Fandom Identities and Communities in a Mediated World

"Fandom pushes the boundaries of fan studies in bold directions, incorporating high culture fandoms, global fan cultures, fan technologies, and antagonistic anti-fandom, while rethinking the core tenets of fan studies concerning aesthetics, place, intellectual property, and interpretive communities-all presented with a lively, accessible, and engaging writing style." -- Jason Mittell, Middlebury College We are all fans. Whether we log on to Web sites to scrutinize the latest plot turns in "Lost," "stalk" our favorite celebrities on Gawker, attend gaming conventions, or simply wait with bated breath for the newest "Harry Potter" novel-each of us is a fan. Fandom extends beyond television and film to literature, opera, sports, and pop music, and encompasses both high and low culture. Fandom brings together leading scholars to examine fans, their practices and favorite texts. This unparalleled selection of original essays examines instances across the spectrum of modern cultural consumption from Karl Marx to Paris Hilton, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to backyard wrestling, Bach fugues to Bollywood cinema? and 19th century concert halls to computer gaming. Contributors examine fans of high cultural texts and genres, the spaces of fandom, fandom around the globe, the impact of new technologies on fandom, and the legal and historical contexts of fan activity. Fandom is key to understanding modern life in our increasingly mediated, globalized world.Sandvoss, Cornel is the author of 'Fandom Identities and Communities in a Mediated World', published 2007 under ISBN 9780814731826 and ISBN 0814731821.