Highlights of Fan & Work Experience
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Columnist and Staff Member, FanFiction.net, 1999–2001.
Wrote “Five Snitches,” a fiction review column, and helped select new columnists.
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Co-founder and Director of Logistics, FictionAlley.org, 2001–present.
Contributed to the original design team for the website, originated much of the writing improvement content, and moderated forums. FictionAlley was nominated for a Webby award in April 2004 and a Prix Ars Electronica award in 2005. In 2004, FictionAlley was granted 501(c)(3) status as FAWC, an educational entity. See also “When local teen met Harry, a hot Web site brewed,” June 7, 2002 in The Sacramento Bee.
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Research Assistant, Ellen Millender of Reed College, summer 2007.
Helped redesign coursework for the following year. Completed various administrative tasks.
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Teaching Assistant, David Thorburn of MIT, spring 2009.
Helped lead discussions and build course sites for 21L.485 (20th Century Fiction) and 21L.702 (Studies in Fiction: Joyce and the Legacy of Modernism).
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Research Assistant, Project New Media Literacies, 2008–spring 2010.
Working with a small team, wrote content for the Learning Library project, tested it in a Brooklyn school, and helped manage the community that grew up around the project. Used my fan expertise to aid in developing the Teacher's Strategy Guide: Learning in a Participatory Culture. In collaboration with Howard Gardner's GoodPlay project, contributed to the Ethics Casebook.
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Chair of Formal Programming, Azkatraz 2009.
An academic Harry Potter symposium that took place July 17–21, 2009. The symposium was organized by HPEF Inc.
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Teaching Assistant, CMS 100, Martin Marks of MIT, fall 2009.
I lead a discussion section, marked student papers, and helped design coursework for this introductory level class.
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Research Assistant, Civic Engagement Project, 2009–spring 2010.
I carried out a short case study on Verb Noire and helped to write a white paper and worked example for this project.
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Chief Participation Officer, The Alchemists, 2009–present.
As a member of this transmedia storytelling company, I help tell wonderful stories, and help manage the ways that people interact with those stories.
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Lecturer, Comparative Media Studies at MIT, July 2010–present.
I do alumni outreach for Comparative Media Studies as well as TAing for Introduction to Media Studies (CMS 100) with Mia Consalvo in fall 2010 and with Vivek Bald in 2011, co-teaching Writing for Social Media with Ralph Lombreglia and creating and teaching Fans and Fan Studies in spring 2011.
Publications, Presentations & Invited Talks
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Once Upon a Time-Turner: The History of Harry Potter Fandom.
Panelist at Nimbus 2003.
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Slytherins, Smoke and Shadows: The Secret Life of Severus Snape.
Panel moderator at Nimbus 2003.
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The Implications of Virtual Religion: An Ethnographic Look at a Catholic Bible Study in Second Life.
Paper presented at the The Future of Religions/Religion of the Future conference in Second Life in 2008.
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Panelist: A&E TrendLab, October 2008
Topic: "Exploring fan-fiction and understanding how it is re-defining storytelling in entertainment." Event produced by Electric Artists.
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Religion of the Book, Religion of the Screen
Speaker at Media in Transition 6: Stone and Papyrus, Storage and Transmission. Biblical exegesis in virtual reality in general and Second Life in particular. Slidecast available.
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From Theory to Practice
Article published in Threshold magazine, Spring 2009. Co-authored with Rafi Santo.
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Ten Years On
A discussion of Harry Potter fandom's ten years of existence. Round table moderator at Azkatraz 2009.
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From Fan Activism to Political Activism: Participatory Democracy around Popular Media Affinity Groups
At The Digital Media and Learning Conference 2010: Diversifying Participation. Pecha kucha presentation of the Civic Engagement Project's case studies. With Sangita Shresthova, Anna van Someren, Clement Chau, Lana Schwartz, Benjamin Stokes, Ritesh Mehta, Lori Kido Lopez, Kevin Driscoll, Ray Vichot, Joshua McVeigh-Schultz and Melissa Brough.
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Mad Skills: Making New Media Literacy Practices Accessible to Educators and Students Alike
At The Digital Media and Learning Conference 2010: Diversifying Participation. Presentation of research at Project New Media Literacies. With Erin Reilly and Barry Joseph.
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Antifans: What Fans Love to Hate
Panelist at the International Conference for the Fantastic in Arts 31: Race and the Fantastic.
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Fans, Anti-Fans and Sparklepires: An Examination of Current Definitions of ‘Fan’ with Reference to Twilight
Paper presented at the International Conference for the Fantastic in Arts 31: Race and the Fantastic.
