- A webinar presentation on Open Learning in Fan Fiction Communities was held at the Connected Learning site. Presented by several scholars from The University of Washington Information School, it discussed various aspects of fanfic communities, including a term they developed called ‘distributed affect’ which described “emotional experiences [that] could also be embodied outside a group and led to significant increases in collaborative creativity.” (No transcript available).
- The Education Institute is also holding a webinar, this one for librarians, titled From Marvel to Middle-Earth: Fanfiction in the Library. The session expected to cover various topics including “background on the various technologies and fan-centred services—such as LiveJournal, Fanfiction.com, Archive of Our Own (AO3), and Amazon Worlds—that have grown up around the movement and how they are used. Participants will also learn how they can be incorporated into a library setting and adapted for programs” as well as “advice on how to incorporate and lead fan-driven creative programming at the library that is exciting, collaborative, and instructional. This includes suggestions for how to structure meetings, encourage participation and creativity in young writers, and provide opportunities to grow and refine literacy skills such as writing and engaging with texts in a constructive way.”
- The University of East Anglia in Norwich held an academic conference on Frozen in May. “The one-day event, or “Symfrozium”, on May 12 will be the first day of academia dedicated to Disney’s film” and covered “feminism, the film’s music, reworking of fairy tales and the role of love, and whether Frozen can be considered a part of the ‘Nordic Noir’ genre which includes Stieg Larsson’s altogether darker Millennium book trilogy.”
- Stamford, Connecticut’s Daily Voice reported on a fandom storytelling event that encouraged participants to show and tell their stories of fandom. “The collaborative storytelling event’s theme of fandom was inspired by Jeremy Deller’s ‘Our Hobby Is Depeche Mode.’ Deller’s feature-length video piece shows Depeche Mode fans from all over the world and is currently on view in the group exhibition ‘It’s gonna take a lotta love.'”
What are your favorite fan studies works about fandom? Write about them in Fanlore! Contributions are welcome from all fans.
We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent OTW Fannews post. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in a Fannews post, and inclusion of a link doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.