Fan Enterprise as an Alternative Economy

Abstract

In this introduction, I suggest the need for a reconceptualisation of fandom. I argue that fandom and cult media studies are the product of ‘fancademia’: the blurring of boundaries between fan and academic. For me this has affected how the f ield of fandom has been conceptualised, being dominated with work that celebrates fandom and privileges the practices of fans as a symbolic activity rather than an economic activity. Through exploring the field of fan studies, I consider how this discourse has limited the development of the field.