Proposed editor: Naomi Jacobs, Lancaster University
Background
On 1st March 2024 a Symposium event was hosted by the Fan Studies Lancaster research network where links and synergies between the fields of Fan Studies and Design were discussed. Recordings of the event are available, which give an idea of the rich opportunities at this intersection, and can be found here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/11044138
An edited collection is now under consideration with Emerald Publishing, which will bring together fan studies scholars and design researchers to discuss where new exciting research may emerge at the intersection of these two areas. Confirmed contributors include our symposium keynote speaker Dr Bethan Jones, and others who spoke at the event.
Call for chapters
Fan studies is a field of research which examines fans, fan cultures and fandom. Although often associated with disciplines such as media studies and English literature, it is an interdisciplinary field that spans a multitude of lenses through which to consider what fans do and what fans create.
Design research is the study of design; what designers do, how research can support design, and how design can be a research method for creation of new knowledge. Design is problem-focused, considering ways in which we can design new products, services, and experiences that may require consideration of multiple stakeholders, and address complex ‘wicked’ problems with no single correct solution.
Fan studies and design are both relatively young disciplines (Jacobs, 2018), both of which are familiar with interdisciplinarity, and with co-production and participation. Many fans take part in activities which might be considered design; from production of creative outputs such as fanvids and fanart (Nielsen, 2021), to community-led projects for activism (Kligler-Vilenchik et al, 2012), and creating platforms such as Archive of Our Own (Fiesler et al, 2016). Similarly, many current questions being addressed in design research have bearing on fan communities, including design for sustainability (Lamerichs, 2024), the design and affordances of platforms (Ghosh and Aragon, 2024) and the implications of new technologies such as AI (Li and Pang, 2024)
Examples of potential chapter topics include but are not limited to:
- Brands, marketing and merchandise
- Participatory design methods and the acafan
- Design of fan platforms
- How platform designs and affordances shape practices and community
- Design, data storytelling and digital humanities
- Fan practice as design – memetics, fanmerch and transformative works
- Service design in fan tourism
How to submit
We invite those who work in fan studies, those who work in design research, or those who are already working between these areas to submit chapter abstracts of 250-500 words. Joint expertise in both fields is not required, only a curiosity about one or both areas.
Please send abstracts and a short biographical note (50-100 words) by 30th September 2024 to naomi.jacobs@lancaster.ac.uk, with a view to having completed chapters of approximately 4000-8000 words by March 2025 (to be confirmed). Do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions and share this call with any potential interested parties.
References
Fiesler, C., Morrison, S., & Bruckman, A. S. (2016, May). An archive of their own: A case study of feminist HCI and values in design. In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 2574-2585).
Ghosh, S., & Aragon, C. (2024). Leveraging community support and platform affordances on a path to more active participation: A study of online fan fiction communities. Transformative Works and Cultures, 42.
Jacobs, N. (2020). Interdisciplinary methodologies for the fan studies bricoleur. Transformative Works and Cultures, 33(1).
Kligler-Vilenchik, N., McVeigh-Schultz, J., Weitbrecht, C., & Tokuhama, C. (2012). Experiencing fan activism: Understanding the power of fan activist organizations through members’ narratives. Transformative Works and Cultures, 10, 2012.
Lamerichs, N. (2024) Sustainable Fandom: Responsible Consumption and Play in Game Communities. In Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis, Edited by Laura op de Beke, Joost Raessens, Stefan Werning, and Gerald Farca. p543.
Li, E. C. Y., Pang, K. W. (2024). Fandom meets artificial intelligence: Rethinking participatory culture as human–community–machine interactions. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 13675494241236146.
Nielsen, E. J. (2021). The Iconography of Fanart. A Fan Studies Primer: Method, Research, Ethics, 207-22.