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Fanatical: Fan Culture and Identity

Module description

Fanatical delves into the scholarly study of fandom, blending theory with real-world examples and personal reflection to examine how fandom shapes and challenges contemporary media. Through lectures, seminars, screenings, and hands-on engagement with archival materials at the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, you will gain insight into fan studies and its discourse. Suitable for any student interested in critically reflecting on their own fan practices and examining media industry dynamics, this module is an excellent choice for interdisciplinary pathways. Interdisciplinary analysis alongside creative assessments including digital portfolios and video essays will encourage critical analysis, digital literacy, and critical thinking.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to immerse you in the academic study of fandom, offering insights into fan culture, identity, and the evolving relationship between fans and media franchises. Lectures will cover foundational Fan Studies concepts and examine topics such as gendered and queer fandom, social media’s impact, the phenomenon of ‘toxic’ fandom, and the commercial side of fan culture. Through research-enriched learning, including primary research on fan communities and hands-on archival exploration, you will gain a deeper, contextualised understanding of contemporary fan behaviours, including your own personal fan practices. These analytical, self-reflective, and digital skills directly enhance your employability in media, marketing, PR, audience research, and content creation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Develop an understanding of the key debates relating to the structure, motivations, and cultural dynamics of fandoms, with a particular focus on the impact of factors such as identity, gender, and industry.
• 2. Apply a range of inter-disciplinary approaches and methods drawn from Film and Television Studies, Media, and Communications to the analysis of fandom and fan cultures.
• 3. Critically reflect on personal fan practices by producing an auto-ethnographic reflection or fanfic piece, critically analysing your own fan behaviours and engagement with media franchises.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Develop an awareness of the relationship between media, culture and identity on global level.
• 5. Utilise a range of primary and secondary material to construct arguments relating to media fandom.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Engage confidently in oral and written communication in seminar work and in written assignments, with an ability to present coherent, balanced arguments.
• 7. Demonstrate technological proficiency and digital literacy by engaging with a range of digital platforms in learning and assessment

Syllabus plan

The module is structured to guide you through key areas of Fan Studies, beginning with foundational theories of fandom and participatory culture. Topics might include: fan fiction, transmedia storytelling, specialised discourses within Fan Studies such as gendered and queer fandoms and the experiences of marginalised fan communities, and challenges and controversies within fandom including toxic fan culture. The module will include hands-on engagement with archival materials at the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – If you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – If you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Booth, Paul, editor. A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies. Wiley-Blackwell, 2018.
• Duffett, Mark. Understanding Fandom: An Introduction to the Study of Media Fan Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.
• Gray, Jonathan, et al. Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World. New York University Press, 2007
• Hills, Matt. Fan Cultures. Routledge, 2002.
• Kies, Bridget, and Megan Connor. Fandom: The Next Generation. U of Iowa Press, 2022
  • Scott, Suzanne, and Melissa A. Click, editors. The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom. Routledge, 2017.

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Indicative Film and Television Screenings
  • Best Worst Movie (Stephenson, 2009)
  • Big Fan (Siegel, 2009)
  • Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (Spurlock, 2011)
  • Galaxy Quest (Parisot, 1999)
  • The King of Comedy (Scorsese, 1982)
  • Misery (Reiner, 1990)
  • Obsessed? Super-Fans Who Risk Everything (Youtube)
  • Perfect Blue (Kon, 1997)
  • The People vs. George Lucas (Philippe, 2010)
  • The Toys that Made Us (Volk-Weiss, 2017)

Key words search

Film Studies; Fandom; Fans; Franchises; Identity; Media