FMST 041. Fan Culture

In recent decades, the figure of the fan has become a crucial site in reception and cultural studies for investigating complexities of pleasure, power, resistance, taste, and gender. Now, as fandom moves into the mainstream and becomes part and parcel of how media industries operate, a critical understanding and appreciation of fan practices is essential to a liberal arts education. FMST 041 blends close readings of book chapters and articles with screenings of feature films, TV episodes, video games, webcomics, and other media created by or engaged by fans. Along with practices such as vidding, conventiongoing, and cosplay, we investigate these phenomena both as texts as quanta of social exchange, charged with personal and collective significance, which dynamically shape the fields of consumption and production, politics and entertainment, normalization and taboo in which we live our media.
Eligible for GSST credit if all papers and projects are focused on GSST topics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2026. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies

Access the class schedule to search for sections.