[ecrea] CFP: Exploring Imaginary Worlds -- Audiences, Fan Cultures and Geographies of the Imagination

Exploring Imaginary Worlds: Audiences, Fan Cultures and Geographies of 
the Imagination



Editors: William Proctor (Bournemouth University) & Richard McCulloch 
(Regent’s University London)

Foreword by Mark J.P. Wolf



Writing for the New York Times, A.O. Scott states that 'today there are 
hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps millions of people whose grasp 
of the history, politics and mythological traditions of entirely 
imaginative places could surely qualify them for an advanced degree' (2002).

However, as Mark J.P. Wolf remarks, such ‘imaginary worlds, which rank 
among the most elaborate mediated entities, have been largely overlooked 
in Media Studies despite a history spanning three millennia’ (2012: 2). 
Wolf’s Building Imaginary Worlds and Michael Saler’s As If (2012) are 
certainly illustrative of a turning point in the study of world-building 
across media platforms, but research to date has tended to restrict 
itself to understanding how ‘geographies of the imagination’ (Saler, 
2012: 4) function at the level of text. The relationship between these 
worlds and those who engage with them – the knowledgeable people to whom 
Scott refers – has yet to be explored in significant detail.

Accordingly, this special section of Participations: Journal of Audience 
and Reception Studies invites contributions that focus on the various 
ways in which audiences explore, interpret and respond to imaginary worlds.

What are the most significant features of these fictional spaces and 
places for the world-explorers themselves? How do audiences navigate and 
negotiate concepts of canon and continuity, and to what extent these 
impact on engagement and enjoyment? Do audiences ‘rummage for 
micro-data,’ as Bordwell puts it, and, if so, through what methods and 
means is this achieved? How do audiences feel about reboots, retcons, 
and other narratives that may contradict, disregard or alter 
pre-established continuities?

We are interested in articles that engage with audiences as opposed to 
speculative accounts or textual analyses – research that maps specific 
communities and their rich relationships with world-building. Materials 
in circulation, as in web forums and the like, can be utilized, as can 
audience research conducted by the researcher. If building an argument 
about how audiences might respond, researchers should consider how to 
test and verify their claims. We would also welcome proposals for 
methodological articles that address the practical and/or ethical 
challenges raised by this kind of research.

Subjects may vary considerably – this list is not exhaustive and the 
editors welcome proposals that fit within the widest possible purview of 
this project. Similarly, this should not indicate any single medium but 
any medium (or combination of media) that engages with story-worlds and 
world-building: examples include prose fiction, comic books, TV, film, 
theme parks, and any other that meets the requirements of this special 
section.

Examples of imaginary worlds may include (but are certainly not limited to):

Lego; Coronation Street; Fifty Shades of Grey; Star Wars; Star Trek; 
Eastenders; Game of Thrones; Tolkien; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Comic 
Book Multiverses/Universes; China Mieville; the Alien universe; The 
Simpsons; Twin Peaks; Jurassic Park; Discworld; the Marvel (Cinematic) 
Universe; Grey’s Anatomy; Ghostbusters.

The deadline for abstracts of 300 words is 26th June 2015, and 
notifications of acceptance will be sent out the week commencing 6th July.

First drafts will be due by November 1st 2015, with publication 
scheduled for May 2016. Following peer-review, final draft deadline will 
be April 1st 2016. Email abstracts to both editors: William Proctor 
((bproctor /at/ bournemouth.ac.uk)<mailto:(bproctor /at/ bournemouth.ac.uk)>), and 
Richard McCulloch 
((mccullochr /at/ regents.ac.uk)<mailto:(mccullochr /at/ regents.ac.uk)>)

Dr. William Proctor
Lecturer in Media, Culture and Communication
UCU JCNC Secretary
The Media School
Bournemouth University
Fern Barrow
Poole
BH12 5BB
Office: W332 (third floor, Weymouth House)

Narrative Research Group (NRG): 
http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/cjcr/narrative-research-group/

Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community
http://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/centre/journalism-culture-and-community/


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