[Commlist] CFP: Participatory Culture, Politics and Reactionary Fandom

CFP: Participatory Culture, Politics and Reactionary Fandom

De Paul University, 2 April 2025
Fan practices and behaviours have increasingly moved beyond fan 
communities into the political, economic, and cultural structures of 
everyday life. The proliferation of social media platforms has allowed 
both progressive and reactionary aspects of fandom to significantly 
shape the public sphere, drawing on similar techniques, pleasures, and 
practices to interpret the world in a culture where the boundaries 
between popular and political communication are blurrier than they have 
ever been. As recent events have highlighted, there is need for more 
in-depth investigations into the intersection of participatory culture, 
fan practices, and reactionary politics (Petersen et al., 2023; 
Stanfill, 2020).
Ahead of the 2025 SCMS conference, this one-day symposium seeks to 
explore the synergies, tensions, and conflicts at play in this new 
cultural terrain. It explores how fan studies can be used to make sense 
of the seeming growth of conspiracy theory communities and right-wing 
movements, examine political participation as a form of fandom and play, 
and how social media can be used to organize against discriminatory 
cultures or polarization.
We have limited spaces for 20-minute research papers. Please submit 
titles, 200 word abstracts, and short bios to Bethan Jones 
((jonesbv5 /at/ cardiff.ac.uk)) and Simone Driessen ((driessen /at/ eshcc.eur.nl)) by 
Monday 2 March.
The symposium is kindly supported by De Paul University’s College of 
Communication.

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