LEADER 00000nam  2200373   4500 
001    AAI3395723 
005    20100927085426.5 
008    100927s2009    ||||||||||||||||| ||eng d 
020    9781109585681 
035    (UMI)AAI3395723 
040    UMI|cUMI 
100 1  Tocci, Jason 
245 10 Geek cultures:  Media and identity in the digital age 
300    449 p 
500    Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-
       01, Section: A, page: 0028 
500    Adviser:  Paul Messaris 
502    Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 2009 
520    This study explores the cultural and technological 
       developments behind the transition of labels like 'geek' 
       and 'nerd' from schoolyard insults to sincere terms 
       identity. Though such terms maintain negative connotations
       to some extent, recent years have seen a growing 
       understanding that "geek is chic" as computers become 
       essential to daily life and business, retailers hawk nerd 
       apparel, and Hollywood makes billions on sci-fi, hobbits, 
       and superheroes.  Geek Cultures identifies the experiences,
       concepts, and symbols around which people construct this 
       personal and collective identity 
520    This ethnographic study considers geek culture through 
       multiple sites and through multiple methods, including 
       participant observation at conventions and local events 
       promoted as "geeky" or "nerdy"; interviews with fans, 
       gamers, techies, and self-proclaimed outcasts; textual 
       analysis of products produced by and for geeks; and 
       analysis and interaction online through blogs, forums, and
       email. The findings are organized around four common, 
       sometimes overlapping images and stereotypes: the geek as 
       misfit, genius, fan, and chic 
520    Overall, this project finds that these terms represent a 
       category of identity that predates the recent emergence of
       "geek chic," and may be more productively understood as 
       interacting with, rather than stemming from, dimensions of
       identity such as gender and race. The economic import of 
       the internet and the financial successes of high-profile 
       geeks have popularized the idea that nerdy skills can be 
       parlayed into riches and romance, but the real power of 
       communication technologies has been in augmenting the 
       reach and persistent availability of those things that 
       encourage a sense of belonging: socially insulated "safe 
       spaces" to engage in (potentially embarrassing) 
       activities; opportunities to remotely coordinate creative 
       projects and social gatherings; and faster and more 
       widespread circulation of symbols -- from nerdcore hip-hop
       to geek-sponsored charities -- confirming the existence of
       a whole network of individuals with shared values. The 
       emergence of geek culture represents not a sudden fad, but
       a newly visible dimension of identity that demonstrates 
       how dispersed cultures can be constructed through the 
       integration of media use and social enculturation in 
       everyday life 
590    School code: 0175 
650  4 Anthropology, Cultural 
650  4 Speech Communication 
650  4 Sociology, General 
690    0326 
690    0459 
690    0626 
710 2  University of Pennsylvania 
773 0  |tDissertation Abstracts International|g71-01A 
856 40 |uhttp://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/
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