Fan studies is an

academic discipline An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a ...

that analyses fans,

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

s, fan cultures and fan activities, including fanworks. It is an

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

field located at the intersection of the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

, which emerged in the early 1990s as a separate discipline, and draws particularly on audience studies and

cultural studies Cultural studies is an academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...

Definition and scope

Fan studies analyses fans,

s, fan cultures and fan activities, and provides a theoretical framework for investigating audience responses and fan-created works. It is an

field located at the intersection of the

and

, which draws particularly on audience studies and

, but is also informed by diverse fields including

literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...

communication studies Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

including

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

media studies,

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...

television studies Television studies is an academic discipline that deals with critical approaches to television. Usually, it is distinguished from mass communication research, which tends to approach the topic from a social sciences perspective. Defining the field ...

, internet studies and

queer theory Queer theory is a field of post-structuralist critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of queer studies (formerly often known as gay and lesbian studies) and women's studies. The term "queer theory" is broadly associated with the study a ...

, as well as the study of legal issues around

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

and

fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...

. In its broadest definition, fan studies encompasses the study of fan culture and community, and associated fan activities, across a range of fandom types including media fandoms, music and celebrity fandoms, and sports and games fandoms, and covers both Western sources, such as ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'', and non-western sources, such as

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

J-Pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

and

K-Pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

. Some definitions focus on media fandom, and much study is limited to Western Anglophone sources, especially television and film. Fan activities of interest cover a wide range including joining fan clubs, attending

fan convention A fan convention (also known as a con or fan meeting) is an event in which Fan (person), fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also inc ...

s, visiting locations, exchanging spoilers, collecting and

cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...

, as well as the creation of fanworks, such as

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

fan art Fan art or fanart is artwork created by Fan (person), fans of a work of fiction or celebrity depicting events, Character (arts), character, or other aspect of the work. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are not created, commissione ...

, fan games,

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

s and fan vids. Fan studies also addresses common tropes in fanworks such as

slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

, hurt–comfort and

Mary Sue A Mary Sue is a type of fictional character, usually a young woman, who is portrayed as free of weaknesses or character flaws. The character type has acquired a pejorative reputation in fan communities, with the label "Mary Sue" often applie ...

History

Fan studies grew out of cultural studies research examining the reception of popular media by fans during the 1980s and early 1990s, drawing on work by Stuart Hall, John Fiske and others. The emphasis shifted towards examining works created by fans. The earliest academic publications in fan studies appeared in the mid-1980s; these include "Romantic myth, transcendence, and ''Star Trek'' zines", by Patricia Frazer Lamb and Diane Veith (1985 or 1986), and "Pornography by women, for women, with love", by

Joanna Russ Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as '' How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as ...

(1985). The fan historian Francesca Coppa draws attention to a 1975 book, '' Star Trek Lives!'', by the non-academic authors

Jacqueline Lichtenberg Jacqueline Lichtenberg (born March 25, 1942, Flushing, Queens, New York (state), New York) is an American science fiction author. Many of her early novels are set in the Sime~Gen Universe, which she first described in a short story in 1969. Writ ...

, Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston. The field is generally considered to have been founded with a cluster of publications in 1992: '' Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture'', by

Henry Jenkins Henry Guy Jenkins III (born June 4, 1958) is an American media scholar and Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communicatio ...

is considered particularly formative, and ''Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth'', by Camille Bacon-Smith, which pioneers an ethnographic approach, is also commonly cited. Other works from the same year included by some scholars include "Feminism, psychoanalysis, and the study of popular culture", by Constance Penley, and the collection ''The Adoring Audience'', edited by Lisa A. Lewis, in particular the paper by Fiske, "The cultural economy of fandom". Jonathan Gray, Cornel Sandvoss and C. Lee Harrington identified three waves of fan studies in 2007: ethnographic research, which views fans collectively; cultural studies, considering the "replication of social and cultural hierarchies within fan- and subculture ... as a reflection and further manifestation of our social, cultural, and economic capital"; and what Paul Booth terms "everyday fandom", where fandom is considered to be "part of the fabric of our everyday lives" and the study of fandom is used to gain understanding of contemporary life. Early fan studies work often concentrated on the production of fan fiction, especially slash, and fanzines, largely within Anglophone cultures, and frequently focusing on areas of fandom dominated by women. The focus subsequently broadened to consider other fannish practices, particularly fanvidding and other forms of fan film-making, as well as the

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

issues that fanworks often raise. Some early researchers attempted to counter then-prevalent negative views of fans. Another thread is the effect of the emergence of the Internet. Jenkins and other first-wave researchers characterised fans as "resistant" or "subversive" consumers, considering fandoms to represent a "democratic and socially progressive response" to the media industry; these early studies have since been characterised as "utopian" by Matt Hills, Gray, Sandvoss and Harrington, and others. For example, Gray et al. denoted first-wave studies the "Fandom Is Beautiful" era. Some research in the early 2000s shifted in focus from fan communities towards individual fans, and broadened the area of study outside media fandom; examples include the work of Hills, Sandvoss and Steven Bailey. The focus of later work broadened to encompass non-Anglophone cultures, especially Japanese

and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

. Threads include

fan labor Fan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fan (person), fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works (fiction, fan fiction and revie ...

, the

gift economy A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift in a gift culture; although there ...

Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture, and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, a ...

, and changes in relationships between fans and commercial producers, in association with fandom increasingly representing the mainstream, as well as the educational use of fan fiction, building on Jenkins' ''Convergence Culture'' (2006). The Fan Studies Network was founded in 2012, to facilitate global connectivity in the field. Fan studies was described in 2014 as "still in its early stages".

Specialist journals

Four issues of ''Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media'' appeared in 2001–7. '' Transformative Works and Cultures'', an open-access publication from the Organization for Transformative Works, was founded in 2008 and described as "thriving" in 2012. The ''Journal of Fandom Studies'' was founded in 2012.

Bibliography

A chronological selection of some notable works include: *'' Star Trek Lives!'', by

, Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston (1975); *"Romantic myth, transcendence, and Star Trek zines", by Patricia Frazer Lamb and Diane Veith (1985 or 1986); *"Pornography by women, for women, with love", by

(1985); *'' Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture'', by

(1992); *''Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth'', by Camille Bacon-Smith (1992); *"Feminism, psychoanalysis, and the study of popular culture", by Constance Penley (1992); *''The Adoring Audience'', edited by Lisa A. Lewis (1992); *"The cultural economy of fandom", by John Fiske (1992); *''Star Trek Fans and Costume Art'', by Heather R. Joseph-Witham (1996) (on cosplay); *"Legal fictions: Copyright, fan fiction, and a new common law", by

Rebecca Tushnet Rebecca Tushnet (born April 4, 1973) is an American legal scholar. She serves as the Frank Stanton Professor of First Amendment Law at Harvard Law School. Her scholarship focuses on copyright, trademark, First Amendment, and false advertising. ...

(1997); *''Theorizing Fandom: Fans, Subculture and Identity'', edited by Cheryl Harris and Alison Alexander (1998); * ''Audiences: A Sociological Theory of Performance and Imagination'', by Nicholas Abercrombie and Brian Longhurst (1998) (introduces the spectacle/performance paradigm); *''Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community'', by Nancy K. Baym (2000); *"The sex lives of cult television characters", by Sara Gwenllian Jones (2002); *''Fan Cultures'', by Matt Hills (2002); *''The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context'', by Sheenagh Pugh (2005); *''Cyberspaces of Their Own: Female Fandoms Online'', by Rhiannon Bury (2005); *"'Digital Get Down': Postmodern boy band slash and the queer female space", by Kristina Busse (2005); *''Fans: The Mirror of Consumption'', by Cornel Sandvoss (2005); *''Media Audiences and Identity: Self-construction and the Fan Experience'', by Steven Bailey (2005); *''Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet'', edited by Busse and Karen Hellekson (2006); *"Archontic literature: A definition, a history, and several theories of fan fiction", by Abigail Derecho (2006); *''Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture'', by Jenkins (2006); *''Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide'', by Jenkins (2006); *''Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World'', edited by Jonathan Gray, Sandvoss and C. Lee Harrington (2007); *''Adolescents and Online Fan Fiction'', by Rebecca W. Black (2008); *"Limit play: Fan authorship between source text, intertext, and context", by Louisa E. Stein and Busse (2009); *'' Otaku: Japan's Database Animals'', by

Hiroki Azuma (born May 9, 1971) is a Japanese cultural critic, novelist, and philosopher. He is the co-founder and former director of Genron, an independent institute in Tokyo, Japan. Biography Azuma was born in Mitaka, Tokyo. Azuma received his PhD in ...

(translated by Jonathan E. Abel and Shion Kono; 2009); *"A Fannish Taxonomy of Hotness", by Francesca Coppa (2009) (on fanvids); *"A Fannish Field of Value: Online Fan Gift Culture" by Hellekson (2009); *"Should Fan Fiction Be Free?", by Abigail De Kosnik (2009); *"Spreadable Media: How Audiences Create Value and Meaning in a Networked Economy", by Joshua Green and Jenkins (2011); *"Fuck Yeah, Fandom Is Beautiful", by Francesca Coppa (2014) (a response to Gray, Sandvoss and Harrington; 2007); *''See You At San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture'', by Mathew Klickstein (2022).

References

{{reflist, refs= Lucy Bennett (2013). "Researching online fandom", ''

Cinema Journal The ''Journal of Cinema and Media Studies'' (formerly ''Cinema Journal'' and ''The Journal of the Society of Cinematologists'') is the official academic journal of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (formerly the Society for Cinema Studies ...

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({{ISBN, 9781609385682) Karen Hellekson, Kristina Busse. "Introduction: Why a Fan Fiction Studies Reader Now?", in ''The Fan Fiction Studies Reader'' (Karen Hellekson, Kristina Busse, eds), pp. 1–17 ( University of Iowa Press; 2014) Project MUSEbr>28711
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Desperately seeking methods: new directions in fan studies research
, ''Participations'' 11: 4–23 Judith May Fathallah. "From Foucault to Fanfic", in ''Fanfiction and the Author'', pp. 17–32 (

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Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

) {{doi, 10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0027 Paul Booth, Kristina Busse, Melissa Click, Sam Ford,

, Xiaochang Li, Sharon Ross (2014). "Online Roundtable on ''Spreadable Media'', by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green", moderated by Lousia Stein, ''

'' 53: 152–177 {{doi, 10.1353/cj.2014.0021 Suzanne Scott. "A fangirl's place is in the resistance: Feminism and fan studies", in ''Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry'', pp. 25–50 (NYU Press; 2019) Project MUSEbr>76066
({{isbn, 9781479878352) TWC Editor (2008).
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