Fan Culture as an Informal Learning Environment : Presentation of a NGL project

Fan culture is a subculture that has developed explosively on the internet over the last decades. Fans are creating their own films, translations, fiction, fan art, blogs, role play and also various forms that are all based on familiar popular culture creations like TV-series, bestsellers, anime, manga stories and games. In our project, we analyze two of these subculture genres, fan fiction and scanlation. Amateurs, and sometimes professional writers, create new stories by adapting and developing existing storylines and characters from the original. In this way, a "network" of texts occurs, and writers step into an intertextual dialogue with established writers such as JK Rowling (Harry Potter) and Stephanie Meyer (Twilight). Literary reception and creation then merge into a rich reciprocal creative activity which includes comments and feedback from the participators in the community. The critical attitude of the fans regarding quality and the frustration at waiting for the official translation of manga books led to the development of scanlation, which is an amateur translation of manga distributed on the internet.  Today, young internet users get involved in conceptual discussions of intertextuality and narrative structures through fan activity. In the case of scanlation, the scanlators practice the skills and techniques of translating in an informal environment. This phenomenon of participatory culture has been observed by scholars and it is concluded that they contribute to the development of a student’s literacy and foreign language skills. Furthermore, there is no doubt that the fandom related to Japanese cultural products such as manga, anime and videogames is one of the strong motives for foreign students to start learning Japanese. This is something to take into pedagogical consideration when we develop web-based courses. Fan fiction and fan culture make it ​​possible to have an intensive transcultural dialogue between participators throughout the world and is of great interest when studying the interaction between formal and informal learning that puts the student in focus

Fan activism on Twitter: online sport fandom communities and the campaign #ForaRicardoTeixeira [Fã-ativismo no Twitter: comunidades online de fãs de esporte e a campanha #ForaRicardoTeixeira]

This paper approaches a particular type of fandom practice, what I am calling fan activism. Fan activism is a topic that has historically received little attention in the fandom studies area. Here, I analyse the #ForaRicardoTeixeira campaign from a sample of 15,000 tweets posted at the time of his re¬signation from CBF. This paper combines quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate a) the com¬munity dynamics and b) the content of the conversations. The dynamics analysis pointed out, for instance, patterns of users and information sources, and the content analysis revealed how users framed the case. Future implications of the results for the study of online sport fandom practices are discussed at last.

Literary prosumers : young people’s reading and writing in a new media landscape

The production of culture is today a matter of ‘user generated content’ and young people are vital participants as ‘prosumers’, i.e. both producers and consumers, of cultural products. Among other things, they are busy creating fan works (stories, pictures, films) based on already published material. Using the genre fan fiction as a point of departure, this article explores the drivers behind net communities organised around fan culture and argues that fan fiction sites can in many aspects be regarded as informal learning settings. By turning to the rhetoric principle of imitatio, the article shows how in the collective interactive processes between readers and writers such fans develop literacies and construct gendered identities.

A Cultura Remix e a releitura de Imagens nas séries televisivas: o caso da comunidade SWEN

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Comunicação Social como parte dos requisitos para obtenção de grau de mestre em Audiovisual e Multimédia.

Perception of critical situations involving football fans: dynamics of conflict escalation and de-escalation

Title: The perception of critical situations involving football fans – how conflicts escalate or de-escalate Authors: Brechbühl, A.1, Schumacher, A.1 & Seiler, R.1 1Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Switzerland Abstract: Introduction: Fan violence in the context of football matches is a prominent issue in today’s western societies and Switzerland presents no exception. A lot of research has been conducted on reasons for fan violence, mostly with fans of national teams. A prominent model is the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000): ESIM highlights the importance of interactions between the involved groups and their effect on the development of social identities. Another model is the aggravation mitigation model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) which illustrates factors that can contribute towards an escalation or non-escalation of group violence, such as the “categorization” of the opponent group. Despite these models, research about the individual perceptions, and in particular, what factors distinguish between an escalation versus a non-escalation of a potentially violent situation in domestic football, is as yet scarce. This explorative study examines perceptions of critical situations in the domestic football fan context in Switzerland. Methods: An explorative qualitative design was employed to gather data about critical situations (CS) around football matches of two clubs of the Raiffeisen Super League. A CS is defined as a setting in or around the football stadium where violence between football fans and another group could occur. Eight CS were identified and analysed. Fifty-nine narrative interviews with individuals involved in a CS, e.g. fans, police officers or security personnel, were conducted. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: The involved opposing groups expressed group-specific perceptions. Furthermore a strong tendency to negatively stereotype the opponent group was observed. Provocative symbols, such as balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms, were considered as highly relevant for the interpretation of the situation. Successful communication and sufficient distance between opponent groups supported the appeasement of a CS. These findings also underline the importance of knowledge about the local fan culture. This culture serves as basis for the perception of legitimacy, which was assessed to be essential for a de-escalation of a CS by fans. Discussion/Conclusion: This study improves the understanding of fan violence in the domestic football context in Switzerland. Based on the results it is suggested to deploy security or police forces without riot gear but with the goal of seeking dialogue with the fans to increase the likelihood of a peaceful ending in a CS. The findings also support the applicability of the ESIM (Drury & Reicher, 2000) and the AM model (Hylander & Guvå, 2010) in the context of domestic fan violence. Due to possible differences in the local fan cultures in Switzerland, research in this area should be continued. References: Drury, J., & Reicher, S. (2000). Collective action and psychological change: The emergence of new social identities. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 579-604. Hylander, I., & Guvå, G. (2010). Misunderstanding of out-group behaviour: Different interpretations of the same crowd events among police officers and demonstrators. Nordic Psychology, 62, 25-47.

Perceptions of critical situations involving football fans: the dynamics of conflict escalation or de-escalation

Fan violence in the context of football matches has drawn the attention of stakeholders and the media. This phenomenon has also attracted the scientific community’s attention, where research mostly focused on reasons for violence escalation. The Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000) for example focuses on group-interactions and social identities, while the Aggravation Mitigation Model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) concentrates on factors contributing to an escalation or a non-escalation of group-violence. However individual perceptions of the different persons involved in potential conflicts have not been sufficiently examined. Beside of that research in domestic football or involving ultrafans is scarce. Especially in Switzerland, there is a lack of research concerning the dynamics of the development or non-development of fan violence. This exploratory study included eight critical situations from the season 2012/2013 of the Swiss premier league to gather data about the perceptions of various persons involved (fans, police officers or security) and the dynamics contributing towards escalation or de-escalation. Fifty-nine narrative interviews were conducted and analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). The individuals involved (fans, police and security personnel) showed groupspecific perceptions and a tendency to stereotype the opponent group. Provocative symbols (balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms) were important for the interpretation of the situation. No escalation occurred when successful communication and sufficient distance between the groups was established. Knowledge about the local fan culture is important, because it influences the perception of legitimacy on the side of the fans. This study improves the understanding of fan violence and is congruent with the ESIM and the AM model. It is suggested to deploy police dialogue teams without riot gear. Their task is to establish direct communication with the fans to facilitate a peaceful ending of a critical situation.

Identifying observable criteria defining a critical situation involving football fans: an expert focus group study

Critical situations (CSs) involving football fans is a well-researched phenomenon with most studies examining factors leading to an escalation of violence (e.g. Braun & Vliegenthart, 2008). However, research so far has fallen short of analysing CSs that do not escalate (e.g. Hylander & Guvå, 2010) as well as establishing observable criteria that constitute such CSs. Granström et al. (2009), for instance, put forward a definition of a CS describing such situations as characterised by a discrepancy between peace and war-making behaviours between police and demonstrators. Still, this definition remains vague and does not provide concrete, defining criteria that can be identified on site. The present study looks beyond fans’ violent acts per se and focuses on these situations with a potentially – but not necessarily - violent outcome. The aim of this preliminary study is to identify observable criteria defining such a CS involving football fans. This focus group comprised of five experts working with football fans in the German-speaking area of Switzerland who discussed observable characteristics of a CS. Inductive content analysis led to the identification of specific criteria such as, “arrest of a fan”, “insufficient distance (<30m) between fans and police” and “fans mask themselves”. These criteria were then assigned to four phases of a CS highlighting the dynamic aspect of this phenomenon: Antecedents, Causes, Reactions, Consequence. Specifically, Causes, Reactions and Consequences are observable on site, while Antecedents include relevant, background information directly influencing a CS. This study puts forward a working definition of a CS that can facilitate the assessment of actual situations in the football context as well as for further research on fan violence prevention and control. These results also highlight similarities with studies investigating fan violence in other European countries while acknowledging unique characteristics of the Swiss German fan culture.

Borderless Fandom and Contemporary Popular Cultural Scene in Chinese Cyberspace

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Queering cyberspace : fan fiction communities as spaces for expressing and exploring sexuality

The social construction of sexuality over the past one hundred and fifty years has created a dichotomy between heterosexual and non-heterosexual identities that essentially positions the former as “normal” and the latter as deviant. Even Kinsey’s and others’ work on the continuum of sexualities did little to alter the predominantly heterosexist perception of the non-heterosexual as “other” (Kinsey, Pomeroy and Martin 2007; Esterberg 2006; Franceour and Noonan 2007). Some political action and academic work is beginning to challenge such perceptions. Even some avenues of social interaction, such as the recent proliferation of online communities, may also challenge such views, or at least contribute to their being rethought in some ways. This chapter explores a specific kind of online community devoted to fan fiction, specifically homoerotic – or what is known colloquially as “slash” – fan fiction. Fan fiction is fiction, published on the internet, and written by fans of well-known books and television shows, using the characters to create new and varied plots. “Slash” refers to the pairing of two of the male characters in a romantic relationship, and the term comes from the punctuation mark dividing the named pair as, for example, Spock/Kirk from the Star Trek television series. Although there are some slash fan-fiction stories devoted to female-female relationships – called “femmeslash” – the term “slash” generally refers to male-male relationships, and will be utilized throughout this chapter, given that the research discussed focuses on communities centered around one such male pairing.

The art of being a fan : complicity and criticality in contemporary art and fandom

This practice-led research project aims to use contemporary art processes and concepts of fandom to construct a space for the critical and creative exploration of the relationship between them. Much of the discourse addressing the intersection of these spaces over the last three decades tends to treat art and fan studies as separate areas of critical and theoretical research. There has also been very little consideration of the critical interface that art practice and fandom share in their engagement with one another – or how the artist as fan might creatively exploit this relationship. Approaching these issues through a practice-led methodology that combines studio based explorations and traditional modes of research, the project aims to demonstrate how my 'fannish' engagements with popular culture can generate new responses to, and understandings of, the relationship between fandom, affect and visual art. The research acts as a performative and creative investigation of fandom as I document the complicit tendencies that arise out of my affective relationship with pop cultural artefacts. It does this through appropriating and reconfiguring content from film, television and print media, to create digital video installations aimed at engendering new experiences and critical interpretations of screen culture. This approach promotes new possibilities for creative engagements with art and popular culture, and these are framed through the lens of what I term the digital-bricoleur. The research will be primarily contextualised by examining other artists' practices as well as selected theoretical frameworks that traverse my investigative terrain. The key artists that are discussed include Douglas Gordon, Candice Brietz, Pierre Huyghe, Paul Pfieffer, and Jennifer and Kevin McCoy. The theoretical developments of the project are drawn from a pluralistic range of ideas ranging from Johanna Drucker's discussion of critical complicity in contemporary art, Matt Hills' discussion of subjectivity in fandom and academia, Nicolas Bourriaud's discussion of Postproduction art practices, and Jacques Rancière's ideas about aesthetics and politics. The methodology and artworks developed over the course of this project will also demonstrate how digital-bricolage leads to new understandings of the relationships between contemporary art and entertainment. The research aims to exploit these apparently contradictory positions to generate a productive site for rethinking the relationship between the creative and critical possibilities of art and fandom. The outcomes of the research consists of a body of artworks – 75% – that demonstrate new contributions to knowledge, and an exegetical component – 25% – that acts to reflect on, analyse and critically contextualise the practice-led findings.

Online belongings : female fan experiences in online soccer forums

Introduction: The Paradox at the Heart of Online Interaction

Fan writers [Författande fans]

[In Swedish: Varje dag ägnar sig mängder av ungdomar åt att skriva, läsa och kommentera fanfiction, berättelser baserade på karaktärer från redan kända verk. I fanfiction förflyttas förlagans miljöer och karaktärer in i andra sammanhang där nya historier skapas. Ungdomarna gör sina texter tillgängliga på olika nätsajter, där läsare över hela världen i interaktion med skribenterna kan kommentera och påverka. Detta möjliggör en kraftfull skrivprocess där aktörerna agerar som både författare, läsare och kritiker. Läs mer om boken på studentlitteratur.se]

To be continued... fan fiction and the constructing of identity

This chapter contributes to the existing body of knowledge on fan fiction by reporting the findings from a quantitative and qualitative study on fan fiction in a Swedish context. The authors contextualize the fan fiction phenomenon as a part of a larger transformation of the media sphere and the society in general where media consumers’ role as collaborative cultural producers grows ever stronger. They explore what kind of stories inspire the writers and conclude that as in many other parts of the entertainment industry, fan fiction is dominated by a small number of international media brands. The authors show how fan fiction can play an important role in the development of adolescents’ literacies and identities and how their pastime works as a vehicle for personal growth.

Literacies on the Web : Co-Production of Literary Texts on Fan Fiction Sites

In this chapter the authors discuss and informal learning settings such as fan fiction sites and their relations to teaching and learning within formal learning settings. Young people today spend a lot of time with social media built on user generated content. These media are often characterized by participatory culture which offers a good environment for developing skills and identity work. In this chapter the authors problematize fan fiction sites as informal learning settings where the possibilities to learn are powerful and significant. They also discuss the learning processes connected to the development of literacies. Here the rhetoric principle of “imitatio” plays a vital part as well as the co-production of texts on the sites, strongly supported by the beta reader and the power of positive feedback. They also display that some fans, through the online publication of fan fiction, are able to develop their craft in a way which previously have been impossible.

Growth kinetics of 1-2 mm and 3-4 mm colonies of Nostoc sphaeroides (Cyanophyta) in outdoor culture

Nostoc sphaeroides Kutzing was cultivated in paddlewheel-driven raceway ponds and the growth kinetics of 1-2 mm and 3-4 mm colonies of N. sphaeroides was studied. The biomass productivities in 2.5 m(2) raceway ponds inoculated with 1-2 mm and 3-4 mm colonies were 5.2 and 0.25 g dry wt m(-2) stop d(-1), respectively. Furthermore, differently sized colonies showed different relative water content, total soluble carbohydrates, chlorophyll a content and density of filaments. This is the first report on mass culture of N. sphaeroides under outdoor conditions.