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9780773552845

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Long overlooked by those who study fandoms, subcultures and gendered identities, the Geek now gets the attention it deserves. Benjamin Woo's Getting a Life: The Social Worlds of Geek Culture is a witty, smart book marked most of all by its methodological agility. Woo moves in to examine geek culture up close, then pulls back to illuminate its relationship to taste cultures, the boundary-work of social in-groups and the shifting relationship of capitalist media producers to their fans. Wit and humour run through this engaging book, but so, too, does a commitment to taking Geek culture seriously and fashioning the analytical tools with which to understand it. Will Straw, McGill University, and co-editor, with Alexandra Boutros, of Circulation and the City: Essays on Urban Culture

Woo presents a witty, multilayered account of geek culture that could be characterized as a game changer in terms of how so-called geeks and nerds are perceived in modern Western societies. Woo's meticulous treatment of geek and nerd cultures is essentia An entertaining and informative romp through contemporary social philosophy and media theory that, for all its academic rigour, never lifts its gaze from its central focus: the geek. Woo's smart prose and the notion of the geek as a subcultural type make for a book that is both lighthearted and readable, yet valuable as a piece of media theory in its own right. The Quill & Quire Long overlooked by those who study fandoms, subcultures and gendered identities, the Geek now gets the attention it deserves. Benjamin Woo's Getting a Life: The Social Worlds of Geek Culture is a witty, smart book marked most of all by its methodological agility. Woo moves in to examine geek culture up close, then pulls back to illuminate its relationship to taste cultures, the boundary-work of social in-groups and the shifting relationship of capitalist media producers to their fans. Wit and humour run through this engaging book, but so, too, does a commitment to taking Geek culture seriously and fashioning the analytical tools with which to understand it. Will Straw, McGill University, and co-editor, with Alexandra Boutros, of Circulation and the City: Essays on Urban Culture

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Benjamin Woo is assistant professor of communication and media studies at Carleton University.

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