Defining Fandom

Welcome to fandom studies, the analysis of mass culture passion that is remaking society. In Defining Fandom, two of the world’s leading experts on the topic deliver a rich, inclusive, and global analysis of fandoms as contemporary sites of desire and power. From sports arenas to comic conventions and from music festivals to online gaming worlds, brand communities, virtual cultures, and much more, this book series will peer more deeply than ever into the diverse commercial and cultural worlds of fandom. For fans by fans, it’s a nonjudgmental celebration of mass cultural connectivity and a recognition of the significance of fans. A massive series breaking offering new histories, diverse cases, and clear guidelines from the past, present and around the world awaits scholars and academics. For business leaders, there are practical frameworks and clear operationalizations. For marketers and promotional professionals, it provides a unique roadmap for engaging high-passion audiences in powerfully authentic ways. In this book, Jenkins & Kozinets combine case narrative, deep academic citation and interpretation, and the auto-ethnographic style inspired by the aca-fan and consumer odyssey’s ethnographic traditions. Defining Fandom is a call by two fan scholars to rethink fandoms—what they are, what they want, why they matter, and how they’re shaping the future.