University of Iowa Press Participatory Culture Wars: Controversy, Conflict, and Complicity in Fandom

"Description: From writing fanfiction to campaigning for better media representation, fandom and participatory culture have been seen as tools to resist dominant narratives and fight for a better future. But as Participatory Culture Wars demonstrates, this is not always the case. While the field of fan studies has made the argument for participatory cultures' redemptive qualities, communities can also coalesce around the regressive, the exclusionary and the misinformed. The chapters in this volume explore the myriad ways in which participatory culture can be used to very different ends, from the ways in which fans negotiate problematic texts and celebrities, like JK Rowling, to the overlaps between fandom conspiracies and political conspiracies, and the subtle support of socially progressive activist movements like Black Lives Matter in the Middle East. That examples are drawn from around the globe rather than simply Western politics and fandom expands the scholarship beyond fan studies while also highlighting the breadth of fannish engagement on a global scale. Participatory Culture Wars demonstrates how central fandoms have become to understanding pressing social, cultural and political issues. Fans, fandoms and fan practices are no longer the realm ofmedia and popular culture; rather they have been adopted, co-opted and utilized across the contemporary political terrain. The chapters contained in Participatory Culture Wars offer examples of these and suggest approaches that can help fan studies scholars and beyond make sense of the constantly shifting interaction between fandom and politics. It takes seriously the potential ramifications of participatory culture as a mode of political engagement, which is particularly timely given the extent to whichpopulism specifically, and political culture generally, increasingly mobilize affect to political ends"-- Fans, fandoms, and fan practices have been adopted and co-opted across the contemporary political terrain. This book demonstrates how participatory culture can be politically regressive and socially reactive when communities coalesce around the exclusionary and the misinformed, offering specific examples and suggests approaches that can help make sense of the constantly shifting interaction between fandom and politics. From writing fan fiction to campaigning for better media representation, fandom and participatory culture have long been seen as tools to resist dominant narratives and fight for a better future. But participatory culture is not always socially and politically progressive; rather, as Participatory Culture Wars demonstrates, it can be politically regressive and socially reactive. Communities coalesce around the exclusionary and the misinformed. Fans, fandoms, and fan practices are no longer the realm of media and popular culture; they have been adopted and co-opted across the contemporary political terrain. This volume offers specific examples and suggests approaches that can help make sense of the constantly shifting interaction between fandom and politics.Contributors: Alfred Archer, Renee Barnes, Simone Driessen, Xing Fan, Monica Flegel, Zoe Hurley, Bethan Jones, Sklaerenn Le Gallo, Judith Leggatt, Georgina Mills, Peng Qiao, James Rendell, Mel Stanfill, Michelle Stewart, Rebecca Williams, Christina Wurst Autorid: Simone Driessen, Bethan Jones, Benjamin Litherland