The Fan-Historian

Abstract

The compound term fan-historian may be used to describe fans who engage in a wide range of memory, archival, and other past-focused fan work, which helps make sense of the past and makes it usable for their communities. Fan-historians may thus be described in an inclusive way that recognizes the common practices that exist between the work of fans and historians; both take curatorial and transformative approaches to knowledge. This formulation also emphasizes the fact that fans are participants in historical work, not merely its subjects. Fan-historians thus work as both fans and historians to produce fan-historical work. This labor is centrally important to fan communities and vital in light of the established links between history and power.

Keywords

• acafan
• fan labor
• historiography
• history