Affiliation and Participation: What Fannish Practices Can Tell Us About Building Community in the Writing Center

This thesis examines the discursive activity of participatory fannish practices and the opportunities they afford the university writing center in responding to student writing. The project begins with an analysis of participatory fandom; specifically, their interactions guided by gifting, collaborating, and validating identity through praise and affirmation. The possibilities these activities pose for writing center praxis is then explored to determine how participatory fannish praxis might influence and shape a participatory conference model. This project brings into focus the role of affirmation and praise in the writing conference.