The lecture “50 Shades of Amateur Writing on the Web,” presented by Anaïs Guilet, Associate Professor atthe Laboratory of Languages, Literatures, and Societies – Transborder and International Studies (LLSETI),School of Letters, Languages, and Humanities,will take place on Thursday, February 8, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. in Annecy (La Turbine Sciences, Place Chorus, Cran-Gevrier 74960 Annecy).
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The web is the realm of the written word. Whether it’s status updates or tweets, discussion forums or chat rooms: all internet users are writers, though some more so than others. Since the rise of blogs in the 2000s, amateur writers have flourished and enjoy coming together to create and be read. From fanfiction sites and Facebook columns to novels on Instagram, the platforms are varied, the genres diverse, and the themes covered numerous. Amateurs demonstrate unparalleled creativity, particularly in repurposing social media for purposes other than their original intent, thereby better telling their stories.
Recognizing this desire to write, as well as the influence of the communities surrounding them, companies—led by Amazon and Wattpad—are seeking to capitalize on what they see as a potential financial windfall. Between creative force and appropriation, we must examine how amateur writing practices on the web are transforming our conception of authority as well as the processes of literary legitimization.
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