Posted in full at:
https://ift.tt/2H4DAvS on April 16, 2018 at 10:00AM
Visualizing Star Trek Fandom Through Letters · Where No Fan Has Gone Before:
“This spatial study is an attempt to demonstrate how Star Trek fanzines connected the fandom. The dataset used is derived from fanletters sent in to two Star Trek fanzines: Spockanalia (issues #1-5) and T-Negative (issues #1-20). The purpose of this study is to emphasize how fanzines helped create a highly connected fandom in the pre-internet era, and also to form a body of primary source documents for further scholrly inquiry.
Despite fanzines predating the Trekkies, it was within Star Trek fandom that the concept of a fanzine really thrived and gained traction beyond the insular science fiction fandom of the time. In a time before the internet and social media, fanzines allowed for the sharing of art and ideas across countries, oceans, and timezones. Thanks to fanzines, fans could share ideas across a far wider range than telephones or letters could handle.
Of even greater importance is fanzines were not simply regular publications containing art, stories, and articles; they were also a means of communication between fans on a large scale. Through fanzines fans could engage with other fans on more than a 1:1 ratio and over long distances. Any fan that read the fanzines, or sent in articles and stories effectively participated in interactions with other fans, but it is through the fanletters that fans most directly engaged with other members of the fandom.”
Tags:not a reblog, star trek, fandom history, fandom studies, fanzines, DWCrosspost
Tumblr post (this is likely a reblog, and may have more pictures over there)
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