"Online Fan Fiction, Global Identities, and Imagination"

Assistant Professor Rebecca Black has received the 2009 Alan C. Purves Award for her article: "Online Fan Fiction, Global Identities, and Imagination," which appeared in the May 2009 issue of Research in the Teaching of English (Vol. 43, No. 4).

The Alan C. Purves award is presented annually to the author(s) of the Research on the Teaching of English article from the previous year's volume judged as likely to have the greatest impact on educational practice. Research on the Teaching of English (RTE) is a multidisciplinary journal composed of original research and scholarly essays on the relationships between language teaching and learning at all levels, preschool through adult. Articles reflect a variety of methodologies and address issues of pedagogical relevance related to the content, context, process, and evaluation of language learning.  

Abstract of "Online Fan Fiction, Global Identities, and Imagination"

Based on longitudinal data from a three-year ethnographic study, this article uses discourse analytic methods to explore the literacy and social practices of three adolescent English language learners writing in an online fan fiction community. Findings suggest that through their participation in online fan-related activities, these three youth are using language and other representational resources to enact cosmopolitan identities, make transnational social connections, and experiment with new genres and formats for composing.