Annotated Bibliography – Understanding Literacy through Fandoms
Alvermann, D. E., & Hagood, M. C. (2000). Fandom and critical media literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(5), 436-446. Retrieved from https://www-proquest-com.liblink.uncw.edu/scholarly-journals/fandom-critical-media-literacy/docview/216910989/se-2?accountid=14606
As culture continues to shift into the digital space, educators are focused on connecting the affinity that students have to content outside of the classroom, to the content being taught within. Especially in the case of adolescents, educators can see first-hand how students attribute meaning and build identity. Alvermann and Hagood specifically study the engagement of students with their music tastes. In their interview style, participant research with students, they follow the idea of fandom and the spectrum by which fandom exists. They propose ways to integrate media literacy exercises into the classroom by inviting the subjects to engage with the media through things like parody, imitation, or cross-textual interpretation.
This article is strong in how it applies its hypothesis to the impact on the classroom. In understanding the spectrum of fan culture and how every person can (and should) experience it differently, they are able to see past a student’s experience and apply it to other environments. However, that also causes the article’s weakness. It has a rather small sample size of participants, with only two different experiences being observed and engaged with the research. To have more foundational impacts on teaching, it may be more beneficial to look at classrooms as a whole.
The article speaks to an alternative form of media that is used to measure the impact of fandom (or enjoyment of a particular media) to one’s learning. In other articles I’ve selected, the media or content varies widely. As this article focuses specifically on music, the intent would be to layer this within a larger observation of fan culture and the varying aspects of participatory media that it inhabits.
Black, R. W. (2009). English-language learners, fan communities, and 21st-century skills. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(8), 688+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A200558553/AONE?u=wilm99594&sid=summon&xid=5f52055b
This article focuses on the intersection of globalization of technology and cross-border media. It discusses the implications of changes in technology in an education system and the changing global definition of literacy. The article also speaks to the difficulties some learners experience reaching this new definition, and how their literacy now depends on the online spaces they co-exist. The article specifically observes three English language learner (ELL) participants with their interactions on a popular fan fiction site, FanFiction.net (FFN).
The strengths of the article come from its ability to point back to establish standards of literacy and how it’s indirectly being taught in online environments. As users engage on these platforms, they’re learning both hard and soft skills most commonly attributed to technological literacy. They also speak to the ability to build environments that mirror the sense of comradery and creativity that online sites like FFN do. An area that the article feels most weak in, is that they didn’t follow that in some instances, identity and status could be both directly and indirectly impacted by one’s technological literacy. There is mention of how websites, like FFN, have natural leadership structures, but they didn’t follow the thread (at least in this piece) that may have yielded additional value.
The article is a great resource for viewing the impact on ELL students or global learning students and how environments can be built to mirror common, global platforms and adapt to suit their needs. This also speaks to the intersection of print and digital literacy and how assignments can be adapted to incorporate and strengthen both.
Buckingham, D. (2013). Teaching the creative class? Media education and the media industries in the age of “participatory culture.” Journal of Media Practice, 14(1), 25–41.
Buckingham focuses on the emergence of digital and media literacy classes for a new generation as potential resources for potential employment. It weighs the potential benefits of such a program and the impacts on the existing workforce. Buckingham explores the potential opportunities for employment as our culture expands to allow for creative growth in so many different areas related to the digital space.
The article specifically sources the “Creative and Media Diploma” as an alternative to the traditional learning done in high schools, which specifically focuses on cross-disciplinary learning to build multi-skilled students. The research completed was done through a series of interviews with teachers participating in the diploma program as well as in depth reviews of their curriculum.
As new generations become submerged in digital media platforms, they grow their ability to communicate and develop strategic skills that would be useful in creating a successful business strategy. This research helps apply the early evolution and education of self-made influencers through participatory media platforms. It also calls into question the idea of socio-economic access to these resources and how this can be impacted through standardized access to educational programs in technology and digital media.
This article will be leveraged for its ability to see past student’s current relationship with media and see the larger implications to a student’s career and literacy skillset as they enter the workforce, specifically in the areas related to media and digital technology. In referencing this research, there is a better understanding of the long-term implications to integrating cross-discipline or transmedia studies into the classroom.
Edfeldt, C., Fjordevik, A., & Inose, H. (2012, January). Fan culture as an informal learning environment. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ebba-Ossiannilsson/publication/277846752_OERopolyA_game_to_generate_collective_intelligence_around_OER/links/55ac953e08ae481aa7ff6156/OERopolyA-game-to-generate-collective-intelligence-around-OER.pdf#page=109
This article debunks the idea of fans as completely passive and instead refocuses them on the more accurate depiction of self-educating communities. Edfeldt et al. focuses the core research around scanlation, where students are translating popular, manga books for a wider online audience that may not have access. The article focuses on the globalization of that content via its fan base, who are actively leveraging their literacy in both the traditional and digital sense through translation. In an informal environment, students are actively learning skillsets that are traditionally taught in classroom instruction.
The article observes community members of a fan fiction site, FanFiction.net, in their public comments, providing feedback and engaging with one another’s work. Though the article lacks substantial guidance of how to incorporate the research’s findings into a classroom environment, it does provide insights into two areas of interest: multi-lingual community building and learning of traditional literacy skills in a fully digital environment. Both of these interests will be a focal point in further research and can be leveraged in future curriculum and program building.
DeAndrea, D. C. (2012). Participatory Social Media and the Evaluation of Online Behavior. Human Communication Research, 38(4), 510–528.
DeAndrea explores the larger idea of co-creating content in participatory media, highlighting the idea of co-creating through a “folk model of intentionality.” Using this model allows a better understanding of relational understanding between content creators and their audiences (the essence of a co-creating collaboration). This article specifically focuses on social media and its user experience as a sort of continual feedback loop.
In the research completed in this article, a selection of undergraduate students participated for “extra credit or partial fulfillment of a course requirement” with mock-Facebook profiles. They were asked to rank the mock profiles on varying scales. The demonstration focused on understanding what drove engagement and participation, while observing the underlying motivation in specific ways users chose to communicate intention.
In fan culture, the same idea applies, with brands protecting their IP and fans holding them accountable to their storytelling choices. Exploring the idea of control of content and the audience’s ability to impede on a company’s or creator’s content is vital in discussing participatory media. Even more so, the understanding of how a user’s ability to think critically about the source of the content, the ownership of the story, and their relationship to it can be incredibly telling in further research. A brand or IP’s growth largely depends on their ability to resonate with their audiences. In understanding the collaborative system of co-creating, we can look at specific relationships of creators and companies to their respective audiences.
Helen Nixon. (2003). New Research Literacies for Contemporary Research into Literacy and New Media? Reading Research Quarterly, 38(3), 407–413. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4151829
Nixon discusses the complex nature of literacy and its relationship with its media sources. The article provides the definition of literacy as defined by Freebody and Luke as well as Green’s 3D model of literacy. Speaking to the scope at which literacy is currently understood, Nixon explains that “school-based literacy research” faces challenges in the face of changing technology and that research done must be iterative and follow where technology is leading, if not precede it.
A strength of this article is the focus it places on educator education and knowledge-building around new technologies. Without educators keeping pace with the level of advancement that their students or research participants face in an organically digital world, any progress, research, or deeper learning will be, a Nixon states, “limited.” However, due to the nature of this research, the research completed was reliant on existing definitions of literacy and use those as metrics for research participants. They also rely heavily on existing data from current research (which the article notes can be limiting), focusing primarily on traditional elements of new media, versus some of the more transformative aspects which may be more likely to indirectly impact students long-term.
This article specifically speaks to the larger context of literacy and how it’s viewed in both academic and popular culture. This provides a foundation by which additional research can be done and the standards by which teaching can be measured. With these insights, research can be better positioned for meaningful observations for educators, yielding better learning environments for their students.
Spurgeon, C. (2015). Participatory Media and “Co-Creative” Storytelling. Media International Australia (8/1/07-Current), (154), 132–138.
Spurgeon explores the ideas behind emerging marketing strategies via participatory media for organizations and companies and how new approaches rely heavily on the creative process of “co-creative” storytelling. She is directly focusing on indigenous and cultural communities, however, notes the potential international implications if further researched. As new media’s impact on the communications field expands, Spurgeon prioritizes the understanding of new creative overlap that organizations, brands, and digital participants now have access too.
The idea is further explored through cross-mapping potential sources of “co-creating” between cultures or organizations. Spurgeon notes that it is important to understand both the strengths and weaknesses between potential partnerships, something that regardless of size or influence structure, is vital to ensure that the messaging is successful. Although the article is not directly exploring the specific areas, understanding how communities and respective communicators can overlap their strengths and weaknesses provide an interesting area of opportunity in the realms of corporate and non-profit markets. We are able to use this research to understand the intersectional benefits in these collaborative relationships in participatory media.
Since this article is from Australia, this provides a particularly interesting perspective on these systems and how corporate voices impact storytelling. In further research, it provides valuable insight as to how user-generated content is leveraged by these third-party organizations and how that usage is no less impactful to the lifecycle of the co-creative media they produce. In reading the text through student learning, it’s integral for students to further understand the lens by which they interact with media and what sources it’s from.
Spurgeon, C., & Edmond, M. (2015). Making Media Participatory. Media International Australia (8/1/07-Current), (154), 53–56.
Spurgeon and Edmond focus on the ability to transform existing media initiatives into social movements driven by participatory funnels established through digital media. They specifically explore the concept of crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding as specific examples of shared storytelling, where organizations source content and input from their respective audiences. This exploration of these ideas specifically surrounding audiences supports the exchanges between creators/influencers and their audiences. Audiences engage throughout multiple industries so content creators focusing their efforts in creating an engagement-focused digital community would draw specific content ideas from their industry’s “crowd.”
Spurgeon and Edmond focus on movements demanding acknowledgment by action by organizations when it comes to participatory/digital media. Audiences no longer hold an expectation of passive consumption but of active engagement. This is a particular strength of this article, reinforcing the idea of source accountability and globalization. The text specifically comes from a critical vs uncritical view on participatory media and asks the question if it matters.
When it comes to student learning, it matters a great deal. The article provides research on leveraging participatory platforms for active change while understanding the broader implications for businesses, organizations, and communities. In further research, this will be leveraged in understanding more about the systems by which students, or participants, communicate and how they have an active role in shaping those systems.