Build skills to analyze and interpret Pop Culture. Explore the dynamics of fandom, popular culture, and digital media by developing strategies for self-reflection, close reading, and analysis and interpretation.

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Christopher Haynes

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Fandom and Popular Culture in the Digital Age SpecializationUniversity of Colorado Boulder

What you will learn

Develop strategies for self-reflection and awareness, digital literacy, and meaningful engagement with fandom, popular culture, and digital media
Analyze the products of popular culture through applied close reading frameworks
Connect and synthesize critical self-reflection and close reading frameworks through personal writing and creative expression
Deepen investment in pop culture passions and communities and celebrate what we love and how we love it, and who we love it with

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

How might what we love - what we watch, what we read, what we post - make our communities healthier and more vibrant? This question guides Fandom and Popular Culture in the Digital Age. In our networked and information-saturated world, three vital needs emerge: representing identity in digital media, interrogating the products of culture, and engaging meaningfully with digital communities. This course addresses these needs by inviting you into a space of reflection at the intersection of fandom, popular culture, and digital media. More than at any point in human history, these forces have put at our fingertips the means to create and disseminate ourselves in the world. We will explore the products of popular culture and trace the fan networks that sustain and derive value from them. Along the way, we will train you to recognize relationships between popular culture and the political and commercial forces that shape its publication, distribution, and consumption. This course will equip you with the tools necessary to boost your digital media fluency and define, shape, and evolve your identity as a fan within digital spaces. But ultimately, this is a celebration - a celebration of you and your communities, what you love, and how that love might bring people together to change the world. Together, we can make this a community-driven online resource for our shared endeavor of analyzing and understanding fandom and popular culture.

Applied Learning Project

The projects across this specialization challenge learners to reflect deeply on their experiences, practice skills of close reading, analysis, and interpretation, and express their fandom in thoughtful and creative ways. Learners will practice digital literacy and professional communication skills through reflecting on their personal fandom in blog-style writing, express their creativity by making something relevant to their fandom, and engage with their fandom directly through online platforms.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 3 months to complete

Suggested pace of 4 hours/week

English

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 3 months to complete

Suggested pace of 4 hours/week

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

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How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 3 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

Fandom, Social Media, and Authenticity in the Digital Age

"Fandom, Social Media, and Authenticity in the Digital Age" focuses your attention on the interconnected dynamics of identity, representation, interpretation, and self-reflection. It asks the question: how, where, and with whom do we inhabit the worlds of fandom and popular culture in the digital age? We will explore the role of digital media in the production of celebrity and fandom, using social media tools and platforms as a running case study. More broadly, the course is about what media studies scholar Henry Jenkins has called “participatory culture,” the processes by which bring our selves into digital spaces, establish trust and authenticity (or challenge these concepts), and negotiate identity in and amongst others. Along the way, you will develop skills in critical self-reflection and communication, as well as analysis and interpretation. You’ll audit your own social media usage, and put this learning in context with major social media presences of our era.

Course-Level Learning Outcomes * Define and describe the relationship between fandom, popular culture, and digital media as each impact our identity and interactions with others * Apply critical self-reflection and close reading frameworks through personal and professional writing and online publication * Engage with pop culture and fandom communities by leveraging online platforms to make connections and synthesize learning * Reflect on your personal relationship to social media, identity, representation, and social interaction online Course 1 Skills: * Personal Development * Analysis * Digital Literacy * Writing * Social Media * Close Reading

Course2

Course 2

Fandom, Community, and Identity in Popular Music

In "Fandom, Community, and Identity in Popular Music," you will explore the intersections of fandom and popular culture using pop music as a framework. You will apply your skills of self-reflection and close reading/analysis to a few case studies of pop musicians and the ways in which their art inhabits and evolves in pop culture spaces. You will learn about what it means to be a music fan, and therefore to be a fan in general. Along the way, you’ll have the chance to express your creativity as a fan by making something to contribute back into your fandom. This project will ask you to apply your self-reflection and close reading frameworks, and will ground your studies of fandom and pop culture in your lived experience (both physical and virtual).

Course-Level Learning Outcomes * Define and describe the dynamics of popular music and its relationship with fandom, popular culture, and digital media * Apply critical self-reflection and close reading frameworks through analytical writing and creative expression * Engage with pop culture and fandom communities by leveraging online platforms to make connections and synthesize learning * Reflect on your personal relationship to popular music, popular art, and how popular culture intersects with memory and nostalgia Course 2 Skills: * Analysis * Evaluation * Critical Thinking * Communication * Creativity * Close Reading

Course3

Course 3

Comic Books, Geek Culture, and the Fandom Imaginary

"Comic Books, Geek Culture, and the Fandom Imaginary" explores some of the conventional framings of “fandom” (from comic book obsessives to cosplayers) and the cultural histories that sustain it. It also explores the dark side of these dynamics, looking at what can happen when fandom turns toxic in pop culture spaces. You will continue to apply frameworks of self-reflection and close reading/analysis to the study of contemporary popular culture, and explore how those frameworks provide tools for understanding the self as much as our cultural surroundings. The course asks the fundamental question: how can what we love - what we read, what we watch, what we share - contribute to making the world a better place? Along the way, you’ll continue to develop your skills in honing and representing your fandom, specifically engaging in activities designed to help you find your fellow fans, help you find your people, and connect with them outside and beyond the course.

Course-Level Learning Outcomes * Define and describe the dynamics of geek culture (fantasy, science fiction, comic books, graphic novels), as well as its relationships to fandom, popular culture, and digital media * Apply critical self-reflection and close reading frameworks through analytical writing and creative expression * Engage with pop culture and fandom communities by leveraging online platforms to make connections and synthesize learning * Reflect on your personal relationship to geek culture (fantasy, science fiction, comic books, graphic novels), and how popular culture intersects with memory and nostalgia Course 3 Skills: * Analysis * Self-Reflection * Critical Thinking * Communication * Culture * Close Reading

Instructor

Christopher Haynes

2,199 Learners

6 Courses

Offered by

University of Colorado Boulder

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
This Specialization doesn't carry university credit, but some universities may choose to accept Specialization Certificates for credit. Check with your institution to learn more.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
You can go at your own pace, following your interests and your ability. You can plan to spend a few hours a week learning and exploring.
What background knowledge is necessary?
No background knowledge is necessary - just come with curiosity and interest!
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
You can definitely move around the coursework as you see fit, but my recommendation would be to complete the courses in order, 1-3.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
You will have built practical and applied skills in self-reflection, close reading and analysis, digital literacy, and professional communication and writing.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

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Fandom and Popular Culture in the Digital Age Specialization

What you will learn

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project