Okay. This is the Coolest Master's Thesis EVER!
I was going to post something quick saying that I was going to take an official break from LJ for a while (for realsies this time), but then I found out about this:
Fandom Then/Fandom Now
In the words of the chief investigator, Katherine Morrissey (a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaulkee):
For many people, fan fiction is as much a part of their reading as commercial literature. Fan fiction websites and archives provide readers with novels, serials, romantic and erotic stories, non-romantic stories, experimental literature, video and visual art, etc. While fan writers and readers are certainly not exclusively interested in romance, fan writing frequently explores the romantic potential between two characters and fan fiction is often built on romantic foundations. The shift to digital publishing and reading is having a dramatic impact on commercial romance literature. However, what about the kinds of romantic and erotic stories fans produce? How is fan work being affected by the rise in digital publishing? The Fandom Then/Now project presents research conducted in 2008 and uses it to facilitate conversations about fan fiction's past and future.
What do you notice in the data from 2008? What do you think about the intersections between fan fiction and romantic storytelling? Now, in 2014, what has and hasn't changed about fans' reading and writing practices?
If you dig deeper into the website, Morrissey points out that 2008, when the original survey was conducted, was right before Archive of Our Own and Dreamwidth were launched. Twitter begain in 2006, but it wasn't until the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive Festival that it began getting mainstream attention. In 2007, there were 400,000 tweets posted per quarter, but by 2008 the number had jumped to 100 million per quarter. Tumblr started in 2007, and while I couldn't find a cool statistic, fandom only began using it in 2009-2010. The technology has changed since 2008, and the investigator would really like people who have seen fandom evolve over various technologies to help participate in the new study.
So yeah. Before I leave for my break, I give you something about fan studies rather than a long essay complaining about comic book adaptations, the failure of Arrow, and why grad school applications were invented by the devil. It should be a nice change of pace.
And here's a read I just found - Henry Jenkins using a Thelma and Louise vampire AU to discuss audience theory. I figure red_satin_doll would appreciate this, and so would many others.
Oh, and this is a public post so a few non-LJ people can see it, and maybe it can be spread around somehow so more people see it? Is pimping still a thing? Do we still pimp stuff?
Fandom Then/Fandom Now
In the words of the chief investigator, Katherine Morrissey (a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaulkee):
For many people, fan fiction is as much a part of their reading as commercial literature. Fan fiction websites and archives provide readers with novels, serials, romantic and erotic stories, non-romantic stories, experimental literature, video and visual art, etc. While fan writers and readers are certainly not exclusively interested in romance, fan writing frequently explores the romantic potential between two characters and fan fiction is often built on romantic foundations. The shift to digital publishing and reading is having a dramatic impact on commercial romance literature. However, what about the kinds of romantic and erotic stories fans produce? How is fan work being affected by the rise in digital publishing? The Fandom Then/Now project presents research conducted in 2008 and uses it to facilitate conversations about fan fiction's past and future.
What do you notice in the data from 2008? What do you think about the intersections between fan fiction and romantic storytelling? Now, in 2014, what has and hasn't changed about fans' reading and writing practices?
If you dig deeper into the website, Morrissey points out that 2008, when the original survey was conducted, was right before Archive of Our Own and Dreamwidth were launched. Twitter begain in 2006, but it wasn't until the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive Festival that it began getting mainstream attention. In 2007, there were 400,000 tweets posted per quarter, but by 2008 the number had jumped to 100 million per quarter. Tumblr started in 2007, and while I couldn't find a cool statistic, fandom only began using it in 2009-2010. The technology has changed since 2008, and the investigator would really like people who have seen fandom evolve over various technologies to help participate in the new study.
So yeah. Before I leave for my break, I give you something about fan studies rather than a long essay complaining about comic book adaptations, the failure of Arrow, and why grad school applications were invented by the devil. It should be a nice change of pace.
And here's a read I just found - Henry Jenkins using a Thelma and Louise vampire AU to discuss audience theory. I figure red_satin_doll would appreciate this, and so would many others.
Oh, and this is a public post so a few non-LJ people can see it, and maybe it can be spread around somehow so more people see it? Is pimping still a thing? Do we still pimp stuff?