"One Above All" - New Co-Authored Publication on Marvel Fandom

A research team including Drs. Caleb George Hubbard, Kyle A. Hammonds, and Lindsey Meeks completed and published a study on Marvel fandom titled "One Above All: Stratifying Communication Within Marvel Fandom." The study, published in key fan studies journal Transformative Works & Cultures, explores how Marvel fans use communication strategies to generate tiers (strata) within their fan communities and vie for social status. Ultimately, the authors apply Max Weber's framework regarding social capital to study communication in fan communities and elucidate the various capital/resources that Marvel fans utilize for attempting to climb the social ladder. Dr. Hammonds worked on the team while finishing his PhD at the University of Oklahoma, but now works out of the University of Texas - Dallas in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. The article is open access (free to the public) and available here: https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/2571