Fan Studies virtual conference *extended deadline!*
online
Organization: Fan Studies Network North America (FSN-NA)
INSIDE VOICES
Fan Studies Network – North America (FSN-NA) Virtual Conference
October 13–16, 2022
SUBMISSIONS NOW DUE AUGUST 8
As much as fandom is about how we feel, it doesn’t just live in our heads or separate from the rest of our lives. Instead, it spills out into the spaces where we live and work, as posters on bedroom walls, shelves of books, records, movies, or games, and collections of merchandise and memorabilia. For the last two years, many of us have spent more time at home due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In doing so, we might have gained new perspectives on the personal, everyday spaces where fandom often “happens,” or seen novel ways in which fandom interests and fannish identities cross over into the other everyday activities now taking place in those same spaces. This year, we hope to explore the relationships between spaces–online and offline, private and public–that shape our fandom experiences.
Since this year’s Fan Studies Network–North America (FSNNA) conference is once again virtual and will come to you live from spare rooms, home offices, and bedrooms around the world, this year’s conference is dedicated to exploring the material, spatial, and domestic dimensions of fandom. While we will certainly consider submissions on other themes, we are particularly interested in fan studies and interdisciplinary scholarship that considers how fandom and fannish activities take place “inside” our homes, rooms, and other places considered within the private sphere.
Submissions for the 2022 FSNNA Virtual Conference
We warmly welcome submissions from first-time presenters, graduate students, early career researchers, independent scholars, and established scholars. We are interested in engaging with all forms of fandom from any disciplinary, theoretical, or methodological perspective.
In keeping with our 2022 theme, some topics we hope to see include (but are not limited to!):
- Domestic spaces and bedroom cultures
- Relationships between spaces – online and offline, private and public
- Fandom during Covid-19
- Fans and fandoms effecting change in virtual spaces
- Parasociality and fandom at home
- Transcultural fans and fandoms in global contexts
- Collecting and the material culture of media fandom
- Fans’ use of digital platforms
- “New” fandoms that have emerged (or re-emerged) since 2020 and Covid protocols/realities
- Representation(s) of fans
We are seeking submissions in a variety of formats, which we hope will encourage a more discussion-based conference that helps us all continue learning together. Broadly speaking, there are two options for presenting your ideas at the FSNNA 2022 conference; our submission form will ask you to select the one that fits best.
ROUNDTABLE TRACK: Talks
An FSNNA roundtable is a selected group of presenters sharing short talks on a shared topic, text, methodology, or other subject. If you want to be part of a broader conversation about themes and issues arising from your work, then this is the track for you.
Unlike traditional conference papers, FSNNA talks are more focused on generating productive discussion among 3 to 5 participants. Talks should be capped at 5 minutes, more like an “opening statement” on your work, to be followed by a moderated discussion period before opening up to collective conversation with the audience. We also encourage participants to include potential questions for discussion.
Individual talks will be grouped into roundtables by the organizers based on the keywords that you provide with your proposal. However, we are also open to pre-constituted roundtables. The organizer of a pre-constituted roundtable must have 3 to 5 committed presenters and handle communications for the panel.
Submissions of 300-word proposals and 5 to 7 keywords are now due August 8.
POSTER TRACK: Multimedia summaries
Posters are multimedia summaries of a work in progress. This is the ideal track if you want to receive direct feedback on an idea or project from lots of different perspectives.
Posters could be infographics, slide decks, zines, or short video essays. (Some examples of posters from past conferences are available in the “Multimedia” section of Transformative Works and Cultures vol. 25.) Posters will be shared for asynchronous feedback (i.e., not at a scheduled time, but for conference-goers to view and comment on at any time during the conference). Therefore, we also encourage participants to include questions or areas where you would especially like feedback.
Submissions of 300-word proposals and 5 to 7 keywords are now due August 8.
Get Ready for the Conference!
Thanks for reading, and we hope that you’re as excited as we are!
Still have questions? Feel free to contact us at fsnna.conference@gmail.com! Also, keep an eye out for more news about our plenary speakers, annual vid show, and more on Twitter and on our website.
Ready to submit your ideas? Visit our submission form here: https://forms.gle/G1QADr6mVcBrtrwx9
https://fsn-northamerica.org/call-for-participants
FSN-NA organizers
