Call for Book Chapters:
Fandom Effects and Marginalized Communities

Submission deadline for abstract and CV: September 15, 2023

We are seeking book chapter contributions for an edited book on media effects within fandom communities or cultures. Although fan studies have flourished from a critical/cultural paradigm, our volume is focused on how social scientists approach fandom from an empirically based, primarily quantitative perspective. Thus, we would like this volume to provide an overview of fan studies from a social science perspective.

Another focus of the book is on fandom communities as spaces for marginalized communities (e.g., BIPOC, LGBTQ+) or other identities frequently underrepresented/omitted from the mainstream media to gather, engage with one another, and create their own representation or discourse.

We envision the book to be a collection of innovative theoretical and empirical chapters focusing on fandom media effects and will be organized into three sections: (1) Theoretical Advances in Relation to Fandom Media Effects, (2) Individual Fandom Communities and Media Effects, and (3) Contemporary Research/Innovative Methodological Approaches to Fandom.

Potential topics include (but are not limited to):

• Fandoms as meaningful emotional experiences; hedonic and eudaimonic motivations/experiences, self-transcendence, etc.
• Fandom as pathways to stereotype/prejudice reduction, acceptance of diverse viewpoints, backgrounds, etc.
• The role of social identity in fandoms
• Parasocial interactions/relationships in relation to fandoms
• Narrative engagement in fandoms
• Fandoms’ interpretation of difficult texts, situations, and events
• The role of fandom practices, such as “shipping,” fanfic, artwork, in media effects
• Methodological challenges and opportunities in working with fandoms
• Media effects among anti-fans, hate-watchers

We are open to contributions on any type of medium (e.g., movies, books, music, video games, celebrities).

If the above sounds like a fit for your work, please submit an abstract (approximately 250-500 words) of your proposed book chapter and your CV by September 15, 2023. In your abstract, please identify the section of the book in which your contribution would fit. Decisions will be made promptly, and we will contact authors of accepted abstracts before submitting the proposal to the publisher (Routledge). The first drafts will be due in April 2024. Requested materials or questions can be emailed directly to Leah Dajches at lud310@psu.edu.