Here you can find an overview of our topics in chronological order. The most recent session is therefore always at the very bottom of the page!
If you’re interested in the results of any session, feel free to give our Instagram a look or send us an email to info@fanficforum-ffm.de! Some of the results can also be found on Moodle.
Author’s Note
Tuesday, 25 April 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
In our first session we want to get to know each other, talk about our interest in fanfiction, and clarify the forum’s framework – anything we deem important for a first meeting.
It would be nice to send us a message on Instagram or Email if you want to participate, but spontaneous participants are always welcome as well!
Adaptation theory. What kind of text is this?
Tuesday, 9 May 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
Before diving deeper into the thematic analysis, we want to discuss what fanfiction actually is. Where lies the difference to adaptations? Which specific features of fanfics are relevant to the textual analysis?
Gender. What does Butler say about fanfic?
Tuesday, 23 May 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
How is gender represented in fanfics? What do fanfic tropes do with gender roles? Is fanfic really a “queer female space” (Busse 2005)? We’ll use the texts by Judith Butler as a basis for the discussion. You can find the primary text, a fic from the BTS fandom, on Moodle.
RPF. How real is the person in Real Person Fiction?
Tuesday, 30 May 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
What happens when a “real” person is turned into a literary character? What is the “canon”? Which issues are covered, from an ethical standpoint as well? How does appropriation occur in this context? And does it make a difference if the subjects of the fanfic are still alive? We’ll be reading a Schoethe fic, but we’ll also be referencing our discussion of the BTS fic from the session on gender.
Nostalgia. What role does the past play in fanfiction?
Tuesday, 20 June 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
Fanfic is often seen as a progressive text group that is far in advance of society. But in a world where nostalgia is omnipresent, fanfic does not stay unaffected either. How is this present in texts? And which connections occur on a metalevel between fanfic and nostalgia?
(Author’s) Notes. How does paratext construct fanfic authors?
Tuesday, 4 July 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
Fanfic authors can directly communicate with their readers via paratext like notes and comments. How is the author’s personality created in paratext? What additional content is communicated and what impact does this have on the portrayal of the author?
Colloquium. And now?
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
We’ll talk about current or upcoming term papers and theses about fanfictions. Furthermore, we’ll look at the seminars that are already announced for the upcoming winter semester and discuss where fanfiction could be relevant.
Barbie. How can a doll be adapted?
Tuesday, 25 July 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
In celebration of the release of the Barbie movie and its massive media reception we’ll look at two Barbie fanfics. What role does the canon play here, and which canon is adapted? How is the materiality of the doll addressed? How is the example of Barbie used to construct femininity?
MSTing. Is this still fun or does it already hurt?
Tuesday, 8 August 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 2.301
In MSTing, characters review fan fictions they are a part of. How is this format used for critisism that is usually not well-received in the fanfiction community? How is the characterisation of the characters important? How does it play with different levels of reality? And generally: Is this even still fan fiction? We’ll try to answer those questions with a Naruto fanfic as an example.
Next Chapter ->
Tuesday, 17 October 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
The Fanficforum will continue! We’ll meet up to plan the new semester ahead. Which topics do we want to discuss? Who wants to contribute fanfics or present a project?
Intertextuality. Is everything just a rip-off?
Tuesday, 31 October 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
We’ll return to the question what kind of text fanfic is. This time, the basis will be intertextuality. How relevant are intertextual references for fanfiction? What distinguishes fanfics from other texts?
Fix-its. What exactly do they fix?
Tuesday, 14 November 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
Fix-it fics are written when fans are dissatisfied with the canon. But on what levels do those fanfics repair something? How do fix-it fics deal with the dilemma of being true to the canon while also breaking from it?
Race & Fanfic. How does fanfic reproduce white normativity?
Dienstag, 12. Dezember 2023
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
We’ll read an introductory text about the role of race in fandoms by Rukmini Pande and then give one author-insert fic a closer look through this lens. How is our interpretation of the characters influenced by assumptions about their identity? How are different “races” within a fantasy universe treated, and who is actually human here?
Yes Means Yes. How is consent handled in fanfic?
Tuesday, 9 January 2024
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
How explicitly do fanfics deal with consent to sexual activities? How are situations depicted in which this consent is not clearly given? We’ll read a study on 1D fanfiction on Wattpad and a part of a BTS fanfic.
Fanficforum in Conference!
Friday, 19 January 2024
14.00 s.t. | HZ 14
Students of the faculty present their current work on fanfiction (programme).
(Conference) End Notes
Tuesday, 23 January 2024
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
We want to review the conference and discuss the many clever ideas we didn’t get to discuss on the day of the conference, because we only remembered them hours or days after the presentations.
Yes Means Yes. Pt. II
Tuesday, 6 February 2024
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
We’ll return to the topic of consent and discuss how consent is dealt with in more explicit fanfics – or more specifically: in 8.000 words of Pride and Prejudice PWP.
Persuasive Crossovers
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
We’re going to look at two fanfic crossovers with Jane Austen’s Persuasion and interrogate how they deal with their classic model, questions of world-building and the necessary gender-swap.
Affect. What is the role of emotions in fanfiction?
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
14.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
Fanfic is often defined through authors’ (and readers’) emotional attachment to characters and worlds. But (how) does that influence the texts? And what other work do emotions do? For theoretical background we’re reading a text by Sara Ahmed, with the fanfic for the session still tbd.
Self-Insert. How do we write the self?
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
Self-inserts don’t enjoy the best reputation among fanfic authors and readers but that doesn’t mean they’re not interesting or worthwhile. We’ll be looking at a piece of Harry Potter fanfic through the theoretical lens of autofiction.
Canon. How does fanfiction treat the Great Texts?
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
The (literary-) canon can reveal a lot about its respective society or community. We want to explore how fanfiction reproduces canonical texts, how it deals with existing canons, and how fanfic communities create their own canons and what the respective choice says about the community. Our primary text will be a Schoethe fic.
Transculturality. How does Chinese fanfiction culture work?
Tuesday, 4 June 2024
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
How do Chinese fanfiction authors work within the restrictions of Chinese (internet) culture? What’s the role of transculturality and cultural enclosure? We will not be looking at primary texts here but we will discuss these issues in relation to an ongoing academic project.
Found Family. How does fanfic do family?
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
We’re looking at how fanfiction (re)produces different ideas of family, how family is portrayed and who the concept can extend to include. For this, we’ll be reading a sociological study of (queer) families of choice in the UK and comparing this to a Harry Potter fanfic (links on Moodle).
Reparative Reading. Reading [too much?] into it.
16.00 c.t. | Zoom
Reparative reading is about seeing the good in texts. Not looking for problems, but finding potential. We’re asking ourselves whether this isn’t exactly what fanfiction does, for example when it reads queer characters out of texts or writes them into texts. That’s what we want to talk about in this session.
Prologue: Welcome Back.
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
In this first session of the new semester, we want to meet in person again, get to know old and new faces, and collect new fanfics and topics to discuss in the upcoming sessions.
(Happy) Family. Fanfic in literary studies.
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
To get a feel for how to academically discuss fanfic, we’re reading a text that looks at family in slash fanfiction. The respective fanfic portrays a family constellation of Harry Potter and Remus Lupin/Sirius Black.
Trauma, Intimacy, Poetry.
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
We’re reading a Nier Replicant Fanfic which describes, in verse and with a poetic style, a scene of intimacy and trauma. The secondary text is an introduction to trauma in literature.
(De)Romanticising Rape Culture
16.00 c.t. | IG 4.201
(De)Romanticising Rape Culture
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga has been repeatedly criticized for the way it portrays the relationship between schoolgirl Bella and vampire Edward. We read an article that looks at how the saga (re)produces rape culture and a Twilight fanfic that rewrites how Bella and her father Charlie deal with an assault on Bella. How are sexual violence and the question of consensuality negotiated here? What prejudices are reproduced and how are they dealt with?
Want to suggest a topic? Message the forum on Moodle or attend the next meeting!