Lee GWSS 272 Syllabus Aut18 PDF

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GWSS 272: Introduction to Gender and Fandom Autumn 2018 Instructor: Dr. R. Y. Lee What’s happening? Class: M W 10:30-12:20 Gould 435

Where is my instructor? Dr. Lee Office: Padelford B110-D Hours: T 10:30-11:30 and W 1:00-2:00

All discussion threads are on Canvas Groups at Canvas > Groups > GWSS 272 > [Week or Group Name Here]

Course Description: Let’s fandom! This course raises questions concerning play with gender, sexuality and desire within fandom reception and critical response. Both in and outside the academy, fandom is pathologized as passive, “feminine,” or obversely, as only for the white, male, and nerdy. In their reworkings of mass media canons, fans’ responses points to and rely on the questioning and rethinking of beloved media texts, to reinvent them as powerful but covert means of access and transformation of mass culture itself. Our topics include histories of fic, the recap as critical thinking, gender theory and cosplay, and vidder labor within mass culture industries. This course also addresses fandom’s participatory tools and methods through the online medium itself. The internet facilitates much of the cross-lingual production and consumption of fan labor, and we discuss this in terms of labor, safety, and digital ethics for an information age. The online medium also permits active fandom responses from geographically separate communities, resulting in flourishing attempts to reclaim marginalized and noncompliant stances, positions, and perspectives from within popular media. Course Objectives: • • • • • •

To gain a working understanding of fan studies as a field of feminist inquiry To read fan production and community using digital ethics and feminist lenses To critique fan production using genre- and medium-specific analyses To understand fan production as both compliance with and critiques of media texts To express learning using both academic and creative collective methods To discuss gender and sexuality in transmedia contexts and transnational analyses

To Maintain a Healthy Community: Foundation: Let the teacher teach; let the students learn. This course respects fandom producers and creators. Use the citations on our syllabus; record all comments on our Canvas site. Follow course norms for online and in-person interactions. Do not redistribute fan-produced course materials. Follow the Research Ethics Guidelines from Week 2. Take responsibility for mastering course materials and completing your share of the work. Respect the trust your colleagues give you and don’t repeat their stories outside of class. Keep your team informed. If you cannot fulfil your role(s), let them know directly. Actively maintain the discussion boards as a communal space for civil inquiry. Dr. Lee is the mod. You are responsible for maintaining your focus and participation within the class and lectures. Device use is a privilege, and will be revoked given cause. Please see Dr. Lee immediately if you are overwhelmed by the material, or the demands of the course. We will work together to get you back on track. Grading Schema: In-class Work

25%

Discussion Boards

20%

Midterm Paper

25%

Final Project

30%

Assignments: Weekly Assignments: Students must take responsibility for mastering course readings before each lecture begins, and come ready to discuss the readings’ most salient or controversial points. Students will periodically complete work in class throughout the quarter, which will then be collected for evaluation. Each Wednesday, students will work together on a set of questions posed in class, submitting them before the end of the day. These exercises are primarily group-based forms of analytical

response, with the occasional transformative work as practice. Thus, there is no way to make up for missed in-class work. Participation in online discussion forums is an acceptable method of interaction instead of participation in in-class discussion. However, this participation does not substitute for group work. Any student may begin a discussion thread on the boards. Please follow group norms. Device use in lecture is a revocable privilege. Students using any mobile devices during lecture must silence them, keep internet use course-relevant, and participate actively in group discussion. Irresponsible in-class device use can result in a decrease of a full grade in this section of the course. Discussion Boards: Students will post 1-2x per week on the Canvas discussion boards. This grade includes all individual comments on other groups’ work, as well as individual fic and vid comments. We will go over the constituent parts of a good comment in Week 2. To do well on discussion board posts: read deep, pay attention, express yourself clearly, and make specific references to the readings. Note: Dr. Lee will remove all Discussion Board points for any instance of hostile online behavior. This includes explicit contravention of online course norms regarding fan interaction. See Dr. Lee with any questions. Midterm Paper: Each student submits one three-page double-spaced individual academic paper addressing one of four possible questions. See the relevant assignment for your prompts. You must also complete a single Beta Read of someone else’s paper draft. You will receive a single Beta Read from another student. We will discuss what constitutes a good beta reading in the early weeks of the quarter. Thus, you have multiple due dates: The paper DRAFT is due Sunday, October 28st, 2018. Complete your Beta Reading by Wednesday, October 31st, 2018. (We will go over what constitutes this kind of peer review in Weeks 1-3.) The Midterm Paper itself is due Sunday, November 4th, 2018. Final Project: Students will produce a fan-based project in groups of five. Students will:

a) Post a proposal, with project description and a list of responsibilities per group member, to the Week 7 Discussion Board. a Individual students will comment on the proposals. b) Produce the project: a creative collectively-produced transformative work, focused on course learning, with artists’ statement (including connections to course materials), and a group self-assessment. c) Present the transformative work in class during Wednesday of week 11 (15 minutes maximum). d) Hand in the entire project on Canvas, at 11:59 PM Wednesday, December 12th, 2018. Project proposal form and Rubric will be provided in Week 6. See Dr. Lee in office hours as a group, or with at least two designated representatives, with any questions or problems. If group dynamics become problematic, send representatives to see Dr. Lee in office hours BEFORE Week 10. Grading Criteria: 4.0 – achievement outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements. 3.0 – achievement significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements. 2.0 – achievement meeting the basic course requirements in every respect. 1.0 – achievement worthy of credit that does not meet basic course requirements. Please see our course website for precise grade scale conversions. Course Logistics: Online Norms: Our course website is located on Canvas, and should be accessible through your MyUW account. Course PDFs, grades, and announcements will appear on the website. Please familiarize yourself with the course website, since you will use it frequently. If you have questions about using Canvas, please consult the UW IT Helpdesk at [email protected]. Please observe course norms for FAQs. Dr. Lee will respond to student emails within 48 hours. If there has been no response after that interval, come see Dr. Lee during office hours. Do not record, edit, or upload any portion of our class (f2f or online) without written permission. If you require specific accommodations, see Dr. Lee in Weeks 1 and 2. If problems with technology occur, please speak with UW IT, on the second floor of Odegaard Library, or contact Classroom Technologies, in the basement of Kane Hall. You can reach them both at [email protected].

Office hours by appointment: Please keep the appointments you make with Dr. Lee. If you are no longer able to meet, please let Dr. Lee know immediately. Failure to keep an appointment may result in an inability to reschedule your meeting. Grading: Read all rubrics carefully before assignment submission. Should you require a regrade, understand that this occurs once, and constitutes an irrevocable change. Incompletes: Taking an “incomplete” (I) for this class is strongly discouraged, and will be allowed only under extraordinary circumstances with prior arrangements. If you have any concerns about this class, instructor, or a teaching assistant, please see us as soon as possible. Learning Accommodations: It is the University of Washington’s policy to provide support services to students needing accommodations that encourage them toward self-sufficient management, including their ability to participate in course activities and meet course requirements. Students requiring accommodation and support may contact Disability Resources for Students at 448 Schmitz Hall, through their website, or by calling them at (206) 543-8924 (voice) or (206) 543-8925 (voice/TTY). •

Students with specific accommodations are encouraged to meet with Dr. Lee in Weeks 1 and 2. We will discuss how to enable your very best work.

Wellness and Crisis Help: As Audre Lorde teaches us, self-care is a feminist act. There is an excellent list of resources at UW for students in need of physical, mental, and emotional support. Call Hall Health at (206) 543-5030 for appointments, or consult their resources online. UW also has Counseling services available: call them at (206) 543-1240 or head to 401 Schmitz Hall to set up a meeting. The Q Center is an excellent resource for LGBTQIA+ and allies to explore and learn about sexuality in a safe campus space. It is located in HUB 315. Dana Cuomo is the UW’s designated survivor advocate. Contact Dr. Cuomo directly at 109 Elm Hall or 206.685.4357 or at [email protected]. If you need immediate help, please call the Hall Health Crisis Line at (206) 583-1551 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, or (206) 744-2500 at any time. Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender is a Civil Rights offense, subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories, including race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here: UW Health and Wellness Advocacy https://depts.washington.edu/livewell/saris/

UW Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Resources https://depts.washington.edu/livewell/saris/sexual-assault/ UW Title IX Complaint Reporting http://compliance.uw.edu/titleIX/complaint Policy on Academic Integrity: Cheating tends to happen when students feel helpless and overwhelmed. If you are feeling this way, come to office hours as soon as possible. We will work together to get you back on track. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism (e.g. paraphrase or quotation without proper citation), and resubmission of one paper for more than one course. Academic dishonesty of any kind will result in grade sanctions (a zero on the assignment), disciplinary action at the University level, or both. Consequences can be serious. Please familiarize yourself with the student academic responsibility statement, which can be found here: https://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf Late Policies: All assignments are due on the course website by 11:59 PM of the due date. Late papers will receive a full grade deduction (e.g. from an A- to a B-) for each day late. Students requesting a 48-hour deadline extension in extraordinary circumstances may petition Dr. Lee with a formal written request at least 72 hours in advance of the deadline. Extensions are rare, and should not be relied upon. No extension exists without a response in writing. You are responsible for coordinating presentation expectations and materials with your groups. Please follow the group contracts for that project. Required Texts: Busse, Kristina and Karen Hellekson, eds. The Fan Fiction Studies Reader. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 2014. All required texts are available at the campus bookstore or from online booksellers. Please acquire your textbook before Week 2 begins. All other course material is posted on the course website as PDFs, or linked on this syllabus . If you cannot find the reading in our textbook, look under Files for a PDF. If there is no PDF, try the syllabus for links. If you still cannot find the reading, look for (or create) a post in the FAQ. Someone email Dr. Lee once the FAQ post hits five Likes.

Please bring the relevant texts on the days we discuss them in class, as we will reference them frequently. Recommended Texts: Click, Melissa A. and Suzanne Scott, eds. The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom. New York: Routledge, 2018. Gray, J., Cornel Sandvoss, & C. L. Harrington, eds. Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World. New York: NYU P, 2007. Hills, Matt. Fan Cultures. New York: Routledge, 2002. Ito, Mizuko, Daisuke Okabe, and Izumi Tsuji, eds. Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World. New Haven: Yale UP, 2012. javabeans and girlfriday, Why Do Dramas Do That? ebook available at Amazon and Smashwords. Course Schedule: Subject to change with advance notice. Please consult this schedule for readings, graded work, and questions to help you post comments on the fic. Use the exact lines from the syllabus as your citations for these fics.

Week 1: What is Fan Studies? W 9/26

Syllabus & Introductions Fanlore, “Transformative Work” (link) First Questions: What is a fan? What is a fandom? What is fan studies? In-class Screenings: AMV analysis and reading media through fan production Collective Course Norm-Setting for online and offline interactions

Week 2: Fan Studies and The Good Comment

M 10/1

Ch.1 Jenkins, “Textual Poachers” Ch. 8 Abercrombie&Longhurst, “Fans and Enthusiasts” Crossover Fic: Ryfkah, “Eleven Up” (HP x Apted films). PDF. Come Ready To Answer: How does reading Ryfkah’s work change your perception of either the HP films or the Apted project? If you have seen neither, what do you learn about the characters that stands out to you most?

W 10/3

Jones, Bethan. “’The Ethical Hearse: Privacy, Identity and Fandom Online.” The Learned Fangirl. Web. (Link) Social Media Research Ethics (PDF) Meta Fic: Dhobi ki kutti, “FANDOM IS SRS BIZNESS” (Leverage). PDF. Discussion Board Question: None of the difficult vocabulary used in “FANDOM IS SRS BIZNESS” is ever explained. What is its purpose, and is it effective? NOTE: Dr. Lee’s office hours today are cancelled. Please email for alternate arrangements if necessary.

Week 3: Fandom History – Star Trek Feminisms M 10/8

Ch. 5 Lamb&Veith, “Romantic Myth…” Ch. 6 Jones, “Sex Lives…” Ch. 9 Penley, “Future Men” Recommended: Fanlore. “Kirk/Spock (TOS)” (link)

Come Ready To Answer: How does Kirk/Spock slash fic address the gendered value system behind Leslie Fiedler’s concept of frontier fiction? Who is an exemplary *fictional* “future man” and why? W 10/10

Ch. 4, Russ, “Pornography… With Love” Turk, “Fan Work” (link) Slash Fic: [Redacted], “Antigravity” (ST: AOS) PDF. Use this exact line when citing this work for our class. This fan has asked that we not contact them or attempt to locate their work online. Please respect their wishes. Discussion Board Question: Does “Antigravity” fit Russ’ concept of “pornography with love”? Provide at least one direct quote to support your answer.

Week 4: Sherlock and the Queer Spaces of Fandom M 10/15

Ch. 2 Pearson, “It’s Always 1895” Valentine, Amandeline A. “Toward a broader recognition of the queer in the BBC's Sherlock.” Transformative Works and Cultures 22 (2016). Web. ( link) Come Ready to Answer: What is Valentine’s definition of “queering”? Does Pearson’s categorization of fans follow a gendered value distribution – that is, are some categories masculinized, and therefore considered more genuine or important?

W 10/17

Coppa, Francesca. “Sherlock as Cyborg.” PDF. Slash: coloredink, “and stand there at the edge of my affection” (Sherlock BBC, Sherlock/John Watson). PDF. Discussion Board Question: According to Valentine and Coppa, what makes Sherlock a queer figure in both canon and fan work? Does coloredink’s fic support this?

Week 5: Fan Labor Case Study: Imagine the Ocean M 10/22

Hellekson, “A Fannish Field of Value” (PDF – from Cinema Journal 48.4) Ch. 7 Bacon-Smith, “Training New Members” A:TLA S1E18 “The Waterbending Master” Come Ready to Answer: What can go wrong when letting in and training up a new fandom member?

W 10/24 AU (alternate universe): Damkianna, “Ch.12: The Waterbending Master.” Imagine the Ocean. PDF. Today’s Weekly Group Assignment must be completed collectively as a single, group-created transformative work. Post your transformative work (ONLY the work) to the Discussion Board for this week, as well as to the usual Weekly Group Assignment for grading. Include a brief (2-3 paragraph) artists’ statement which explains your transformative work’s relationship to the questions. Then, include the usual assessment of how well your group worked together today. Detail who did what (roles), how that went, and whether the whole group was satisfied. Discussion Board Question: What does the AU do to a canonical text? How does it accomplish this critical responsive work? Extra Credit: Provide one good comment for another group’s project. This is an individual exercise. The deadline is next Monday 10/29.

Sunday, 10/28

DUE: Individual Paper DRAFT, 11:59 PM on Canvas. Peer Reviewers, use the BETA READER QUESTIONS to respond to your writer. You will receive your assigned review immediately after submission. Please complete the Peer Review ASAP. Ideally, you will finish within 48 hours to allow your writer the time to put your suggestions into practice.

Week 6: Decolonizing Fandom M 10/29

Bennett, “What a ‘Racebent’ Hermione Granger Really Represents” (link) Gatson&Reid, “Race and Ethnicity in Fandom” (link) Decolonize AU: Dhobi ki kutti, “Promise of the .” archiveofourown.org. Web. (link) *The fic author has granted us permission to read this fic and its alttext onsite. Please keep any comments only to our Canvas discussion board. * Please Beta Read your assigned partner’s draft ASAP. Come Ready to Answer: What is postcolonial in Dhobi ki kutti’s fic, and how is that related to the fic’s main transformation of its canon?

W 10/31

Watch: javabeans and girlfriday, “7 of Our Favorite K-drama Tropes” (link) ***Please do NOT leave comments at this site.*** Recap: javabeans, “Gakitsal Episode 1.” (link) javabeans, “Glossary: Oppa” (link) thundie et al., “Recapping the K-Drama” (link) Discussion Questions: What kinds of work are involved in discussing Kdrama in English? Why would anyone do this work?

What aspects of U.S. feminism do you see in the recaps of Gaksital and Sungkyunkwan Scandal? Have you completed your peer review? Beta readers, keep in mind that you are on your writer’s side! Stick to “I statements” to help your writer figure out what to fix for themselves. You are not editing or writing for them. Remember that your writer has final say on what goes into the paper. Sun 11/4

Individual Paper DUE: Friday at 11:59 pm on Canvas. Include a brief note (can be on bibliography page) discussing changes you made based on your beta reader’s comments.

Week 7: Appropriation and The Work of Cultural Authenticity M 11/5

Cho, “Harajuku Girls.” (link) Duberman, “Asian Women Are Not Your Props” (link) Hiruta, “In Defense of Avril Lavigne” (link) In-Class Screenings: Love Love Love (Roy Kim), Who You (GDragon), “Hello Kitty” (Avril Lavigne) Group Formation for Final Projects is revealed TODAY. Find your group members unde...