CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Article Title

The Writing and Reading of Fan Fiction and Transformation Theory

Authors

Veerle Van Steenhuyse, Ghent University

Abstract

In her article "The Writing and Reading of Fan Fiction and Transformation Theory" Veerle Van Steenhuyse discusses the experience of immersive reading fan fiction offers to fans based on her analysis of fan fiction about the television series House, M.D. (2004-). Van Steenhuyse postulates that a text is immersive when it evokes a mental construct with the presence of a text-independent reality. In the case of fan fiction, this reality is a "transformed universe" that builds on and deviates from particular primary texts. Following the work of Marie-Laure Ryan and Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, Van Steenhuyse argues that readers feel immersed when they re-center their consciousness and she clarifies this process with transportation theory. Further, Van Steenhuyse uses schema theory to elaborate on transportation theory in order to specify the temporal dimension of immersive reading of fan fiction.

Recommended Citation

Van Steenhuyse, Veerle. "The Writing and Reading of Fan Fiction and Transformation Theory." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 13.4 (2011): <http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1691>

This text has been blind peer reviewed by 2+1 experts in the field.

The above text, published by Purdue University Press ©Purdue University, has been downloaded 557 times as of 06/17/13.