In this episode, we welcome Melanie Kohnen, an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies for Lewis & Clark College, and Billy Austin Tringali, an Instruction Librarian at the Indiana University Indianapolis and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS), to discuss the culture and function of pop-culture conventions (“cons”). Melanie shares her research on the encroaching influence of media companies on spaces such as San Diego Comic-Con, especially as they literally extend their promotions to outside of the convention center. Meanwhile, Billy speaks about his work running the annual JAMS@AX Symposium at Anime Expo and his own research regarding animanga content. 

This conversation examines the intersection of academia and non-academic spaces, like fan events, and how media businesses build relationships with their audiences. Melanie and Billy explore how both academics and con-goers can experience conventions as fans and build a sense of community at these pop-culture events. They offer various modes of experiencing conventions and ways of accessing fans as part of larger promotional content. From Japan to the US, Billy and Melanie show us that conventions are places of scholarly work, fun, and play!   

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Readings, Journals, and Resources:

• Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
• “The experience economy of TV promotion at San Diego Comic-Con”
• “From Comic-Con to Amazon: Fan conventions and digital platforms”
• Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS)
  • JAMS@AX
• Mechademia
• Anime and Manga Studies
• Swarming SDCC
• Manga in Libraries
• Anime Con search website [link]
• Henry’s “Performing Our Collective Dreams: The Many Worlds of San Diego Comic-Con”
• Henry’s Frames of Fandom book series

People and Places:

• Dr. Suzanne Scott
• Jillian Rudes
• Maria Bonn
• Frenchy Lunning
• Maria K. Alberto
• Emilie Waggoner
• Dr Zoe Crombie
• Theodore Gournelos
• Dr. Roman Gomez 
  • Physics of Anime lecture [video]
• Janine Sun
• Werner Herzog
• Benedict Anderson
• Ryan Murphy
• Anime Expo
• San Diego Comic-Con
• Wonder Con
• Dragon Con
• Kingston Public Library
• Comiku Girls
• Anime Boston
  • Boston Cosplay Human Death Match [link, video]
• Petco Park 
• Dashcon
• Rose City Comic Con
• Gallifrey One
• MagicCon

Media:

• Abbott Elementary 
  • SDCC 2025 Abbott Elementary Block Party
• Pokémon [website, anime]
• Yu-Gi-Oh [card game, anime]
• Dragon Ball
• Television Without Pity
• Howl’s Moving Castle
• Demon Slayer
• Walking with Dinosaurs
• Peacemaker
  • Peacefest SDCC 2025 [link, video]
• HBO Max
• Tubi
• Pluto TV
• Psych
• Glee
• Rocky Horror Picture Show
• Playstation
• Mortal Kombat 1
• The Good Place
  • SDCC Panel 2018 [video]
• Superstore
  • SDCC Panel 2019 [video list]
• Magic the Gathering
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Crunchyroll
• Toho Animation
• Delicious in Dungeon
• Dungeons and Dragons
• Kimba the White Lion
• Yu Yu Hakusho
• House of the Dragon
• Dr. Who

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Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet  https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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