MA Tanja Välisalo is writing her dissertation in the field of contemporary cultural studies on the topic of virtual characters in media fandom. In her master’s thesis she investigated the early history of television fandom in Finland. Her research interests include identity and materiality in fandom, transmedia audiences and ludification of culture. Välisalo works as a university teacher in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Jyväskylä teaching e.g. courses on game studies and digital technologies.
Välisalo has given paper presentations in national and international conferences, such as Fan Studies Network Conference. She was one of the organizers of the international seminar Reconfiguring Human and Non-Human – Texts, Images and Beyond in 2015 and Nörttikulttuurin nousu, the Finnish national fandom studies conference in 2016, both held at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Välisalo is a member of The Finnish Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy Research.
Further information: https://jyu.academia.edu/TanjaValisalo
The World Hobbit Project in Finland - Uses of Fantasy 