Ebert Center for Film Studies Events, College of Media

Join a roundtable discussion with doctoral students from the Institute of Communications Research about fandom’s interaction with the media. Not only will it explore themes from The Wiz and the Ebert Symposium keynote speech, but it will also expand to all types of media. Moderated by Cait Coker, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Alfred L. Martin, Jr, Chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts at University of Miami, will be the keynote speaker at this year's Ebert Symposium. As a part of the Ebert Symposium’s theme, “Onscreen Fantasies/IRL Illusions: Fandom, Parasocial Relationships, and the Media,” Martin will discuss the role of audiences in the curation of and the cultural meaning of cinema.