Brit Kelley

I am a Lecturer in the University Writing Program at the University of California Davis. I teach courses on business writing, advanced composition, and other lower and upper division courses. My research interests surround literacy, identity, and improving pedagogy. In my most recent book, Loving fanfiction: Exploring the role of emotions in online fandoms, which was published in Routledge’s Studies in New Media and Cyberculture series in May of 2021, I explore the complex ways in which emotions intersect with popular culture, learning, writing, and the ongoing journey of self-identification. I conduct an extended and systematic analysis of emotions within fan literacy practices by addressing work from a five-year ethnographic study across fandoms—from Harry Potter and WWE, to Gotham and Twilight. Through exploring fans’ narratives about themselves and the fanwork they produce and consume, I theorize how identity, cognition, emotion, the body, and embodiment come together in literacy development and practices. This work not only helps us to better understand fans, but has larger implications for academic work, namely: recovering the key role of emotion in teaching and research and providing scholars with tools for conducting more ethical and sustainable research. Additional research interests of mine focus on providing more supportive learning environments for all student writers, especially multilingual and multinational students.

Professional Link: https://bnkelley86.wordpress.com/