Henry Jenkins
| Name: | Henry Jenkins | |
| Also Known As: | ||
| Occupation: | academic, acafan | |
| Medium: | ||
| Works: | Textual Poachers (1992), his Christmas Carol fan fiction, other works | |
| Official Website(s): | Confessions of an Acafan Henry3 at MIT | |
| Fan Website(s): | ||
| On Fanlore: | Related pages | |
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Henry Jenkins wrote the book on fandom—the book, in this case, being the massively influential Textual Poachers. Though, being pre-internet, somewhat outdated now in its focus on old-skool slash fandom[1], it remains a sympathetic and insightful book about media fans and our creative community, and features chapters about fanac like fanfic, fan art, vidding, and filk. The cover is by fan artist Jean Kluge.
Jenkins, who self-identifies as a fan, and who also claims that slash fandom in particular helped him access a bisexual identity, is a frequent attendee at fan cons.
He wrote a slash story in the zine, Not What You Expect.
During Gaylaxicon 1992, he appeared on a panel with fellow acafan Camille Bacon-Smith, moderated by Shoshanna, to discuss, among other things, queer issues in fandom. [2]
During Escapade 1993, he appeared on a panel with Constance Penley, Shoshanna, and Meg G called "Academia and our Culture." [3] He attended the 20th anniversary Escapade con in 2010.
During the FanLib brouhaha, the CEO of fanlib.com, Chris Williams, chose Henry's blog[4] to respond to questions and criticisms about the site. The choice of Henry as a representative or authority figure of media fandom was criticised at the time[5], and persuaded some fen of the need to create OTW.
In the summer of 2007, Henry hosted an academic debate on "Gender and Fan Culture"[6], which was mirrored on LJ at fandebate.
Notable Works
- Textual poachers: Television fans and participatory culture. New York: Routledge. 1992.
- Foreword to Interacting with "Babylon 5": Fan performances in a media universe, by Kurt Lancaster. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press. 2001.
- Why Heather can write. Technology Review (February 6, 2004).
- Convergence culture. New York: New York Univ. Press. 2006
- Fans, bloggers, and gamers. New York: New York Univ. Press. 2006
- How to Watch a Fan-Vid. September 18, 2006
- Normal Female Interest in Men Bonking. Edited and introduced with Shoshanna Green and Cynthia Jenkins.
References
- ↑ Need a cite here for the most common criticism of Textual Poachers, ie: characterising fans as straight white college-educated women and drawing conclusions about their motivations from this characterisation, actually excludes a large percentage of fen, esp. slashers, nowadays. Please add one!
- ↑ Henry Jenkins and Camille Bacon-Smith at Gaylaxicon 1992 (Part One), [ Part Two, TBA]
- ↑ Transcript of Academia and Our Culture, Part 1, Part. 2, 6 February 1993
- ↑ Chris Williams Responds to Our Questions about FanLib 25th of May, 2007 (Accessed 8th of November, 2008)
- ↑ bethbethbeth: Henry Jenkins and FanLib 22nd of May, 2007, (Accessed 8th of November, 2008)'
- ↑ When Fan Girls and Fan Boys Meet (Accessed 8th of November, 2008)
