Fan practices and behaviours have increasingly moved beyond fan communities into the political, economic, and cultural structures of everyday life. The proliferation of social media platforms has allowed both progressive and reactionary aspects of fandom to significantly shape the public sphere, drawing on similar techniques, pleasures, and practices to interpret the world in a culture where the boundaries between popular and political communication are blurrier than they have ever been. This one-day symposium seeks to explore the synergies, tensions, and conflicts at play in this new cultural terrain. It explores how fan studies can be used to make sense of the seeming growth of conspiracy theory communities and right-wing movements, examines political participation as a form of fandom, and how social media can be used to organize against discriminatory cultures.
We have some limited spaces for 20-minute research papers. Please submit titles, 200 word abstracts, and short bios to (B.Litherland /at/ mmu.ac.uk), (jonesbv5 /at/ cardiff.ac.uk) and (driessen /at/ eshcc.eur.nl) by Wednesday 2 October. The symposium will feature a keynote from Adrienne L. Massanari (American University), and opportunities for networking and developing further research in this burgeoning area. The symposium is kindly supported by MMU’s Centre for Media Digital Culture and the Manchester Game Centre.