Fan Cultures and the Civic Imagination (2025/2026: Periode 3)

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Cursusdoel

Upon completion of this course, the student will have developed the following forms of knowledge:
• developed knowledge of the development of the concept 'participation' in cultural-theoretical context (media studies, cultural studies, critical theory);
• gained a working familiarity with online ethnography as a research method for studying online communities;
• gained an understanding of the relationship between fan culture and various forms of online activism.

Upon completion of this course, the student will have developed the following skills:
• applying these theoretical and methodological frameworks to practical examples of participatory culture (political activism, political participation, fan culture, maker culture, social media) in an analytical context. These forms of knowledge and skill sets can be applied in practice within professional fields;
• close reading of academic texts.

Vakinhoudelijk

Unlike the hierarchically organized production forms of classic mass media, digital networked technologies give user more and/or different forms of access to cultural production and civic participation. These new forms of interaction, production, and community-building raise new questions about the social, economic, political, and cultural meanings of 'new' digital media.

Various authors have connected user participation directly to emancipatory movements and cultural innovation. While students in this degree have previously considered how platforms facilitate new user practices (through affordances, government, and new business models), this course is focused particularly on the actual practices that occur on online platforms that are used by transformative fan communities to contribute to civic engagement. The course investigates how media practices have the potential to impact the public sphere, cultural production, and knowledge production through emerging digital skills and literacies.

The lectures will be provide a general framework for mapping out the different positions in discussions surrounding participatory culture, alongside examples of specific practices. The seminars are aimed at deepening an understanding of the literature and developing an aptitude for various participatory practices through a variety of exercises. In the seminars and written assignments, these insights will be connected to case studies in the intersection between political activism, fan culture, civic participation, crowdsourcing, media literacy, and popular culture.

This course is the third course in the New Media and Digital Culture specialization track, in the specialization track Participatory Cultures and the minor Media, Data and Platform Studies and it builds on the knowledge and skills that were developed in the first two basic modules. In this specialization, students deepen their historical and theoretical knowledge of various forms and aspects of new media and digital culture, while practicing specific skills.

For LAS and TCS students who follow this course are part of their main degree there is a mandatory preparation track. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/
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Aanvullende informatie

This course has priority rules and a waiting list. Your enrolment is guaranteed if you
- are a student in the BA Media and Culture and this course is part of your specialisation (verdiepingspakket)
- are a student in the BA Liberal Arts and Sciences or Taal- en Cultuurstudies and this course is part of your specialisation (kernpakket)
- are enrolled in the Media Data and Platform Studies minor
- are an exchange student and meet the course’s entry requirements
In all other situations, you will be placed on a waiting list if you enrol in this course. For any remaining slots in the course, lots are drawn among the students on the waiting list.

Please note: the time slot shown here is not yet final, and may still be modified until the third Wednesday in September.

Werkvormen

Hoorcollege

Werkcollege
Bijdrage

Students work in small teams during classes; these teams perform exercises and assignments together.

Voorbereiding

Reading the relevant literature, doing independent research into participatory culture, formulating and refining a research question, presenting research outcomes. Students are expected to have mastered basic academic skills.

Toetsing

Paper

Verplicht | Weging 70% | Minimum cijfer 5,5 | ECTS 5,25

Toets 1

Verplicht | Weging 30% | ECTS 2,25

Active participation in discussions, collaborative close readings of assigned texts. Students research participation as a concept derived from cultural theory, and research participatory cultures using the method of online ethnography. Term papers are written individually.

Deadlines will be announced no later than one week in advance.

Ingangseisen en voorkennis

Ingangseisen

Er is geen informatie over verplichte ingangseisen bekend.

Voorkennis

A basic knowledge of the history and theory of new media and familiarity with discourse analysis. Students are also expected to be familiar with Chicago Manual of Style and MLA formatting conventions, and to be able to seek out secondary sources and appropriate scholarly references in the university library's online database.

Voorkennis kan worden opgedaan met

[continued]: The ability to read and process academic texts; the ability to write a medium-length scholarly essay within the academic idiom; knowledge of how to develop a research proposal and the appropriate conventions.

Voertalen

  • Engels

Cursusmomenten

Gerelateerde studies

Thema's

Tentamens

Er is geen tentamenrooster beschikbaar voor deze cursus

Verplicht materiaal

Er is geen informatie over de verplichte literatuur bekend


Aanbevolen materiaal

Er is geen informatie over de aanbevolen literatuur bekend

Opmerkingen

Voorrangsregels

Coördinator

D.A. Hassler-Forest D.A.Hassler-Forest@uu.nl

Docenten

A.S. Waysdorf a.s.waysdorf@uu.nl
D.A. Hassler-Forest D.A.Hassler-Forest@uu.nl
dr. E.C.K. Spencer e.c.k.spencer@uu.nl

Inschrijving

Deze cursus is open voor bijvakkers. Controleer wel of er aanvullende ingangseisen gelden.

Inschrijving
Van maandag 3 november 2025 tot en met vrijdag 21 november 2025

Naar OSIRIS-inschrijvingen
Permanente link naar de cursuspagina
Laat in de Cursus-Catalogus zien