“Everyone is a fan of something.” The concepts of “the fan,” “the amateur” and the “self-published writer” have often been denigrated and ridiculed in popular culture and the media. However, over the past several centuries (at least) the cultural practice of “fandom,” of being a fan, has broadened and diversified, and become more participatory in the process. In this class we will investigate the various ways enthusiasms and fandoms are articulated in contemporary poetry and visual art. You will assist the Poetic Research Bureau in designing and publishing multiple fanzines and books—and we will create a pop-up bookshop and exhibition.
Required Texts
- Julian Hoeber, “The Fan Club: Why Enthusiasm, Not Scholarship, Motivates Artists,” Frieze Magazine, 2015
- Kate Durbin, E! Entertainment (excerpts), 2014
- Trisha Low, “Poetry Is Not the Final Girl,” and “The Compleat Purge,” (excerpts), 2015
- Brian Kim Stefans, “Radiohead,” 2016
- Harmony Holiday, “Improvising the Mingus School,” (excerpts), 2015-ongoing
- Ben Fama, “Fantasy,” (excerpts), 2015
- Darren Wershler-Henry, “Conceptual Writing as Fanfiction,” 2013
Recommended Texts
- Henry Jenkins, “Textual Poachers,” (excerpts), 1992
- Lisa Gitelman, “Amateurs Rush In,” 2014
- Jonathan Gray, Cornel Sandvoss, and C. Lee Harrington, “Why Study Fans?” 2007
- Vera Keller, “The ‘Lover’ and Early Modern Fandom,” Transformative Works and Cultures, 2011
- Kristina Busse and Karen Hellekson, “Work In Progress,” 2006
- Robert M. Price, “Acolytes of Cthulhu,” 1997
- Mark Owens, “Vapegaze,” Bricks From the Kiln #1, 2015
- Mark Owens, “R.I.P. Notes on the Paul McCartney Shadow Canon,” 2010
- J.G. Ballard, “The Atrocity Exhibition,” (excerpts), 1970
- Kenneth Anger, “Hollywood Babylon,” (excerpts), 1974
- Morgan Parker, “There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé,” (excerpts), 2017
- Kevin Killian, “Argento Series,” (excerpts), 1997
- Hannah Black, “Dark Pool Party,” (excerpts), 2016
- CA Conrad, “Advanced Elvis Course,” (excerpts), 2009
- Julia Bloch, “Letters to Kelly Clarkson,” (excerpts), 2012
- Andrew Durbin, “You Are My Ducati,” and “Monica Majoli,” (excerpts), 2013
- Brian Droitcour, “Young Incorporated Artists,” Art In America, 2014
- Alexandro Segade, “Fanbase and Superstructure,” Artforum, 2015
Joseph Mosconi is a writer based in Los Angeles. He codirects the Poetic Research Bureau and coedits Area Sneaks. He is the author of Fright Catalog (Insert Blanc Press, 2013), Demon Miso/Fashion in Child (Make Now Press, 2014) and Renaissance Realism (Gauss PDF, 2016).
