Dr Bethan Jones (she/her)
@memorieschild.bsky.social
Research Associate/lecturer at Cardiff Uni School of Journalism, Media and Culture; honorary research fellow at Amgueddfa Cymru Museum Wales; @fanstudies.bsky.social. Writes about fandom, cult TV, true crime, tattoos, cancel culture and other fun stuff.
Tim Curry and Dolly Parton have taught us not only that you should be bigger, weirder, gayer, and freakier, but also that those qualities are what people will love about you. The things that make you strange and amazing are the things that will resonate with other strange and amazing people
I posted absolutely nothing while at Green Man but our talk went well (there were more people there than I expected at 5pm on Sunday), I listened to some great music and hung out with friends. Though it was nice to get home yesterday.
Bridging Design and Fandom: Fan Studies and Design, edited by the amazing @ladylark.bsky.social, is now available open access! My chapter looks at sustainable screen tourism and the different approaches that should be considered for creating that. www.emerald.com/books/edited...
Bridging Design and Fandom: Fan Studies and Design Research in Conversation
Fandom studies and design are both relatively young disciplines both of which are familiar with interdisciplinarity, and with co-production and participati
emerald.com
As someone interested in fan tourism and environmental sustainability (and who's just been awarded a research affiliate fellowship from @school-of-act.bsky.social to do more research on that) this is a prime example of why we need to work more closely with fans, tourism boards and the screen sector!
Dr Naomi Jacobs@ladylark.bsky.social · 3w agoIf you'd like to know more about Dobby's grave, and how the impacts of fan tourism on environmental sustainability are being managed here and elsewhere, you'll be able to read a fab chapter on this by @memorieschild.bsky.social when my edited book comes out next month! bsky.app/profile/lady...
Some exciting news now the contract has been signed: I'll be co-presenting an interactive talk at Green Man Festival this year! Automating the Afterlife will take place at 5pm on Sunday 23 August in Einstein's Garden and will explore how AI is reshaping grief, memory, and responsibility.
Ted Lasso is back on my screen! Though I have to wait a week for the next episode. How did we manage back in the day?
Ted Lasso: How 'Bout That
ALT: Ted Lasso: How 'Bout That
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Aberdare now has a trading card shop and there's a huge queue of geeks and nerds lining up for Pokemon cards and confusing the locals 😁
I've had two tattooists follow me on TikTok and when I've followed them back they've messaged me asking if I'm interested in being tattooed. Is this a new cold calling approach to getting clients? Whatever it is I don't like it.
Really pleased to have a new article out in Popular Communication, with my favourite co-author @simoned.bsky.social. We looked at memes and GIFs circulating during the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial and how these enabled fans to discuss and perform cancellation. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
#Deppdelusion: mediatized play, algorithmic amplification and the problematic fave
The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation case captured attention around the globe, not least because the trial was broadcast live on Court TV, YouTube and TikTok. One noticeable feature of the cas...
tandfonline.com
Anyone have access to N. Böckler and T. Seeger. 2012. "Revolution of the Dispossed: School Shooters and their Devotees in the Web" in School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies and Concepts for Prevention. Springer, pp. 309-399. Please and thank you? #icanhazpdf
📣 Announcing this year's FaAS SIG graduate essay contest! Submit your essays related to fan and audience studies, up to 7,500 words, by Aug. 31 for possible publication in @journal.transformativeworks.org. For more details and to submit: tinyurl.com/faasgradessa...
tinyurl.com
Removing funding from the skills we already have shortages of. This isn't going to fix problem, it's going to make it worse. Do I need to sound the UK HIGHER EDUCATION CRISIS KLAXON 📣 again - given its now more of less the default state?
Dumpster Fire
ALT: Dumpster Fire
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Rachel Pope@prehistorian.bsky.social · 2mo ago“In a letter to the Office for Students, which distributes the funding, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said funding should no longer be given to support nursing, computing, history, creative arts, performing arts, archaeology, and geography courses.” removepaywalls.com/https://www....
Had a lovely weekend catching up with friends and coming home with fresh eggs and courgette. Also got to see Gracie Dog who's the goodest girl.
Tfw you have an epiphany about your mental health at 11.30pm and it explains so much about the last 10 years you feel like an idiot for not realising it sooner.
Family Guy: Brian Griffin Says 'Well, That Explains It'
ALT: Family Guy: Brian Griffin Says 'Well, That Explains It'
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Well that was an epic night! Metallicain Cardiff, they really know how to put on a show.
I'm now an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (and a Cardiff University Education Associate Fellow). Feedback on my portfolio was positive and encouraged me to do the Fellow programme. Some nice news on a sweltering day.
'About 150 academic roles are set to go at the south-west institution, which said it was targeting areas that are “no longer sustainable” or have seen changes in student demand.' History and English are name-checked. 1/3
University of Exeter cuts an ‘existential threat to humanities’
Russell Group institution cites changing student demand as it puts 500 staff at risk of redundancy, with 150 jobs set to go
timeshighereducation.com
📣 New UWP series! 📣 Studies in Crime Narratives (eds. Kirsten Saxton & Emily G.T. Corrêa) welcomes scholarship on crime & criminality across cultures, periods, genres & theories. For info, email: k.saxton@northeastern.edu; emilygtcorrea@gmail.com; s.lewis@press.wales.ac.uk #womenswriting2026
My contract ends in August and I'm not sure what the future holds after that, so this is just a note to let people know that I'm open to work! I'm an experienced qualitative researcher with expertise in fandom (both the positive and negative elements), participatory culture and digital media.
Amelia Shepherd: You Should Hire Me!
ALT: Amelia Shepherd: You Should Hire Me!
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I've been in Cape Town for a few days but am now officially at ICA! I'm presenting on Monday morning, talking about deathbots in a panel on synthetic media afterlives.
SIG members, it's election season! Please check your email and then go cast your vote for member-at-large and grad rep before June 8! And don't forget to renew your SCMS membership by June 30.
I'm heading to Cape Town for the ICA conference on Sunday (let me know if you'll be there) and what better way to spend the day before than talking about The X-Files! Very excited to watch to the other talks, which sound absolutely fascinating, and talk about the cultural impact of the show.
Lauren (LJ) McMenemy@laurenwrites.bsky.social · 3mo agoWho's on what and where this Saturday for Writing the Occult: Seekers? The schedule is now confirmed! You can still get your ticket until the end of Friday 29 May; head to writingtheoccult.carrd.co for details.
It's publication day for Writing Game Histories!! 🥳🎉 Please do recommend it for your library, but it's also out in paperback so not as hideously expensive as academic books can be: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g... @doktornick.bsky.social @doni.bsky.social @historygamesnet.bsky.social
Not a job, not a CFP, not news about the SIG - just a fun thing for fan studies nerds to play with :)
Josh Mayfield@bean525.bsky.social · 3mo agoI'd REALLY appreciate it if anyone who sees this would try out my text generators so I can iron out any remaining bugs. Please, and thank you! trek.epicrandomness.com
Ten years ago the UK government issued a travel advisory for LGBTQIA+ individuals about risks of going to the US partly because of trans bathroom bans. Now we have those bans in UK. This is what I mean by Labour being worse on trans rights than the previous government.
