Monday, May 17, 2010

Welcome!

Welcome to Politics, Popular Culture, Poststructuralism!

I am a PhD Candidate in the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. My work examines the changing relationship between media companies and their fans in the Internet era. In this, I consider how fandom has become normalized--both in the sense that activities formerly the province of fans have become normal for all consumers, and in the sense that a normative idea of fandom has emerged that traces out proper and improper modes of being a fan. I study both cult media fans and sports fans and examine both representations of fans and the design of official websites for media properties (television shows, sports franchises, etc.). My key concerns include the relationship of fandom to heternormativity, whiteness, consumption, and labor.

This site is a place for brief ruminations on current events, theories, and other things, as well as a place to preview some of the things I'm working on.

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