ABSURD VERSUS FICTIONAL

How Academia Is Portrayed in Webcomics and Fanfiction

The plan for this presentation

Characterisation of webcomicsand fanfiction texts

Academia in webcomics: XKCD, Piled Higher and Deeper,

Academia in fanfiction: what isAU, Sherlock (TV), a bit of LesAmis de l’ABC (Les Miserables),

Comparisons and final questions.

Conclusion? Awkward Q&A.

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1553

Webcomics and Fanfiction – brief comparison

Webcomics Fanfiction

Medium Internet Internet

Authorship Mostly by name Mostly by nickname

Characters OC Fandom

Plot Autobio,Slice of Life, PersonalAlternate Universe, might be real-life

inspired

ACADEMIA IN WEBCOMICS

How irony rules them all…

Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD Comics)

Author: Jorge Cham

Website: http://phdcomics.com/

Status: ongoing since 1997

Other media: movies, books, collaborations.

Focus: mainly academic life from perspective of an undergrad and grad students, humour.

Various characters and storylines.

Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD Comics)

XKCD

Author: Randal Munroe

Website: https://xkcd.com

Status: ongoing since 2006

Other media: books (in e.g. What If?), speeches, computer programmes, flashmobs and other actions.

Focus: science, humour, slice of life, philosophy, social behaviour, culture.

XKCD

Dumbing of Age

Author: David Willis

Website: http://www.dumbingofage.com/

Status: ongoing since 2010

Other media: books, posters, seld-referencing, NSFW comics.

Focus: coming of age, slice of life, varietyof characters and backstories.

Dumbing of Age

ACADEMIA IN FANFICTION

Sherlockians’ Coming of Age Stories (and sometimes a safehaven for Les Mis…)

http://dauntingfire.deviantart.com/art/Young-John-Sherlock-179856930

University as AU

University/College Alternate UniverseFanfiction.

Characteristics: modern, US or UK universities.

Characters from various fandoms.

Motives: critique,

http://destinationtoast.tumblr.com/post/125403718339/sherlock-fandom-aus-

teenlock-the-forthcoming

Statistics by Destination Toast (ToastyStats)

Fandom of Choice

The academia setting analysed in Sherlock (BBC, 2010) fandom.

Sherlock fandom is one of the biggestand most prolific so far.

This is the best known fandom for research, however it is not the most popular setting for FF AU.

http://voodooling.tumblr.com/post/61822305011/here-have-some-meganelock-cuz-of-

reasons-cutie

Sherlock (BBC, 2010) in Academia

Coming of age.

Angst and young trauma.

Exploring past of main characters:

John Watson as rugby player,

Sherlock as chemistry student.

Pairings: Sherlock/Victor Trevor, Sherlock/Sebastian.

Exploring sexuality.

Setting for a love story,

http://stitchyarts.tumblr.com/post/105048839287/some-meetcute-art-set-in-ashley-guixonloves

Academia in Sherlock FF

No significant difference in quantity between Fluff and Angst genres on AO3.

Mostly a fetish, pretext and field for experimentation.

Focus on sexuality exploration, emotional development.

Youth and University as fetish and excuse.

Very little on actual research or classes.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Sherlock AU College/University

Sherlock AU Fanfiction by genres

All tagged Angst Fluff

http://shootbadcabbies.tumblr.com/post/129794017189/i-actually-finally-finished-this-jesus-christ

The Curious Case of Les Amis de l’Abc

• 3971 FF uses Modern Setting AU.

• 664 FF out of 11 429 in total depict

College/University lifes of Les Amis

de l’Abc.

• There is significantly more Fluff than

Angst among tagged works.

• Tragically dead characters are given

new lives?

• Academia as a space of character

development.

• Characters as activists.

http://batcii.tumblr.com/post/99700748313/a-group-which-almost-became-historic-les-amis-de

Les Amis de l’ABC – The Webcomic

Follows fanfiction tropes.

Idealistic view of life on campus.

Enjorlas and Combeferre as Amnesty International Activists.

Website: http://lesamiscomic.tumblr.com/

Webcomics and Fanfiction visions of academia– brief comparison (again)

Webcomics (chosen) Fanfiction

StudentsYoung, confused, frustrated, ironic,

questioning academia,pawns in system

Young, lost, confused, searching for

themselves

TeachersEither inspiring or painfully incompetent

(more often the latter)

Brief encounters, sometimes main

characters

AcademiaPlace of absurd, incompetence,

detached from reality

Setting, fetish, excuse to create

narrative on coming of age

http://apitnobaka.tumblr.com/post/1226599

93832/singing-a-song-of-men-and-men-

and-women-and-women

THANK YOU!

Marta TymińskaPhD Candidatemarta.tyminska@4zal.nethttp://ug.academia.edu/MartaTyminska

http://forsciencejohn.tumblr.com/post/45762364743/darlingbenny-for-pandas