The Tri-U has been my home since 2011 when I began my undergrad at Laurier. While it is sad to be finishing my time at UWaterloo, I'll always take with me the sense of community that the Tri-U instilled in me. I met my future wife in this program, and some of my dearest friends.
Disabled fans share access to their communities out of a common joy for their beloved fandoms, whether that be Star Trek or the Toronto Blue Jays, or anywhere else that fans congregate. Disabled fans have always been here, and they are not going anywhere.
It took just over four years for Dr. Eric Vero to complete a PhD in History in the Tri-U. He began in the middle of the pandemic and was able to find a pathway to complete his research in the program's prescribed time.
"Freaking Fans: An Oral History of Disability in Fan Spaces," analyzes the deeply intertwined past of disability and fan communities. Since the beginning of modern fandoms in the twentieth century, disability has existed in a precarious place: disabled fans have been community builders and early adopters of fan culture, while historical forces such as ableism, racism, and sexism have proved to be obstacles for them. This study consists of interviews of 8 disabled fans with wide-ranging experiences across various fan communities to arrive at how fans, especially disabled fans, share access to their communities out of a common joy for their beloved fandoms, whether that be Star Trek or the Toronto Blue Jays, or anywhere else that fans congregate. Disabled fans have always been here, and they are not going anywhere.
Eric intends to publish his research as a book. He also plans to continue to publish creative non-fiction in literary journals like his piece from 2022, "Rural Ontario, 1937: Coping With Mental Illness Through Tabletop Role-Playing Games," published on First Person Scholar.
Eric was co-supervised by Dr. Ian Milligan (Associate VP, Research Oversight and Analysis & Professor of History) and Dr. Jay Dolmage, Chair and Professor of English both from Waterloo. Other committee members included Dr. Andrew Hunt, Professor of History at Waterloo and Dr. Kimberley Martin, Assistant Professor of History at Guelph.
The internal-external examiner was Dr. Adan Jerreat-Poole, Associate Professor in Communication Arts at Waterloo. The external examiner was Dr. Jeffrey Preston, Department Chair/Associate Professor of Disability Studies at King's University College/Western University.