Fans and Fandom is a global and inclusive interdisciplinary project creating spaces for exploring various aspects of fan culture and fostering a more complete understanding of fan communities as both social and cultural phenomena. As an inclusive space, it will push the boundaries of purely academic Fandom ‘Studies’ towards wider contexts, appealing to both professional researchers and non-academics (industry professionals, artists, creative professionals, and fans themselves) from around the world. As we offer to step beyond the limits of academic ‘studies’, we welcome everyone who has a passion and avid interest in fandom and fandom culture as a modern phenomenon inextricably connected to society. The project roots for creative and innovative dialogues which build pathways between all contexts in which fandom is experienced, practiced, studied and lived. Through a series of both face-to-face and online events, the project invites a wide range of like-minded individuals to share thoughts, insights, and to promote the study of fan cultures through cross context research.
The initial goals of the Project are to:
● Promote interdisciplinary approaches to research (i.e. what would happen if methodologies from studies of football fans were applied to the study of film fandoms and vice versa?)
● Highlight areas of study that are new, misunderstood or simply under-explored
● Explore pedagogical aspects of fandom in terms of how to teach fan studies and how to incorporate the creativity and skills that underpin fan output in a classroom context
● Situate the historical and contemporary implications of fandoms
● Account for the multi-directional influences of factors like race, class, gender, nationality and sexuality upon fan communities
● Quantify the nature, value and impact of different types of fan behaviour
● Foster mutually beneficial connections between researchers and industry practitioners, professionals, artists, stakeholders and fans
Activities
Conferences
Fans and Fandom
Saturday 7th May 2022 – Sunday 8th May 2022
Prague, Czech Republic