A Fan Studies Starter Pack: How to get started in the discipline

This is simultaneously serious and unserious

For a Substack about fan studies, I introduced myself well enough, but did I give a proper introduction to what this whole shindig is about? No, I don’t think I did. So now is as good a time as any to share how I got into the field and what it’s all about.

Truthfully, I didn’t realize fan studies was an actual area of research until I embarked on the journey that was my Master’s thesis. Again, I do not want to become the person who constantly references my thesis, but I bring it up once more to contextualize my beginnings with fan studies.

Before I decided to work on my thesis, I had the opportunity to guest lecture for my eventual thesis advisor’s undergraduate public relations course on converged media writing (big shoutout to Kelly). I asked her what I should talk about, and she said I could talk about paint drying and it would be entertaining. This was a huge compliment that gave me the confidence to prepare a lecture on a topic that was top of mind: fandom.

~mini backstory~

As an undergrad, BTS became central to my higher weighted projects; I’m talking 40 percent of my grade at minimum. I became a fan in late 2017 during my first semester at UTK; a year later to the day I found myself placing second in a university-wide public speaking contest. The speech had to be on an international topic, and at the time I was still in the pseudo phase of viewing BTS and K-pop as a guilty pleasure — not sure who I could trust and share my latest obsession. But then my public speaking professor essentially locked in a negative impression of me as an English major (because they said we get married to our words and have no flexibility when giving speeches) and because for this significant assignment that could potentially get you to speak in front of a thousand people (UTK has a large auditorium) she was displeased I wanted to make it about the globalization of K-pop. For the latter, their reasoning was that a student from a previous semester was too “unprofessional” in how she talked about the genre.

In that moment, I felt for this student and had so many questions about what made talking about K-pop unprofessional: Did she go into biases? Fawn over visuals and the choreographies? Just be her fangirl self and perhaps get a little too excited about what she was talking about?

I couldn’t help but dim at the last question. So in these very office hours wherein my professor asked if I had other ideas, I said no, and that I would try to be “professional.” I didn’t feel like I had to prove the world wrong on their view of fangirls — it’s a one-step-at-a-time endeavor — I just wanted to prove my professor wrong on her views of me. Sure, I am a bonafide stereotype, but I’m personable and I know what I’m talking about when I talk about my fandom interests.

While the speech assignment started out as a personal vendetta, it had the unintentional consequence of building up my confidence. I sometimes replay the moment when the professor had the class vote for best speech to send on through the rounds of the university competition, and it wasn’t this moment of proving someone mean-spirited wrong, my professor actually campaigned for me. She advised the class I ought to go through, saying I had her vote and the majority of hands raised to confirm the vote. I made it through three rounds, facing off participants from other public speaking classes happening that semester. In the final round I was in the top five. I did not use note cards. I walked the stage, talking with my hands in the right moments and maintaining an even conversational cadence to explain what components made K-pop become a global phenomenon.

I got second place. My professor was upset on my behalf, saying I was by far the best, but the kicker… the judges wanted to keep the winners pool to actual communications majors. While I did not change the thoughts of stereotypes that plague English majors, I did a good enough job to prove one person wrong on fangirls and gained a Facebook friend request. You win some, you lose some.

By the time I graduated in 2021, I had completed seven academic projects on BTS (ot7, are you kidding me!?) that were interdisciplinary in subject and focus. Upon starting grad school, I let my BTS ARMY flag fly high. Once, when my public relations cohort was introduced to a client, the professor told them I was the BTS expert — a badge of honor that the client misunderstood and nodded along. Going forward, I knew I wanted to enforce that being a fangirl is much more than stereotypes, and that aspects that are true of the stereotypes can be powerful — not to be underestimated.

~end backstory and back to guest lecturing for Kelly’s class~

I knew I wanted to host a class that I never got to have as a student: one where we can discuss the importance of fan identity and fandom audiences as communicators. As I dived into public relations and fandom research, I came across the term “fan studies” thanks to the anthology Public Relations and Participatory Publics: Fandom, Social Media and Community Engagement. This book was one of the few published texts I could find that discussed the intersection of public relations and fandom, and little did I realize this was something I wanted to further investigate.

The class was so receptive to what I was sharing, especially for a Friday class before Thanksgiving break. Kelly informed her class it was my birthday and they brought cupcakes she ordered, and I was prepared with candy and printed photocards as silly little participation prizes. Students talked about their fandom love — their phases, their current interests — and applying it to what they were learning as incoming public relations practitioners. This opportunity confirmed for me that I would pursue the thesis track.

Slides from my first foray into applying fan studies

With all of that plentiful backstory shared, here’s what you all came for… the unofficial fan studies starter pack:

1. Be an unapologetic fan, but be aware of it

The essence of a fan does equate having a strongly held bias, which can be at odds with pursuing research. “Acafan” describes someone as both a fan and an academic. Coined and defined by Henry Jenkins as “a hybrid creature which is part fan and part academic”, the idea is that the identity enables one to speak with valid expertise in both spaces. One’s subjectivities can inform and fulfill academic goals. However, the ethical issues are inexplicable due to the apparent bias that is recognizing fan as a political identity.

When working on my thesis, I knew how to be a fan, but being an academic researcher was new. I wasn’t worried about not being taken seriously; I was worried about how to navigate the research, knowing I had a gripe with parasocial interaction theory (PSI) as a fan who had interacted with the stereotypes and accusations of having parasocial relationships. As I leaned into the research, I realized that what started as a simple theory became a colloquial joke. This is how my knowledge as a fan helped me as a researcher: I learned about the origins and characteristics of PSI, pinpointing the unanticipated adoption into fandom communities that then negatively impacted the fandom image.

Tip: Be the acafan you want to see in the world.

2. Know who Henry Jenkins is and read Textual Poachers

While the concept of fans and fandom have been well-documented since the 17th century, fan studies was not an official area of research until 1992 when Henry Jenkins formulated the ideas for the field in Textual Poachers. The book lays out how media fans have at least five distinct dimensions that create a fan culture: (1) fans’ relationship to receiving messages (2) media’s and fandom’s role in encouraging viewer activism (3) fans’ function as an interpretative community (4) fans’ traditions in cultural production (think transformative works) and (5) fans’ status as an alternative social community.

These ideas feel obvious now in the digital age with social media platforms abound, but there’s so much to investigate when determining how various fandom groups formulate cultural practices that are unique to them. Fan studies is an interdisciplinary area of research centered on fans and fandom; it can be applied in media and cultural studies, and beyond. Textual Poachers is the foundational book — the introductory text — that articulates fan studies as a theoretical framework that can be ethically applied to studying fans and fandom. To me, “essential” is an understatement.

Plus, I think the Goodreads book description starting out with the quote, ““Get a life” William Shatner told Star Trek fans. Yet, as Textual Poachers argues, fans already have a “life,” a complex structure which draws its resources from a commercial culture while also reworking them to serve alternative interests…” is a serve. Granted this quote comes from an SNL sketch he did, it’s a sentiment that fans are familiar with from the media figures they admire to family and friends who may not consider the fan lifestyle to be a viable lifestyle.

Tip: Find Textual Poachers at your university library (in-print or e-book) or see if it’s possible to find at your local library. Used copies are available via Amazon.

3. Have a research methods book on hand

Pick your poison: quantitative vs. qualitative, or perhaps a bit of both. I prefer leveraging qualitative methodologies. My English major days have equipped me well for conducting textual analyses, and my artistic abilities are useful in having an arts-based approach. I like one-on-one interviews and open-ended survey questions because I want to understand people’s thoughts and beliefs — their why. As an aspiring fan studies scholar, I am an aspiring qualitative researcher. I study up with any and every qualitative methods book I can find and borrow (shout-out to my faculty colleagues).

As an interdisciplinary field, methodologies in fan studies are virtually unlimited. A good start for figuring out possible approaches lies in A Fan Studies Primer edited by Paul Booth and Rebecca Williams. In this anthology, experts share their experience in navigating the flexibility fan studies offers as a “famously undisciplined discipline.” Ethics from culture studies often applies, but there are more nuanced aspects to navigate because of digital networks and platforms.

The chapters on ethnographic methods have helped me immensely, especially a chapter on authoethnographies from Matt Hills, and I learned the term “ephemeral interviews” as a means of hosting real-time interviews during fan events. I plan on citing this anthology in every research piece I work on for the foreseeable future.

Tip: Gaining an expertise in a method is key.

4. Follow the Fan Studies Network

Following the Fan Studies Network (FSN) is the first step to finding fan studies connections. From conferences to journals and organizations to scholars — both university affiliated and independent — the FSN shares all information connected to fandom research. With the collapse of Twitter, FSN primarily posts on Blue Sky now. It’s safe to say that the majority of academic Twitter has moved to Blue Sky, aka AcademicSky. FSN is still on Twitter, and is private, but plans to be less active as they transition to Blue Sky.

On either X (Twitter) or Blue Sky, I recommend looking through the network’s following list to see if there are scholars who produce research that aligns with your interests. You can also find a variety of pop culture organizations and conferences to get involved. FSN will also repost any call for proposals that pertain to fandom and pop culture.

In a similar vein, I also want to use this section to point to the Office of Transformative Works. As I’ve been writing this, I realized I perhaps equate being a fan to knowing about OTW, naturally. Ao3, fanlore, Transformative Works and Cultures (academic journal), that’s all OTW. Do stay up to date on all things related to fanworks by following the nonprofit on virtually any platform.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to connect with fan studies scholars. I’m internet shy for someone who is chronically online and have managed to make great connections in the field.

5. Pick a handy dandy CFPs database

This took me a while to realize this, but there are CFP databases, and finding one for fan studies — a niche, yet interdisciplinary field — can be tricky. FSN does have a call for proposals section on the home page, but if you’re looking for more options, then I have found a couple that have helped me promising ones.

The University of Pennsylvania has a CFP database provided by the English Department (love that). The categories I visit include fan studies and fandom, popular culture, and film and television. These pages bring the CFPs that have been recently updated to the top of the feed. Be sure to pay attention to deadlines because ones that have been updated are fast-approaching. Usually CFPs are for abstracts, and then you have a couple of months for the manuscript deadline. Before applying, whether or not you get accepted, determine if the deadlines are feasible.

Tip: Honestly? Pick CFP submissions Marie Kondo style. Does it spark joy? For instance, I’ve found CFPs that align with projects I’ve been wanting to pursue and that’s truly joyous.

6. Take pop culture essayists seriously, even when unserious

I thoroughly enjoy reading essays on pop culture more than seeing gossip rumor videos. Don’t get me wrong, a good gossip mill can generate some fascinating hot takes (re: Baldoni vs. Lively), however, the essence of pop culture is just that: a discussion on how media figures impact daily cultural practices. On Substack, I’ve read plentiful essays that dissect the pop star image, highlighting concepts from sociology and looking at media past and present.

This is so silly, but I didn’t realize Tate McRae was Canadian until I read “Tate McRae is not an American pop star, and that’s So Close to What your problem is with her” from ProducerLiz on Late Night Scrolling. I listen to McRae’s music and don’t have a problem with her, but the internet always has a problem with women in pop. I know the signs were there, I just didn’t put too much thought into it, and I likely assumed American because I was aware of her non-speaking appearances on Dance Moms. It’s a detail that gets brushed over that informs so much of McRae’s artistry.

All my likes on Substack are essays that have given me delicious food for thought (and funny memes ofc!). I’m finding new Substacks to follow each week and find the social media here refreshing.

Tip: If you’re reading this from my post and haven’t subscribed, subscribe for free (I’ve got nothing going on that requires paid subscription dw).

7. Be on social media at your own discretion

I believe one doesn’t have to be chronically online to become a fan studies researcher, as well as to have a grasp on pop culture. Pop culture is so vast that I’d argue everyone has a different idea of what pop culture consists of depending on what digital or traditional platforms are accessible. Even though I don’t get to take social media breaks being that I’ve somehow gone down a career path in social media, there are tidbits in online fandom spaces I will miss from time-to-time.

Scrolling through my social media feed is my newspaper. I have curated my filter bubbles to pop culture news and am satisfied. My Google Alerts are on for “fandom” (not “fan studies” because too many unnecessary notifications due to researchers with the last name Fan…). I have systems in place to keep me in the loop, and if I happen to miss something I don’t fret. I used to berate myself if I learned something new about BTS and felt today-years-old despite being a fan for. so. long. and. forevermore. At the height of my Stan Twitter usage — pre-pandemic if you can believe it — I would spend most of my free time getting into the weeds of Stan Twitter and Tumblr. Once the pandemic hit I ended up deleting my accounts because it was too much.

I did create new fan accounts post-pandemic, and now I go at a comfortable pace. I’m not one to engage online or post often, but I’m a reading fiend — bookmarking posts that are a good jumping off point for fandom perspectives (and fanfic threads because hello!?).

Tip: Be aware of your filter bubble and do read news — that’s a given.

8. Physical material copies to curate your fandom (i.e. CDs, DVDs, preferred memorabilia)

I will never suggest spending all your money on fan merch. Buy what you want if you think it’s worthwhile. A fun example is Michele Ivey. She bought two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle heads and paid over $5,000 for karate lessons. I am obsessed. She did take out bank loans to buy these heads, and though I am not a financial advisor, it’s her choice. She’s the most well-known TMNT superfan and has been for 26 years. Iconic.

But what I really like about Michele is that she curates her collection on her terms, and while I’d like to own more BTS items, I am well-aware of shipping fees from South Korea and don’t pay ARMY membership fees (I might start to so that I can get into the pre-sale pre-sale if you know what I mean). We practice fandom as we see fit. I don’t own every BTS album, Season’s Greetings, and truthfully, I was lucky I managed to get my hands on two out of seven Artist Made collection items. But one day I will get my equivalent of a TMNT head and will update accordingly.

Tip: Get your version of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle head and live your fan life to the fullest.

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