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Participatory Culture in a Networked Era

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DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2017.1417462

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 Information, Communication & Society

ISSN: 1369-118X (Print) 1468-4462 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rics20

Participatory Culture in a Networked Era

Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk

To cite this article: Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk (2018) Participatory Culture in a Networked Era,
Information, Communication & Society, 21:12, 1801-1802, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2017.1417462

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1417462

Published online: 18 Dec 2017.

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INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & SOCIETY, 2018
VOL. 21, NO. 12, 1801–1802

BOOK REVIEW

Participatory Culture in a Networked Era, by Henry Jenkins, Mizuko Ito and danah
boyd, Cambridge, Malden, Polity Press, 2016, pp. 1–214, $15.62 (paperback), ISBN 978-
0745660714

Henry Jenkins introduced the concept ‘participatory culture’ in his book on fandom, Textual
Poachers, in 1992. He later developed it further in his seminal work, Convergence Culture, in
2006. Since then it has become a key term used within a wide range of scholarly fields. In Par-
ticipatory Culture in a Networked Era, the three authors, Henry Jenkins, Mizuko Ito and danah
boyd, critically discuss the concept in light of current technological, economical and cultural
developments.
The book is written as a conversation between the three authors, based on a meeting in Ito’s
house in Los Angeles. It is divided into seven, short chapters. The first three are concerned with
conceptual definitions and interpretations, in particular in the context of fandom, youth cul-
ture and participatory genres. The three following chapters are focusing on participatory cul-
ture in light of learning and literacy, capitalism and commercialisation, and democracy, civic
engagement and activism. All the chapters consist of a short and helpful introduction to the
topic under scrutiny, written by one of the authors. The final chapter offers some commit-
ments and values that the researchers share, and summarises the key perspectives of how par-
ticipatory culture should be understood in a changing media environment.
In the book the authors rightly point out that participatory culture, as a concept, is in
danger of loosing any real meaning. This is because participation has become a key strategy
and buzzword that is widely used across the media and cultural industries, as well as in the
scholarly field. The main goal, they remind us, must be ‘to expand opportunities for meaning-
ful participation’ (p. 182) for all individuals. The authors further argue that participatory cul-
ture as a concept points to both descriptive and aspirational dimensions. While the former
refers to how participatory practices and forms of cultural production are carried out, the latter
is highly normative and concerned about how such practices can inspire agency and empow-
erment among different groups. In general, there is an inherent enthusiasm felt throughout the
book, and it is clear that Jenkins, Ito and boyd all share a deep aspirational mission for parti-
cipatory potential and societal change. However, the authors at the same time manage to
reflect not only about the positive prospectives and impact of participatory culture, but also
discuss deep concerns about the more negative dimensions of current developments, particu-
larly in relation to the commercialisation of participation. Furthermore, the authors succeed in
addressing the many complex and parallel developments (economically, technologically, pol-
itically and culturally) that in different ways influence how agency and participatory practices
are formed, challenged and changed.
Because of its conversational form, the book is an easy and enjoyable read, the kind of aca-
demic literature you can read on holiday or on your way to work (unless you are driving of
course). The authors raise more questions than they answer, and in general the reflections pre-
sented in the book do not to any great extent bring radical new insights to the table. To be fair,
this might not have been the intention of the authors either. The discussions we are invited
into, however, paint the broad lines concerning how we should understand participatory cul-
ture in changing media environments. Furthermore, the format allows for more personal
reflections about their own research interests, motivations and doubts, which is refreshing.
 1802 BOOK REVIEW

The book is suitable for academics, students and the wider public that are interested in
questions relating to participation. In particular I believe the book can be useful to introduce
and engage students into discussions about the complexity of participatory culture, and how
we can understand agency and empowerment in a networked era in which the technological
sector has become increasingly powerful.

References
Jenkins, Henry. (1992). Textual poacher: Television fans and participatory culture. New York, NY: Routledge.
Jenkins, Henry. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University
Press.

Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk

University of Oslo, Faculty of Humanities, Oslo, Norway
k.a.ihlebak@media.uio.no
© 2017 Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk
https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1417462

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