Call for Papers: Fanfiction and the Ancient World Conference

Posted on: 21 May 2024 in 2024 blogs

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On October 4th-5th 2024, the Fanfiction and the Ancient World Conference is taking place and we are looking for contributions!

How can fan studies contribute to the study of Greco-Roman Antiquity and the field of Classical reception? How can Classics contribute to the study of fan culture? How does the community we call Greek mythology fandom differ from the community we call Classicists? How are they similar? How can they challenge and support each other's knowledges, methodologies, and epistemologies?

The Fanfiction and the Ancient World conference hopes to bring these two disciplines into dialogue with each other and to offer an academic platform to scholars working on the intersection of these fields.

We welcome contributions on, but not limited to:

  • Fanfiction or fan art about, inspired by, based on or drawing on the style of cultural materials from Greco-Roman Antiquity
  • Fanfiction and fan culture as classical reception or rewriting
  • Conceptualizing Classics and academia as fannish endeavors
  • Affective, emotional, and communal ties in both Classics and fandom
  • Methodologies for studying classics fandom and studying fandom as classical reception
  • Analysis of cultural capital in fandom-oriented and classics-oriented communities 

We especially welcome contributions that problematize the distinction between academic and fannish engagement with Greco-Roman Antiquity. We also particularly encourage people with a fannish perspective (including those outside academia), and early-career researchers, to submit a contribution. 

Please submit 300-word abstracts outlining a 15-minute presentation to amandapotter@caramanda.co.uk and julia.neugarten@ru.nl by Sunday, June 30th. If there is sufficient interest, the conference will have an in-person component held at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, on Friday October 4th, and an online component held on Saturday October 5th. On the Saturday afternoon we will be joined by renowned fandom scholar Professor Henry Jenkins, from the University of Southern California, who will close our conference with an 'ask me anything' session. 

In your abstract, please specify whether you would prefer to present in-person in Nijmegen (on the 4th) or online (on the 5th).

For precariously employed in-person speakers, we may be able to reimburse some travel expenses. Please contact amandapotter@caramanda.co.uk and julia.neugarten@ru.nl  for more information. If you have any questions or needs surrounding the accessibility of this event, please get in touch.

Timeline

Abstract deadline: June 30

Decisions and Preliminary Program: July 31

Conference: October 4th (in-person in Nijmegen) and October 5th (online)

Organizers

Julia Neugarten, Department of Arts & Culture Studies, Radboud University

Dr. Amanda Potter, Open University and University of Liverpool

This conference organized in conjunction with Radbound University and ACE Creativity, University of Liverpool