Tuva Haglund

Research Interests

Fan cultures, fan fiction, fan art, reading communities, social media, popular fiction, young adult fiction, girlhood studies.

Short CV

• PhD in Literature, Uppsala University 2021
• Ph.lic. in Literature, Uppsala University 2018
• Accepted as PhD Student in Literature at Uppsala University, August 2014
• M.A. in Literature, Uppsala University 2012
• M.A. in Education for Teaching in Compulsory School, Later Years and Upper Secondary School/Adult Education, Malmö University 2011
• Teacher in Compulsory School, Vasa Real 2012-2014

Use of Fiction in The Engelsfors Fan Community 2011-2016 (dissertation)

An important part of fans engagement in fictional worlds are the fan made artworks (fan fiction, fan art and fan vids) inspired by the original works, and shared within the community. My research project focus on the fandom surrounding The Engelsfors Trilogy (2011-2013), a Swedish fantasy series by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren. Of particular interest is the fans own creative works, which constitute a significant part of their social interaction.

All public fan works are included in the study, which contains both texts, artworks, dialogs and videos. The aim is to examine the Engelsfors fandom as a social, cultural and digital practise, where social reading is the main focus. Today, most fan communities locate their activities to digital platforms, and the new forms for communication and social interaction that digitisation and social media brings constitute different preconditions. The active, co-creating approach that is characteristic for fans, can be noticed among a broader group of readers, audiences and consumers, and more frequently fan activities can be seen to overlap with the general participatory culture. These changes are important for understanding the interaction and dynamics within the Engelsfors fandom, which, like many new fan communities, is located to social media platforms like Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook.

In addition to an overall mapping of structure and patterns for communication within the fandom, the dissertation also contains close readings of the creative narration expressed in the body of fan works. Primarily, the analysis focus on one of the most noticed theme, the love story between Linnéa and Vanessa. Besides fan specific genres like “shipping” and “fluff”, the analysis also include perspective like fictionalisation, emotional reading practises and femininity.