Navigating through Space Butterflies

CoxCon 2017 and Fieldwork Presentation of Contemporary Movements

Authors

  • Vivian Asimos Durham University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.40574

Keywords:

conventions, fandom, new media, fieldwork presentation, contemporary religion

Abstract

This article seeks to query the typical way research in novel fields are expressed in academic writing. The high structured presentation assumes a high structured field, which is often conceived of as necessary for new sites to assert their academic validity. However, many times, as is the situation for the case study presented here, what is considered new and novel is simply a new medium through which already properly understood concepts thrive. This misunderstanding often leaves scholars in new fields defending their field site more than analysing it, and a higher scrutiny is placed on these locations. This article hopes to demonstrate just one example of this, the fan convention, and demonstrate how this field site is not as new as typically considered, and arguing, therefore, for a more open representation of the improvised and fluid conception of research on contemporary religion.

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Author Biography

  • Vivian Asimos, Durham University

    Vivian Asimos received her PhD from Durham University in the study of mythology in online communities and popular culture. She is the coeditor of the Bloomsbury Reader in the Study of Myth (2019). Her work is also primarily featured on the website god-mode.org.

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Published

2020-03-31

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Asimos, V. (2020). Navigating through Space Butterflies : CoxCon 2017 and Fieldwork Presentation of Contemporary Movements. Fieldwork in Religion, 14(2), 181-194. https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.40574