"We Are Book Eight": Dialoging the collective imagination through literary fan activism. (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Carriere, Kevin R
• Is Part Of: Culture & psychology. Volume 24:Number 4(2018:Dec.)
• Page Start: 529
• Page End: 544
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: Symbolic resources -- fan activism -- collective imagination -- collective action -- imaginaction -- dialogism; Culture -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; Ethnopsychology -- Periodicals; 155.92
• DOI: 10.1177/1354067X18796805
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1354-067X

Abstract

This paper will explore how individuals employ imagination through collective action. First, I will outline a definition of imagination, focusing on how the dialogic nature of imagination provides an overarching framework for individuals focused on producing change. Next, I will discuss symbolic resources as a way to link one's imagination with another's. Qualitative interviews from The Harry Potter Alliance will be examined as a case where collective action is taken through shared resources. It will highlight how placing real-world issues in dialogue with imaginary constructs can assist in sharing imaginations toward worlds of what-if . Discussions around the relational aspect of collective imagination will end the paper.