Fan Tourism is a growing industry and long-standing fan practice. This course will be exploring locations in the UK that have been part of fan pilgrimage since the Victorian era through to the modern day. In addition to experiencing fan pilgrimage and tours we’ll be talking with tour providers about the business and economy of this practice. We’ll be using participant observation, a well-established ethnographic research practice in anthropology that is also utilized in fan studies as established by Henry Jenkins who coined the positionality of the researcher as “aca-fan.” Download the Flyer here! See the proposed syllabus here. 

Program Quick Look

Week 1: Online

  • Topics: Fan Studies Bootcamp
  • Work: Quiz, Discussion Posts & Screenings

Week 2: Online

  • Topics: Ethnography Bootcamp
  • Work: Quiz, Discussion Posts & Proposals

Week 3: Edinburgh, Scotland

  • Fandoms: Harry Potter, Outlander, Monty Python, Frankenstein (del Toro)
  • Activities: HP Edinburgh Tour; Outlander Castle Tour & Gosford House
  • Work: Screenings, Readings & Journals

Week 4: London & Oxford

  • Fandoms: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Discovery of Witches, Golden Compass, Inspector Morse,
  • Activities:  Doctor Who Walking Tour; Who Shop Museum; Sherlock Tour, Pub, & Museum, HP Oxford Tour; LOCO Talk & Scavenger Hunt
  • Work: Screenings, Readings & Journals

Week 5: London & Online

  • Fandoms: Harry Potter, Good Omens, Bridgerton (optional trip to Bath)
  • Activities: Good Omens Walking Tour; WB Studio Tour, Optional Bridgerton's Bath Walking Tour
  • Work: Journals, Organizing Data Workshop, Final Findings Due