[ecrea] CfP Special issue of Transformative Works and Cultures: Fan Studies Methodologies

*CfP Special issue of Transformative Works and Cultures: Fan Studies 
Methodologies (deadline 1/1/19)*

Fan studies is an interdisciplinary field, with scholars in disciplines 
ranging from cultural studies to law, from sociology to library science, 
all bringing their unique perspectives to bear on research about fans. 
As a result, fan studies is methodologically eclectic: approaches can 
include a combination of quantitative, qualitative, highly theoretical, 
practice-based, online, offline, archival, legal, textual, and/or 
community-centred methods, and this is far from an exhaustive list. This 
gives the field flexibility to address a huge variety of research 
questions while also posing challenges with regards to methodology 
selection and compatibility, different perspectives on rigour, as well 
as ethics and researcher positionality. The ways we do fan studies are 
as different, interesting, and challenging of academic norms as the 
things and people that we study.

The goal for this special issue of Transformative Works and Cultures, 
therefore, is to set a common but varied ground for doing research as a 
fan studies scholar. While it is clear that fan studies does use 
specific methodologies, those methods aren’t always explicitly stated or 
considered (Evans and Stasi, 2014). We recognize the variety of 
disciplines that make up fan studies scholarship, and seek to express a 
common sense of ethics, practices, stances, without privileging one as 
‘the’ methodology. Despite being interdisciplinary and methodologically 
eclectic, the tradition of scholarship in the model of Textual Poachers 
has shaped what we see as “fan studies” (Ford, 2014), though other 
approaches have also emerged, such as Chin and Hitchcock-Morimoto (2013) 
who argue for an affective definition of transcultural fans, and Reid 
(2009) who highlights the queer practices of non-normative fans and fandoms.

We seek submissions that address or challenge that shaping, and explore 
and theorize key methodological challenges and approaches within fan 
studies. We encourage articles that address not just the how-to of a 
method, but also why -- theoretically, ethically, fannishly -- that 
method is a good choice (or, perhaps, why it is not a good choice in 
some cases), and we particularly encourage articles that consider the 
ethical dimension as an essential and integral part of research 
methodology. We welcome submissions from scholars with experience within 
academia as well as those working outside academic institutions, and 
those who conduct research on fans while primarily identifying as fans 
rather than scholars.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  * The dual positionality of those who study fans, as both fans and
    researchers (aka the “aca-fandom” question)
  * The theory and practice of interdisciplinarity in fan studies
  * Conducting research outside the support structures of academic
    institutions
  * Negotiating disciplinary and institutional requirements with
    personal, fannish ethics
  * Researching fans online and offline
  * Practice-based research methodologies
  * Feminist and other caring approaches to the relationship between
    researcher and researched in fan studies
  * Quantitative and mixed methods approaches to fan studies
  * The place of qualitative scholarship in fan studies
  * Fan perspectives on fan studies methodologies
  * Community building among fans and scholars
  * Citational practices in fandom and fan studies
  * Embedding intersectional practices in research methods
  * The challenges/solutions to studying underrepresented fandoms, fans,
    and fannish phenomena
  * The role of (mitigating) shame in fan studies methods
  * "Bringing in" and "working out towards" adjacent fields, for
    instance Porn studies, Queer Studies, Critical Race Studies, etc.

We also welcome shorter pieces showcasing specific practical challenges, 
methods, and tools for the contemporary fan studies scholar.

*Works cited*
* Chin, Bertha, and Lori Morimoto. "Towards a theory of transcultural 
fandom."/Participations/ 10, no. 1 (2013): 92–108.
* Evans, Adrienne, and Mafalda Stasi. "Desperately seeking methods: New 
directions in fan studies research." /Participations/ 11, no. 2 (2014): 
4–23.
* Ford, Sam. "Fan studies: Grappling with an ‘Undisciplined’discipline." 
/Journal of Fandom Studies 2/, no. 1 (2014): 53–71.
* Reid, Robin Anne. "Thrusts in the dark: slashers' queer practices." 
/Extrapolation/ 50, no. 3 (2009): 463–483.


*Submission guidelines*
Transformative Works and Cultures (TWC, 
http://journal.transformativeworks.org/) is an international 
peer-reviewed online Gold Open Access publication of the nonprofit 
Organization for Transformative Works copyrighted under a Creative 
Commons License. TWC aims to provide a publishing outlet that welcomes 
fan-related topics and to promote dialogue between the academic 
community and the fan community. TWC accommodates academic articles of 
varying scope as well as other forms that embrace the technical 
possibilities of the Web and test the limits of the genre of academic 
writing.

    *Theory:* Conceptual essays. Peer review, 6,000–8,000 words.
    *Praxis:* Case study essays. Peer review, 5,000–7,000 words.
    *Symposium:* Short commentary. Editorial review, 1,500–2,500 words.

    Please visit TWC's Web site
    (http://journal.transformativeworks.org/) for complete submission
    guidelines, or e-mail the TWC Editor (editor AT
    transformativeworks.org).

    /Contact/—Contact guest editors *Julia Largent* (@julialargent),
    *Milena Popova* (@elmyra), and *Elise Vist* (@visticuffs) with any
    questions or inquiries at (FSMethodologies /at/ gmail.com). You are welcome
    to approach us on Twitter with informal inquiries.

    /Due date/—January 1, 2019, for estimated March 15, 2020 publication.

(http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/announcement/view/43)


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