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Erin Hanna

Associate Professor of Cinema Studies
Cinema Studies Program
Phone: 541-346-2084
Office: 106 PLC
Research Interests: Overlaps and interactions between the media industries & fans, the San Diego Comic-Con, media industry promotion, histories of fandom & popular culture, Canadian film & TV, media industry studies, fan studies, television studies, & feminist media studies

Biography

I grew up in Toronto, Canada, where I spent countless hours training for this job in movie theaters, video rental stores, and, of course, in front of my TV set. Later, I pursued more formal training in cinema studies at York University and the University of Michigan. I began my career at the UO in the School of Journalism and Communication in 2014 and joined the newly formed Department of Cinema Studies in 2018, where I teach about television, media industries, and audiences.

Education

BA Honours, Film Studies, York University (2004)
MA, Cinema and Media Studies, York University (2007)
PhD, Screen Arts and Cultures, University of Michigan (2014)

Statement

My work sits at the intersection of media industry studies and fan studies. I am especially interested in the ways media industry publicity and promotion circulate popular ideas about audiences and shape consumer experiences beyond the screen. My book, Only at Comic-Con: Hollywood, Fans, and the Limits of Exclusivity, examines the connection between exclusivity and the proliferation of Hollywood promotion at the San Diego Comic-Con. In addition to exploring the increased media industry presence at Comic-Con in the twenty-first century, my book places a special emphasis on Comic-Con’s history, dating back to its founding in 1970 and the convention’s roots in comics fandom of the 1960s. My current research continues this exploration of historical fan communities and their relationship with media producers, with a particular emphasis on gendered labor, visibility, and exclusion.

Publications

Only at Comic-Con: Hollywood, Fans, and the Limits of Exclusivity. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2019. 

“The Limits of Comic-Con’s Exclusivity.” Transformative Works and Cultures 38 (2022): https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/2321

“‘Live Long and Prosper’: Rebooting Star Trek Fandom.” Film Reboots. Daniel Herbert and Constantine Verevis, eds. United Kingdom: Edinburgh University Press, 2020.

“From Dealer’s Room to Exhibit Hall: Retail at the San Diego Comic-Con.” Point of Sale: Analyzing Media Retail. Daniel Herbert and Derek Johnson, eds. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2019.

"The Liminality of the Line and the Place of Fans at Comic-Con." The Journal of Fandom Studies 5.2 (2017): 209-27.

Teaching

CINE 268: U.S. Television History

CINE 399: Cult TV

CINE/J 411: U.S. Film Industry

CINE 410 Media Industries and Fans

CINE 440 Canadian Cinema