WORKSHOP: Re-Imagining Fan Studies in the Age of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter

That fan studies has a whiteness problem is not novel. In the age of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter, the need to address it has become all the more urgent. Yet in a classic case of people in positions of power and privilege misunderstanding the difference between intent and impact, fandom and fan studies are failing to deal with how white supremacy manifests within. There are ways to have this conversation done well, and well, we're not doing it.

I do not claim to be an anti-racism expert. As a Japanese-American with affluent parents who were a shining example of the Model Minority immigrant experience, I have walked through life with privilege and been complicit in white supremacy for most of my life. My own learning has grown significantly since I joined the People's Theatre Project (PTP), an explicitly antiracist nonprofit that creates ensemble-based theatre with and for immigrant and BIPOC communities in New York City. Dismantling racism is a core part of our work. At PTP, we talk frequently about drawing on the 'collective genius' of our artists, staff, and leadership to advocate for racial equity in the nonprofit industry and NYC's arts and culture scene.

Drawing on my experiences at the People's Theatre Project and as a scholar of color, I propose a workshop to reimagine fan studies a more equitable, anti-racist discipline. Too long, we've lived a deficit narrative that only serves to reinforce white privilege and the erasure of BIPOC fans and acafans. Past attempts have stopped at the 'listening phase' and become bogged down with discussions that distract from the core issue. Following up on an editorial I wrote for Transformative Works & Culture, the goal of the workshop will be to begin a list of actionable items that can set fan studies up as a more equitable space in the short-term and long-term. I do not claim to have answers, but I have a Hufflepuffian hope that the scholars attending the 2020 Fan Studies Network-North America conference will, through our collective genius.

Facilitator: Aya Esther Hayashi (Independent Scholar)

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