Digital Legitimacy: The Role of Online Fandoms in the Mediation of State Power

On Wednesday 4th December, the DDH Seminar Series welcomes Benjamin Studebaker to discuss the topic of fandom and its intersection with political power. Studebaker discusses what he calls “the four F's.” They are: Faith; Family; Fandoms; Futurism. These, he argues, constitute the pillars that define contemporary politics and the decline of democracy. Joining us to discuss the role of the digital in community building and organising and its impact in determining the role of groups vis-a-vis state power, Studebaker argues that we have to understand fandom if we are to understand contemporary capitalism.

Benjamin Studebaker is author of Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies (Edinburgh University Press) and The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut (Palgrave). He has a PhD from Cambridge in Political Philosophy.

The event will be followed by a drinks reception.