Blown Away: A Fandom Podcast is a project of my Fall 2020 graduate media studies class, JAMS 855: Participatory Cultures in the Digital Era.
Exploring different formats (i.e. conversation, audio essay, interview, funky listening sesh) the students not only share their perspectives on studying and being fans. They also got experience making and sharing media! Each episode also contains the student’s own, often satirical, podcast ad roll. Want to bone up on Philly Soul? Find a new anime to binge watch? Learn how a thousands year-old algorithm connects the Bulgarian ruchenitsa dance, Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo,” Ewe drumming from Ghana, and “Despacito”? Get a Brony’s perspective straight form the horse’s mouth? Then this is the eclectic podcast for you!
In the process of making this podcast, as well as zines, the students blurred the boundaries between creator, audience, and critic. This was a crucial complement to our semester-long exploration of different academic frameworks for studying mediated participation and social change (e.g. popular culture, participatory culture, public sphere, public culture).
Special thanks to Jeff Loomis for his wonderful tutorials with recorders and audio editing, general technical support, and his fabulous Tech Resources for Students page.
Our thumbnail was designed by Oscar Harding.
Click on the each episode title for more info.
We Are a Blue Jays Family
Jordan Adler
Five Reasons to Sell Your Soul to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Kelsey Decker
Euclidian Rhythms, or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Algorithm
Lawton Hall
Fandom Is Magic?: Attempting to Dissect the Brony Phenomenon
Oscar Harding
Rediscovering the Philly Sound
Brianna Quade
Anime for Beginners
Brandon Straight
Forms of Fandom Expression
Max Thiede
Real Hot Girl Sh-t: Megan Thee Stallion “Hotties” Fandom
Naomi Wilson
Below: A few images from my zine, Weird Fall, that I sent out to the students as part of our reciprocal, community-building media making practice.
