences and held at Paris-Sorbonne University on 27th April 2012, the Culture du Fan Symposium brought together European scholars of fandom in a bilingual event that featured papers both focused on specific case studies, and asking larger questions about the state of the field. Read the rest of this entry »
Coeditors Sherry Ginn, Tanya R. Cochran, and Paul Zinder invite proposals or completed essays for an edited collection of scholarly works that explore J.J. Abrams’ science fiction television series Fringe (2008-present). We are interested in a variety of topics as well as diverse disciplinary approaches. Proposals should demonstrate not only a clear methodology and strong thesis but also a familiarity with current conversations and publications about the series. We would be especially pleased to see innovative perspectives on unusual topics such as the show’s paratexts or production elements. Though not prescriptive, the following list of topics may be productive to consider:
*Alternate Worlds *Auteur Theory—J.J. Abrams, creator *Broadcasting/Scheduling *Casting *Characters/Character Development *(Dis)Ability—representations of mental illness, psychotherapeutic techniques, (de)institutionalization *Drug Use—recreational use as well as therapeutic use of recreational drugs *Discourse Analysis *Fandom *Gender *Genre *Government Intervention/Conspiracy Theories *History—LSD trials, emergence of transpersonal psychology/Consciousness Studies *Intertextuality *Interpersonal Communication *Myth(ologies) *(Neuro)Science and Technology—ethics (e.g., human experimentations) *Philosophy/Spirituality/Religion *Paratexts—web content, fan fiction, glyphs *Production—cinematography, editing, musical score *Predecessors—The X-Files, Regenesis, Eleventh Hour, etc. *Psychology *Race *Rhetoric
We strongly recommend authors familiarize themselves with these publications to extend and/or challenge published analyses of the series:
*Grazier, Kevin R., ed. Fringe Science: Parallel Universes, White Tulips, and Mad Scientists. Dallas: Smart Pop, 2011. Print. *Stuart, Sarah Clarke. Into the Looking Glass: Exploring the Worlds of Fringe. Toronto: ECW, 2011. Print.
QUERIES AND SUBMISSIONS
Queries are welcomed; please email us at fringecollection@gmail.com Send 350-500-word proposals or 5,000-7,000-word essays in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) to the same email address; please label your attachment with “Fringe,” your last name, and the date (day.month.year)—e.g., “Fringe, Cochran, 1.3.12.” We suggest but do not require that proposals include a working bibliography. Please provide in a separate document or in the body of the email a brief biography and selected vita.
PRODUCTION TIMELINE
We are currently negotiating with a publisher and working on the following timeline:
*Proposals Due: 15 May 2012
*Notification of Acceptance: 15 June 2012
*First Drafts Due: 1 November 2012
(Information from the I.B. Tauris website)
Publishing alongside the world premiere of Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, Will Brooker’s new book explores Batman’s twenty-first century incarnations. Brooker’s close analysis of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight offers a rigorous, accessible account of the complex relationship between popular films, audiences, and producers in our age of media convergence. By exploring themes of authorship, adaptation and intertextuality, he addresses a myriad of questions raised by these films: did Batman Begins end when The Dark Knight began? Does its story include the Gotham Knight DVD, or the ‘Why So Serious’ viral marketing campaign? Is it separate from the parallel narratives of the Arkham Asylum videogame, the monthly comic books, the animated series and the graphic novels? Can the brightly campy incarnations of the Batman ever be fully repressed by The Dark Knight, or are they an intrinsic part of the character? Do all of these various manifestations feed into a single Batman metanarrative? This will be a vital text for film students and academics, as well as legions of Batman fans.
We are seeking scholarly contributions and critical examinations focused on the young adult novel and cultural phenomenon The Hunger Games. This book intends to interrogate the features that make Hunger Games such an important cultural artifact. Despite the recent book of commentary written by popular YA novelists—The Girl Who Was On Fire— few scholars have paid critical attention to Collins and Hunger Games. We are looking for essays that will begin to fill the gap in the scholarly conversation about YA literature by investigating the social and rhetorical work achieved in and through The Hunger Games.
This particular collection of essays seeks to investigate issues of audience and the novel’s function within real world spaces and situations, as well as traditional readings of the trilogy as literature, specifically as a work of children’s or YA literature. Topics include (but are not necessarily limited to) media studies and fan culture, social realities and identity, and young adult literature as a genre.
We are also interested in a limited number of creative contributions from an undergraduate audience that explore grassroots reactions to Collins’s text.
For more information, please email wjones23@utk.edu.
To propose an essay, please send a 300-400 word proposal and an informal bio to the above email address no later than June 15, 2012.
Deidre Evans Garriott, Julie Tyler, Whitney Jones; University of Tennessee
2012 AX Anime and Manga Studies Symposium
Los Angeles, CA: June 29 – July 2, 2012
Anime and manga are visual culture and media, popular entertainment,
commercial products, objects of interest and sometimes obsession – and
for many people, their first and sometimes only contact with Japan.
Scholars in Japan and around the world have increasingly become
interested in the themes, topics, and issues of anime and manga – and
of all Japanese popular culture.
The goal of the AX Anime and Manga Studies Symposium is to highlight
cutting-edge research and critical thinking about Japanese animation
and comics by examining emerging trends in anime and manga studies
around the world. Anime Expo is the largest gathering of fans of
Japanese popular culture in the U.S., and, as an integral component of
the AX program, the Symposium will also serve to introduce anime and
manga studies to a general, non-academic audience. Another goal of
this event will be to to establish crucial connections and facilitate
briding the gaps between scholars and fans.
Speakers are invited to present papers on any topic related to
Japanese comics and animation, global anime and manga fandom, and the
anime/manga industry in Japan and elsewhere. Individual presentations
can focus on themes and topics such as:
– Close readings of particular individual anime and manga texts.
– Uses of anime and manga to present viewpoints on Japanese and world history.
– Japanese animation and comics in historical perspective: anime and
manga before Tezuka.
– Anime and manga as a corpus: Sequels, remakes, reinterpretations,
reimaginings.
– Global conversations with Japanese popular culture – Non-Japanese
uses of anime and manga, e.g., Animatrix, Batman, First Squad, Iron
Man, Supernatural, etc.
– The role of the creator and director (and individual
creators/directors) in the development of anime and manga.
– Cultural production approaches to Japanese visual culture: Examining
production, promotion, marketing, international licensing and
distribution, translation and sales to understand anime’s global
impact.
– The activities of anime/manga fans – for example, fanfiction,
cosplay, anime music videos, and website development. Other ideas are
also welcome.
– Anime and manga adaptations and adaptations of anime and manga:
Failures and successes.
– Beyond mainstream anime and manga: Experimental and non-mainstream
Japanese animation and comics.
– Anime and manga in the classroom: Theories and experiences of
teaching Japanese visual culture.
– Popular culture responds to reality: The Great Eastern Japan
Earthquake and future directions in Japanese visual culture.
The symposium particularly welcomes studies of recent and new anime
and manga (such as Durarara, Eden of the East, Madoka, Red Line) and
papers that engage with recent Japanese and Western scholarship on
these and other related topics.
This list is not exhaustive, and other topics and approaches will be
welcome as well.
To respond, please forward the title of your paper, an abstract of
300-500 words, and your CV to the attention of Mikhail Koulikov, at
mkoulikov@gmail.com.
All submissions will undergo peer review.
The Symposium program will also feature several roundtable panel
discussions bringing together scholars from different institutions to
share different perspectives on anime and manga.
Roundtable panel 1: Anime and manga studies at 30: Issues and directions.
Roundtable panel 2: Fan cultures and practices in Japan, America, and beyond.
Roundtable panel 3: The future of Japanese visual culture.
If you are interested in participating in any of these discussions,
please contact Mikhail Koulikov, at mkoulikov@gmail.com, with a
summary of your experience and background plus a 300-500 word
statement of your interest and specific approaches to your topic
The deadline for all paper and panel proposals is May 15, 2012.
All speakers will receive complimentary admission to Anime Expo 2012.
Some reimbursement of travel expenses may be available.
Proposals by April 30th 2012, essays submitted by August 2012.
Seven essays each 1,000 words, illustrated by images/screen captures, on an aspect of Audrey Hepburn as a cultural/screen phenomenon. The essays will be part of the Audrey Hepburn book in Intellect’s new series Fan Phenomena.
The Fox television series Glee is nothing short of a phenomenon—hit show, sell-out concerts, extensive merchandising, chart-topping hits (eighth in digital sales), and a very passionate fandom. Glee is also simultaneously celebrated and disparaged for its tackling of timely cultural topics, such as bullying, coming out as gay or lesbian, and teen pregnancy. Much of this blurring of praise and derision centers on the program’s representations of gender and sexuality issues, like those previously mentioned.
This collection aims to illustrate how multiple fields of study inform, shape, challenge, and/or complicate gender and sexuality representations on Glee.
The varying types of diversity represented by the characters featured on Glee, as well as the ensemble cast portraying them, provides the opportunity to examine representations of gender and sexuality from multiple perspectives.
Possible disciplinary approaches include but are not limited to:
• Pedagogy
• Teacher education
• Music/music education
• LGBT/queer studies
• Feminist studies
• Fan studies
• Race/ethnicity
• New media fandoms
• Theater studies
• Disability studies
Submissions should include a proposed title, an abstract of no more than 500 words, and a short author biography. Please email the above to Michelle Parke at mparke@carrollcc.edu by May 15, 2012. Complete chapters manuscripts of 3,000-5,000 words will be due by August 15, 2012.
An interdisciplinary conference celebrating 50 years of adventures in time and space
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 1 September 2012
Conference dates: 3-5 September 2013
Venue: University of Hertfordshire
Keynote speakers will include:
James Chapman (author of Inside the Tardis: The Worlds of Doctor Who)
David Butler (editor of Time and Relative Dissertations in Space: Critical Perspectives on Doctor Who)
Matt Hills (author of Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating Doctor Who in the 21st Century)
David Lavery (editor of The Essential Cult Television Reader)
Lorna Jowett (author of Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan)
‘I’m a Time Lord. I’m not a human being. I walk in eternity.’
Since it first aired in the shadow of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Saturday 23 November 1963, Doctor Who has become one of the most distinctive, powerful, varied, persistent and singular myths of the modern era. This quintessentially British television programme has developed a life far beyond the ‘one page of notes’ that was shown to its first producer, Verity Lambert, by BBC Head of Serials Donald Wilson and Head of Drama Sydney Newman. Originally screened by the BBC from 1963 to 1989, Doctor Who was originally a cult favourite, notable for its low-budget special effects and its pioneering use of music. In 2005 the series received a face-lift from executive producer, Russell T. Davies, and enjoyed a global resurgence winning the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2006 and five consecutive wins at the National Television Awards (2005-10) in the Drama category. In 2011 Matt Smith was nominated for a BAFTA for his portrayal of the latest incarnation of the Doctor. In short, Doctor Who, is a national and global phenomenon.
This conference will look at the Doctor Who phenomenon as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, bringing together figures who have worked on the show as well as journalists, writers and academics from a wide range of disciplines.
Proposals for 20 minute papers are now invited.
Papers will be considered on any Who-related themes. Abstracts of 300 words should be submitted by 1 September 2012 to
Steven Peacock: S.Peacock@herts.ac.uk
Kim Akass: K.Akass@herts.ac.uk
CFP: The Adventures of Tintin (essay collection)
Abstracts are now being accepted for possible inclusion in an anthology on “The Adventures of Tintin.” Proposed essay topics should creatively engage with the critical, philosophical, and social issues explored in the Tintin universe. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
• Tintin and Hergé
• Tintin and comic book history
• Tintin and detective fiction
• Tintin and the adventure story
• Tintin in translation
• Censorship of Tintin
• Tintin’s spinoffs
• Tintin in adaptations
• Tintin in films
• Tintin clubs
• Tintin and geography
• Tintin and travel
• Travel and colonialism
• Treatment of race in Tintin
• Snowy as sidekick
• Animal welfare
• EcoTintin
• Tintin and gender
• Tintin and masculinity; homosocial relations
• Tintin in criticism
Submission Guidelines:
1. Submission deadline for abstracts (100-500 words) and a short biography(100-250 words): 30 April, 2012
2. Submission deadline for first drafts of accepted papers: 15 September 2012. 3. Submission deadline for final papers: 1 December 2012
Kindly submit abstracts (as Word Document attachment) to BOTH Tyler Shores (tyler.shores@gmail.com) and Tom Ue (ue_tom@hotmail.com).
The Fan Studies Network 
