Date: April 24, Friday

Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Location: LIB 2033

Guest Speaker: Erika Ningxin Wang, Assistant Professor in Division of Development and Governance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen

Abstract: Taking a non-Western perspective in fan studies, this book challenges the conventional understandings of fandom nationalism. This research reveals how fans and anti-fans participate in various stages of the banning process, leading to the career downfall of top stars in China. This brutal battleground, akin to cancel culture, is a product of the collusion among fans, netizens, the state, media platforms, and businesses, where fans’ participation in nationalist practices can also be performative patriotism, driven by the desire to protect their idols and themselves. Using examples from China and beyond, Fandom Nationalism explores the relationship between fandom and the state more broadly.

Bio: Prof. Erika Ningxin Wang is an Assistant Professor in Division of Development and Governance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen. She is a media anthropologist and digital ethnographer in media, pop culture and fandom studies. Her research interests lie at the intersection of youth culture, digital media, and state governance. She has examined the dynamic interactions between Chinese idol fandom, media platform algorithms and interfaces, cultural markets and censorship systems. She is the Vice-Chair of the Audience Section in IAMCR (International Association for Media and Communication Research), and the Early Career Representative to ICA (International Communication Association). Her recent publications appear in Social Media+Society, Asian Studies Review, Communication, Culture and Critique, and Celebrity Studies. Her monograph Fandom Nationalism is published by Bloomsbury Academic in January 2026.