| This dissertation is an ethnography of soccer fans and their media culture in Rome, Italy. The primary ethnographic research was conducted in Rome in late summer 2005 through spring 2006. The dissertation focuses in particular on the media culture in which fans perform fandom. I conceive of media in a broad sense to include the human voice box and bodily movements as well as the most sophisticated mass media, thus, I consider the songs, gestures, posters, newsletters, websites and myriad other media that fans use to communicate with each other and to create and express powerfully felt identities.;I examine, in detail, three contrastive fan groups: the Roma Club Testaccio, Core de Roma and the Irriducibili. In particular, I discuss fan-produced media and the use and circulation of mass mediated representations of soccer. The first chapter discusses the performances and displays of fans inside the soccer stadium. The following chapters deal with fan activity in the daily lives of fan groups away from the stadium. Chapter two describes the Roma Club Testaccio, a traditional fan club located in a working class neighborhood of Rome. These fans support the A.S. Roma soccer team as they meet regularly in their elaborate clubhouse. Chapter three profiles Core de Roma, another A.S. Roma fan club whose members connect primarily via their website (www.corederoma.it ). Core de Roma reproduces a Roman sense of place in their online clubhouse. Chapter four focuses on the Irriducibili, a group of ultras fans who support S.S. Lazio, and who have transformed fandom into a lucrative business. Ultimately, I argue that soccer fandom is a contemporary, media-centric vessel through which fans enact their enduring desire for community and their identities as authentic Romans. |
