We are pleased to announce an updated Call for Panelists at the Eighth Annual Fandom and Neomedia Studies (FANS) Conference in Irving, TX, 3-5 June 2022, at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.
Fandom for us includes all aspects of being a fan, ranging from being a passive audience member to producing one’s own parafictive or interfictive creations. Neomedia includes both new media as it is customarily defined as well as new ways of using and conceptualizing traditional media.
Ours is an interdisciplinary group, including historians, psychologists, scientists, writers, independent scholars, and industry professionals. We welcome contributions from all disciplines and from all levels of academic and professional achievement as we value the intersection of fandom and academia. Our conference is thus unique in its blend of traditional and modern elements. Submissions are welcome from professors, students, and independent researchers. Topics may come from anime, manga, science fiction, television series, movies, radio, performing arts, or any other popular culture phenomenon and their respective fandom groups.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
- Women and minorities in media
- Esports and team dynamics
- Stage performance and puppet shows
- Twitter literature
- Science in cinema
- Webcomics
- Fanfic communities
- Politics in video games
- Historical fiction
- Race in popular culture
- Multilingual media and code switching
- Pop culture parenting
- Religious media
- Media technologies
- Costuming and cosplay
- Social media in war zones
- Ecocinema and ecocriticism
- Economics of fandom
Panel descriptions of no more than 500 words must be submitted by 15 April 2022. Please also include a list of panelists and their CVs. Panelists accepted for the conference will be notified by 30 April 2022. If you wish to submit a paper version of your panel presentation for inclusion in the journal, The Phoenix Papers, please let us know. There are options for presenting online if presenters are unable to travel.
The FANS Conference is hosted and sponsored by A-Kon, the longest continually-running anime and manga convention in North America. Conference panelist registration entitles you to the full enjoyment of A-Kon and its activities, including a chance to study anime, manga, and gaming fans in their native environment.
Registration is $75.
Please use our Contact Us page should you have any questions. All submissions should be sent by email.
ISSN: 2325-2316
Conference and Editorial Board:
Chair: Jay Holder Bennett, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA
Co-Chair: Andrew Tague, Texas A & M University at Commerce, Commerce, Texas, USA
Dr. Darren-Jon Ashmore, Professor of Anthropology and Head of Japan Studies, Yamanashi Gakuin University, Kofu, Japan
Dr. Pamela Gossin, Professor of History and Literature, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA
Dr. Marc Hairston, Research Scientist, William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA
Dr. Michael Vandehey, Professor of Psychology, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas, USA
Jonathan Davis, Independent Entrepreneur, Colleyville, Texas, USA
Helen McCarthy, Author and Founder of Manga UK, London, England, UK
Jonathan Tarbox, Instructor, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Kyle Hammonds, Graduate Student Liaison, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Karson Bryant, Undergraduate Student Liaison, Collin College, McKinney, Texas, USA