Week 3: Comics culture, ethnography, authoethnography
Summary
This week we will continue to explore the topics of comic book culture, fans, and readers.
Weekly Learning Objectives
- define fans and list examples of content and culture produced by fans
- explain ways in which fandom emerged as a virtual culture through the use of print media
- discuss the role of conventions and fan publications in the development of fan culture
- summarize the potential conflict between participatory culture and cultural industries.
Before class: Readings, resources, and tasks
- Woo, B., Beaty, B., & Campbell, M. (2020). Theorizing comic cons. Journal of Fandom Studies 8(1), 9-31. https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs_00007_1
- Woo, B. (2021). Asking fans questions: The ethnographic interview. A Fan Studies Primer : Method, Research, Ethics (pp. 97-110). Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
- Hills, M. (2021). Fan studies’ autoethnography: A Method for Self-Learning and Limit-Testing in Neoliberal Times?. A Fan Studies Primer : Method, Research, Ethics (pp. 144-160). Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
Recommended but optional reading
- Pustz, M. (1999). Discovering comic book culture. Comic book culture: Fanboys and true believers. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
In class
- Discussion
- Spurlock, M. (Director). (2012). Comic con episode IV: A fan’s hope. United States: Gravitas Ventures. We will view this film in class.
- Next week