Lectures on Tap - "When Fanfiction Becomes Canon"

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🧠 Lecture: "When Fanfiction Becomes Canon"

🎤 Speaker: Lydia Griffiths, PhD

Somewhere around 2011, Marvel fans decided Hawkeye lives in the air vents. There was almost no basis for it in the comics, yet it became one of the most beloved “facts” about the character. A decade later, the films made it canon. Supernatural fans decided that Dean and Castiel were in love after their first meeting. It became the biggest ship in fanfiction—then, eleven seasons later, writers potentially canonized it with a soulful “I love you” farewell.

In this lively talk, mythologist and fandom scholar Lydia Griffiths, PhD, explores how fandoms collectively invent character traits, ships, and backstory out of almost nothing—and how those inventions sometimes migrate into the “official” story. Drawing on her research (including a dissertation on Steve Rogers fanfiction) and her work on the mythic patterns beneath modern pop culture, Lydia reveals the ancient stories living inside the ones we can’t stop thinking about.

Learn how fans, creators, and myths across time collide to shape what becomes canon.

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