Good news: publications, presentations, and money

[tishaturk]

For the past few months, I've been trying to finish up some academic projects that pre-date my current work on vids and vidding, which is why I haven't been posting much: I've been trying not to distract myself. But I've continued to think and talk about vids, both informally and at academic conferences, and I'm starting to get back to the writing part as well, so I hope to start posting more regularly again sometime soon.

I also have some good news to share—so much, actually, that I'm going to split it into categories.

papers

Although I haven't laid eyes on it myself, the issue of Film & Film Culture in which I have an article discussing Luminosity's "Vogue" and sisabet's "Ring Them Bells" apparently came out in March! I don't yet have an electronic version to post, but I'm working on it.

The anthology Metalepsis and Popular Culture, for which I wrote a chapter on metalepsis in fan vids and fan fiction, has been accepted for publication by Walter de Gruyter for their Narratologia series. I am so, so excited about this; I've read some of the other volumes in the series and they're just fantastic. The book will be released sometime later this year; again, I'll post an electronic version of the chapter when I'm able.

presentations

By the end of May, I will have presented on vids at seven (!) academic conferences this academic year. It's been a terrific, if exhausting, experience.

I particularly enjoyed the Digital Media & Learning conference, where I was part of a really fun panel focusing on vids (notes from which are forthcoming over at Louisa Stein's blog, Transmedia), and the Narrative conference, where I was part of a panel on fandom more generally and was able to connect with several other junior academics working on digital narratives. The two conferences could not have been more different, but I came away from both of them feeling excited and energized and very much wanting to get back to work on vids.

The Narrative conference was especially useful because it was a chance to extend and develop the argument that I made at last year's IP/Gender Symposium, which I am now in the process of turning into an article manuscript; planning the presentation helped me clarify several ideas that had remained defiantly fuzzy for many months.

money

I've gotten several grants this year—all relatively small, but enormously helpful. Several travel grants helped offset the (not insignificant) costs of getting to all the various conferences where I've been talking about vids. A grant from our campus library association will be used to acquire books about fandom, participatory culture, and multimedia literacies for the library's collection. A Morris Academic Partnership grant will allow me to hire a research assistant for next year (yes, some lucky UMM student will get paid to read vidding meta on DW and LJ), and a University of Minnesota Imagine Fund grant will allow me to travel to VividCon to interview vidders for the next phase of my research, which focuses on vidding as a composing process. (I have to admit, I am kind of looking forward to explaining vidding to the Institutional Review Board.)

My budget request for that last grant also included a line for purchasing a paid DreamWidth account for the next three years. My paid time on LJ has lapsed, and I've decided that I have no particular need or desire to renew it; I'd rather support DreamWidth, and am very happy that I now have the means to do so. I'll be posting (and welcoming comments) under the same username at both locations, but DW will be my home base from now on.

Comments

[jarrow.livejournal.com]

It continues to blow my mind how you are able to do so much (and so well) on top of your already full schedule. I am completely in awe. It also really goes to show that if you love something, you can make it your life in ways that feel good to you (and even pay!) I think what you're doing is fantastic. Congratulations on all these great things!

[tishaturk.livejournal.com]

Thank you! To be fair, many of these things are WHY my schedule is full; research is an important part of my job, and certainly an important part of getting tenure, although it's not the most important to me personally. One of the most fun things about this research agenda (besides the obvious: vids!) is that talking about it on campus has brought many a fannish student out of the woodwork; I'm getting to hear about a great many areas of fandom that are quite different from the areas in which I participate myself.

And as for the "pay" part: finding out that I'm pretty good at writing grants has been a very welcome development, I assure you. :)

[vagabondage.livejournal.com]

::Zen throws confetti at you::

I totally envy your future research assistant!

[tishaturk.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And yes, I'm looking forward to snagging some fabulous fannish student with the promise of reading LJ for money (although inevitably there will be other duties involved as well).

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's all amazing news. CONGRATS!!!!!

[tishaturk.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I am ridiculously excited! Also, TIRED.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

yes, some lucky UMM student will get paid to read vidding meta on DW and LJ

WHOA.

I'm oracne on DW.

[tishaturk.livejournal.com]

I know, right? Not like I don't want to read the meta myself, but wow, it is time-consuming. Having someone else read and do some preliminary tagging will be super-helpful (and, I hope, fun for the student!).

[renenet.livejournal.com]

::beams at you::

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

All great news! Congrats!