Since the 1960s, semiotician Umberto Eco has written at length about 'open work', a largely theoretical kind of artwork characterized by open-endedness and a need for audience participation. By combining this concept with other semiotic methods of data extraction and analysis, it would seem possible to construct an alternative method of fan fiction interpretation that permits objectively verifiable data to be examined within the established theoretical framework of the 'open work' -a framework whose precepts make it uniquely suited to analysis of online amateur media such as fanfic.

    A preliminary test of this method seems to confirm its potential for opening new perspectives on fanfic narratives and using public debate about the findings as a part of the research itself, not something that occurs only after final publication of the results. I will illustrate the method's advantages and disadvantages by detailing its use in a broader study currently underway. This study contrasts English-language fanfics published online with Japanese amateur comics (dojinshi) based on the same source material (the 'Harry Potter' series). The data sets  examined contain a wide variety of narrative elements, including but not limited to characters, pairings, narrators, handling of canon elements, sexual activity, events, and locations.
References:
http://www.diigo.com/user/nele_noppe/open_work
The 'open work' as a framework for the interpretation of fanwork
In theory
In practice
1962, 1989 
What is 'open work'?

The idea of electronic text as open works is not a new one. Neither is casting fanwork as a politically significant 'open' system of texts. Several other proposed frameworks for examining fanwork also include 'openness' as a basic characteristic. This idea is hardly far out.

Eco first wrote his theory in the sixties, but he later discussed the potential of hypertext for opening up closed and finite works. If new formats accompany new worldviews, one could argue that the way fanwork is created reflects these new worldviews -the new electronic formats and the particular production system of fandom (for example the "gift economy"). Now, unless I'm very much mistaken, the keynote later today will be discussing the values in the production system of fandom, so I won't delve into this any further now.

Eco has also made an explicit connection between 'open work' and what he calls 'informal' art. 'Informal' in this case meaning that they propose a more flexible version of an established form. I think a case can be made for many kinds of fanwork as 'informal' media in this sense of the word.

Eco didn't actually make the jump towards locating agency for creating 'open works' with the consumers of the work, but he did acknowledge the limitations of author-ordained 'open work'. His exact words were "What in fact is made available is a range of rigidly preestablished and ordained interpretative solutions, and these never allow the reader to move outside the strict control of the author."

Eco has said that a reason for consumers to engage in 'open work' is that they are frustrated and desire to have a more rewarding text, or the most complete experience of a text that is possible. I think you could plunk that sentiment right into any discussion on fanwork.

One last reason is something we've already mentioned. The format of 'open work' develops because people need a new format to express their view of the world, and in that new consciousness, people desire not to look for existing structures but to construct their own new systems to deepen and change their understanding of things. I think this emphasis on production rather than contemplation is very appropriate to fanwork.
What do we gain by interpreting
fanwork as 'open work' à la Eco?
Nele Noppe
Japanese Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
nele.noppe@arts.kuleuven.be
http://www.nelenoppe.net/fanficforensics
'Open work' is actually developing, for reasons Eco described -the initiative is coming from elsewhere. Technology, audiences have evolved
From Eco's perspective, science drives our worldview and art adapts to that. "In every century, the way that artistic forms are structured reflects the way in which science or contemporary culture views reality". 'Open work', is the only sort of artwork that acknowledges the "new vision of both the physical and psychological universes proposed by contemporary science"

What does this "new vision of the world" come down to? It centers on "the new man's inventive role"

An 'open work' is essentially political

pedagogical function: encourages consumers to understand the world through models/theories instead of a single 'order of things', like scientists

Initiative towards 'open works' is coming mainly from audiences, not authors. Because agency has shifted from authors to readers, 'openness' of the text is less important
research
comparing and contrasting narrative and visual elements in Japanese- and English-language fanworks
fanfic/fanart
dojinshi
Problems
not much content analysis to work with
theoretical framework and methodology cannot be culturally biased
This presentation:
http://prezi.com/uwjwjrhvvye3/
format
agency
function
The 'original' author controls the purpose of the work and deliberately designates it as open (or, as in most cases, not)
An 'open work' may be created in any medium 
Formal innovation occurs because artists can no longer speak of the world in "the same formal terms that were used to speak of an orderly cosmos"
Formal innovation is a "contravention of established conventions of expression"
The format of the 'open work' is decentralized, and the source work is no more than a starting point
way of decoding avant-garde artworks deliberately designated as 'open' by their creators and requiring active participation from consumers
(Idea of that all texts are open is present in many theories of aesthetics, literature, media)
Why is casting fanwork as 'open work' appropriate?
Medievalist
Semiotician
Art critic
Novelist
...
Umberto
Eco
'OPEN WORK'
The Name of the Rose
gathering data
presenting data
analyzing data
If we consider fanworks as 'open works', what method of content analysis is appropriate? 
GATHERING DATA
PRESENTING DATA
ANALYZING DATA
Sign of the times: fanwork as reflecting contemporary worldview
Legitimizes fans' participation in the cultural landscape
Offers new perspective on role of technology in shaping of fan texts
Encourages cross-cultural research of fanworks
advantages of examining
fanwork as 'open work'
open source
open access
open data
open (notebook) research
(feminist methodologies)
...
POACHING

intransitive verb
1 : to encroach upon especially for the purpose of taking something
2 : to trespass for the purpose of stealing game; also : to take game or fish illegally
transitive verb
1 : to trespass on
2 a : to take (game or fish) by illegal methods b : to appropriate (something) as one's own c : to attract (as an employee or customer) away from a competitor

(from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poaching)
An 'open work' framework repositions fans' creative activities as just as legitimate as Literature, perhaps even essential in the landscape of contemporary literature
'Open work' theory places great importance on the format in which works are expressed -> clarify role of technology in creating differences between fanworks created by different groups? Differences between formats of English-language and Japanese-language fanwork may not be just a historical coincidence or a consequence of social norms in Japan, but an expression of differing worldviews/understanding of science
'Open work' perspective encourages cross-cultural research of fanworks, which poses a very valuable challenge to studies of English-language fandom and fanworks. 

See for example 'gift economy' concept, importance of canon compliance
The same cultural patterns that are best expressed by 'open works' in art are, in the field of scholarship, best expressed by methods of research that "contradict and complement each other in a dialectic opposition that will generate new perspectives and a greater quantity of information." 
we need to large quantities of data before we can make an informed comparison with fanfic or any other kind of fanwork
SEMIOTICS

gather data in a non-culturally specific way
compare and contrast a large number of individual signs from sample texts


a) gather the large amount of information on content that we need

b) have a very reliable dataset that doesn't restrict our interpretation of it right from the start
possibilities for adapting research methodologies to other open philosophies
challenge the way we conduct scholarship

help keep fan studies as close as possible to the fans
gather as many interpretations of the data as possible and from those varied interpretations
form a hypothesis about how English-language and Japanese-language fanworks reflect the worldview of the societies in which they are produced and what the role of these fanworks in the cultural production system of these societies may be
100 dojinshi
100 fanfics
What genres are popular? For instance, how much slash or yaoi, how much het, and how much gen?

Within the slash/yaoi works, how often is a given character presented as top/seme or bottom/uke?

What are the most popular pairings?

Which characters are the narrators? Whose viewpoint do the fan creators prefer to adopt?

If a character has a love interest in canon, how is that love interest depicted in fanwork? If he or she is depicted at all.

If sexual activity takes place, what sexual acts are depicted? For example, how is non-consensual sex depicted?

How faithful are the narratives to the established canon? Do the characters seem to be 'in character', how often are plot elements from the source work used? Do characters have the same looks in fanwork as in canon, or are they prettified in some way?

What kind of warnings or author's notes are attached to the fanfics and dojinshi? These are part of the work as well. (I get the idea that there are some very interesting differences in this area)
genre (gen, het, slash)
popular pairings
who is top/seme or bottom/uke
terminology?
Genres (slash, gen, het)

    Fanfic: 16 gen, 61 slash, 24 het
    Dojinshi: 5 gen, 95 slash, 2 het


Populair pairings (two most popular)

    Fanfic: Snape/Harry 34, Snape/James 0
    Dojinshi: Snape/Harry 10, Snape/James 61


'Division of labor' in slash pairings

    Fanfic: Snape bottom/uke 11, Snape top/seme 35 (plus 'undetermined')
    Dojinshi: Snape bottom/uke 94, Snape top/seme 1
"theoretical/utopian"
Several other proposed frameworks for examining fanwork also include 'openness' as a basic characteristic. This idea is hardly far out

If new formats accompany new worldviews, one could argue that the way fanwork is created reflects these new worldviews -new electronic formats, particular production system of fandom (e.g. the 'gift economy')

Eco has also made an explicit connection between 'open work' and what he calls 'informal' art

Eco did acknowledge the limitations of author-ordained 'open work'

Eco has said that a reason for consumers to engage in 'open work' is that they are frustrated and desire to have a more rewarding experience of a text

'Open work' develops because people need a new format to express their view of the world, and in that new consciousness, people to construct their own new systems to find meaning rather than look for it in existing systems. Emphasis on production rather than contemplation is very appropriate to fanwork
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PhD

use open source software
use social software
open access publishing
use tech to ensure that everyone can check/participate in research
open notebook research
a bit further...
a bit more....
Make user participation a requirement for research 

users = fans, scholars
Why is casting fanwork as 'open work' appropriate?
random sampling: fanfics/dojinshi about Snape, created after the fifth book, and (in the case of fanfics) published on LiveJournal
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