Considering how crucially comic book marketing depends on loyal customers, especially fans, and to how great an extent the ever-expanding franchises surrounding Marvel's or DC's comic worlds rely on user participation and fandom, it seems striking that the connection between Comics Studies and Fan Studies has hardly been explored in any great detail so far. Is this because Comics Studies focus on the text and Fan Studies on its recipient? At least in Germany, Comics Studies have strong roots in (Comparative) Literary Studies, Art History, or Philology while Fan Studies are either grounded in Media and Cultural studies or in Sociology (focusing on individual and mass consumption practices or group phenomena). In our 2019 Workshop on Comics/Fandom, we want to address possible overlaps and frictions between Comics Studies and Fan Studies.
The workshop will take place at the Institute for Media Culture and Theatre at the University of Cologne on the 28th and 29th of March 2019.
Please send your suggestions for 15-20-minute papers by November 30th in the form of a 300-word abstract with short bio (150 words) to: comicsfandom2019(at)gmail.com
Please find further information here...