Global Fandom Jamboree Conversation

Dr. Katty Alhayek was invited to present her research on Fandom of Game of Thrones at George Mason University on February 16, 2022. In her lecture "Arab Fandom and Creative Political Participation: The Case of Game of Thrones," she discussed how Arab fans of Game of Thrones are part of the global fandom of “Prestige TV,” and demonstrated how Arab fans responded to the whiteness and Eurocentrism of GoT and their sense of racial difference. A recording of the lecture was published at Jadaliyya ezine (external link) . Additionally, Alhayek was invited by Professor Henry Jenkins from the University of Southern California (USC) to participate in the Global Fandom discussion series on his Confessions of an Aca-Fan blog (external link) . She discussed her research on the Arab fans of Game of Thrones and displaced fans of Syrian TV drama serials. She also engaged in conversation with scholars Julie Escurignan (France) and Irma Hirsjärvi (Finland) on cross-cultural perspectives on Game of Thrones fandom as fans are waiting for the upcoming prequel, House of the Dragon, which is scheduled to air in August 2022.