Since 2006, Henry Jenkins's Confessions of an Aca-Fan blog has hosted
interviews in which academics, activists, and artists have shared their
views on the changing media landscape. For the first time, Jenkins -
often called "the Marshall McLuhan for the twenty-first century" -
compiles some of these interviews to highlight his recurring interests
in popular culture and social change.
Structured around three core concepts - culture, learning, politics -
and designed as a companion to Participatory Culture in a Networked
Era, this book broadens the conversation to incorporate diverse
thinkers such as David Gauntlett, Ethan Zuckerman, Sonia Livingstone, S.
Craig Watkins, James Paul Gee, Antero Garcia, Stephen Duncombe, Cathy J.
Cohen, Lina Srivastava, Jonathan McIntosh, and William Uricchio. With an
introduction from Jenkins and reflections from each interviewee, this
volume speaks to a sense of crisis as contemporary culture has failed to
fully achieve the democratic potentials once anticipated as a
consequence of the participatory turn.
This book is ideal for students and scholars of digital media, popular
culture, education, and politics, as well as general readers with an
interest in the topic.