MEL
STANFILL
Associate Professor
Texts & Technology Program
and Department of English
University of Central Florida
Meet Mel Stanfill
Media studies scholar Mel Stanfill researches how individuals interact with various media forms, ranging from television to social platforms. Their work explores the intersections of technology, identity, law and economics in shaping cultural access and interpretation. Stanfill’s book, Fandom Is Ugly: Networked Harassment in Participatory Culture (New York University Press, 2024), examines the intertwining of politics and fan communities. Their prior work, Rock This Way: Cultural Constructions of Musical Legitimacy (University of Michigan Press, 2023), explores the ethical and legal dimensions of music reuse. Stanfill also analyzes online harassment dynamics, including in communities like comic fans and fan fiction writers. Their research extends to the governance of social media platforms and user responses. Stanfill has provided expert commentary to outlets such as Wired UK, Teen Vogue and the Daily Dot.
Leadership ROLES
Program Coordinator
UCF Texts & Technology Ph.D. Program (2019-Present).
BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS
FANDOM IS UGLY FANDOM
OUT AUGUST 27th OUT AUGUST 27TH
PRAISE FOR FANDOM IS UGLY:
Fandom is Ugly not only utilizes an impressive array of timely test cases to explore the intersections of fandom and reactionary cultures, it speaks incisively to both the failings and fecundity of fan studies approaches in the study of culture writ large. This is a vital text for fan scholars, but also anyone seeking to analyze the intersection of affect, digital platforms, and politics.~Suzanne Scott, author of Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry
Takes fan studies in dramatic and necessary new dimensions. With their trademark insight and ‘big picture’ thinking, Mel Stanfill carefully and thoughtfully applies traditional fan studies methodologies to large-scale cultural events, asking us to think about fandom as more than just progressive.
~Paul Booth, author of Digital Fandom: New Media Studies and co-editor of The Fan Studies Primer
Published books
Rock This Way (2024)
A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTEUR AS FANBOY (2020)
EXPLOITING FANDOM (2019)
MEDIA &
PRESS
As a researcher of fandom and social media, Mel regularly assists journalists and the press with coverage of issues in digital culture. Below are some recent articles featuring Mel as a subject-matter expert.
RESEARCH & TeACHING AREAS
Media Studies
Queer Theory
Fan Studies
Critical Race Studies
Digital Humanities
Working with
#socialmedia
Tools and Data
Mel regularly teaches and facilitates workshops on using digital humanist tools for collecting and analyzing social media data, including data visualization tools, text mining tools, concordances, and more.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Stanfill, Mel, and Jillian Klean Zwilling. 2023. “Critical Considerations for Safe Space in the College Classroom.” College Teaching 71 (2): 85–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2023.2179011.
Condis, Megan, and Mel Stanfill. 2022. “Debating with Wertham’s Ghost: Comic Books, Culture Wars, and Populist Moral Panics.” Cultural Studies 36 (6): 953–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2021.1946579.
Tarvin, Emily,* and Mel Stanfill. 2022. “‘YouTube’s Predator Problem’: Platform Moderation as Governance-Washing, and User Resistance.” Convergence 28 (3): 822–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565211066490.
Stanfill, Mel. 2021. “Can’t Nobody Tell Me Nothin’: ‘Old Town Road’, Resisting Musical Norms, and Queer Remix Reproduction.” Popular Music 40 (3–4), 347–63. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026114302100057X.
Lothian, Alexis, and Mel Stanfill. 2021. “An Archive of Whose Own? White Feminism and Racial Justice in Fan Fiction’s Digital Infrastructure.” Transformative Works and Cultures 36, n.p. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2021.2119.