Fandom Assignment For this assignment I would like you to investigate a fandom that we did not cover in our convos last week or that I’ve shared about in Announcement Extras

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Fandom Assignment

For this assignment I would like you to investigate a fandom that we did not cover in our convos last week or that I’ve shared about in Announcement Extras. In a slightly similar vein to the Moral Panic Assignment you're going to be doing some research. Last time I wanted you to find a newspaper or magazine to get at how the moral panic was being talked about by the general public. Now, however, I want you to find an academic journal article from one of the sources below that highlights an aspect of a fandom.  Academic articles are often taking a higher level scholarly analytical approach to what they're studying and they're often heaveily researched over an extended period of time rather than a one off article on the pulse of something in that immediate historical moment in which the piece is written like newspapers are magazines often are (there are obviously exceptions!) You will write a short paper that summarizes your findings - we’re sort of expanding on what we learned about fandom in some ways from last week.

There are several major steps to successfully completing this assignment: 

1. Using the link provided I would like you to find an academic article that discusses a kind of fandom. Pick one that is occurring in the United States (since that’s the scope of our class) or discusses US fan audiences. This link will take you to several Open Access academic journals and give you a TON of choices to select from:  https://fanstudies.org/fan-studies-journals/

   1. You will likely have to do some digging to find articles - that is part of the process. If you don't have luck there (but seriously, there are a ton) you can also search the library resources for a scholarly article about a fandom.

2. Save an electronic copy of the article you’ve selected to hand in electronically. Upload your article in the appropriate link titled: Fandom Academic Article Upload only. If you do not upload your ARTICLE you will lose 15 points from this assignment. 

3. Read the article carefully taking note of the questions asked below.

4. Be sure to address the questions below in the development of your paper and to help you get started thinking about this assignment.

5. You will need to write a 250-400 word short essay that explains the popular culture fandom phenomenon you’ve chosen. When you're done, please make sure you upload your paper to the correct link.

   1. You MUST provide a complete Bibliographic or Works Cited entry for your article at the bottom of your essay. 

What your paper should address:

1. Give a brief overview of what the fandom is. Who/what it celebrates. How those fans enact/do that. If the article does not go in depth, do a bit of searching on your own and cite your sources.

2. What framework or methodology for fandom are they using to talk about their fan group?  You need to explain that scholar’s definition of fandom if they provide one (the majority will).

3. What is the thing about this fan group that the author(s) are studying/focusing on.  They will most likely be addressing a specific nuance of the fangroup they’re writing about.

   1. How/in what way does the author(s) argue this particular aspect/thing they’re addressing the paper contribute to the fan community?

4. In your conclusion, I’d like to hear some of your thoughts about this fandom based on what you learned.