Rachel Loewen
About
Rachel is a third year PhD researcher at the University of Warwick and is a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Film and Television Studies. She holds an MA in Film Studies from Carleton University (Canada), along with her BA from Brescia University College/Western University (Canada). Rachel’s doctoral research, tentatively titled ‘Doctor Who Fans and COVID-19: Fandom-Based Strategies for Pandemic Engagement,’ explores the various ways fans utilized their fandom as a tool for making meaning out of the pandemic. Along with fan studies and telefantasy studies, her other research interests include representations of mental illness on screen, YouTube studies, and the role of audiovisual media in creating social change
Current research
'Doctor Who Fans and COVID-19: Fandom-Based Strategies for Pandemic Engagement'
Rachel’s research is supervised by Professor Helen Wheatley and Professor Pietari Kaapa and is funded by the Warwick Chancellor’s International Scholarship
Publications
Book chapters
Loewen, Rachel. ‘(Cos)playing People, Parodying Things: The Hillywood Business.’ The Women in Supernatural: Critical Essays, edited by Susan Nylander and Mandy Taylor, McFarland & Company, forthcoming.
Other
Couturier, Jennifer, et al. ‘A study protocol for implementing Canadian Practice Guidelines for Treating Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders,’ Implementation Science Communications, vol. 5, no. 5, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-023-00538-9Link opens in a new window.
Loewen, Rachel. "'Darkness Never Prevails': Doctor Who Covid-19 Videos as Keystones for Pandemic Engagement." In "Fandom and Platforms," edited by Maria K. Alberto, Effie Sapuridis, and Lesley Willard, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 42, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2024.2625Link opens in a new window.
Couturier, Jennifer, et al. ‘Canadian Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders,’ Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 8, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-0277-8.
Couturier, Jennifer, et al. ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic and Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Recommendations from the Canadian Consensus Panel,’ Canadian Institutes of Health Research, August 22, 2020. URL: https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52053.html.
Teaching
Rachel has taught on three modules within the department: ‘Film Aesthetics,’ ‘Queer Screens,’ and ‘Theories for Film Studies.’ She also taught on ‘Introduction to Film Studies’ at Carleton University (Canada) for two years.
Conference papers
‘“Listen to the Doctor”: Doctor Who as a Site of Meaning-Making for Fans During the COVID-19 Pandemic,’ The Popular Culture Association, online, April 2022.
‘“Listen to the Doctor”: Doctor Who as a Site of Collaborative Meaning-Making for Fans During the COVID-19 Pandemic,’ Film & Television Studies Postgraduate Research Day, University of Warwick, May 2022.
‘Surviving the (COVID-19) Apocalypse Through “Good Omens: Lockdown” Fan Fiction,’ Fan Studies Network North America, online, October 2022.
‘#AwakeTheSnake: “Good Omens: Lockdown,” Fan Fiction, and COVID-19 Health Messaging,’ Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association, online, November 2022.
‘“Real Heroes Wear Masks”: An Exploratory Study of Telefantasy COVID-19 Videos,’ Futuring Outside the Box: New Dynamics in Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester, June 2023.
‘“Real Heroes Wear Masks”: COVID-19 Videos, Health Messaging, and Fan Engagement,’ MeCCSA 2023, Glasgow Caledonian University, September 2023.
‘“Darkness Never Prevails”: Doctor Who COVID-19 Videos as Keystones for Pandemic Engagement,’ Fan Studies Network North America, online, October 2023.
Other Roles
- Music Coordinator/Research Assistant - The Cinema's First Nasty Women Project (2021-present)
- Co-Organizer - Film and Television Studies Postgraduate Research Day (2022)
- Year 1 PhD Representative - Warwick Film and Television Studies SSLC (2021-2022)
- Co-Organizer - Carleton University Film Studies Graduate Student Colloquium (2020)