Rethinking ‘Rethinking Convergence/Culture’

AbstractResponding to the September 2011 special issue on 'Rethinking Convergence Culture', this essay seeks to identify ways that the author's thinking about convergence and participatory culture have shifted over time, often in ways that are closely aligned with the issue's contributors. Throughout the essay, the author addresses the links between cultural and political participation, the challenges in using new media in support of democratic change, the ways that institutional power structures continue to exert strong influence on our culture despite or perhaps because of significant expansion of who has access to the means of cultural production and distribution and the challenges and opportunities for doing cultural theory in an era of neo-liberal capitalism.Keywords: participationconvergencefandomactivismfeminismdemocracy Notes on ContributorHenry Jenkins is a Provost's Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education at the University of Southern California. He is the co-author, with Sam Ford and Joshua Green, of the 2013 book Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture and the author or editor of another 15 books, including Convergence Culture (2006), Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers (2006), and Textual Poachers (1992).