Jessica Kate Crowell
Assistant Professor / PhD in Media Studies
Alternative Media: Introduction to Zines
Course Description: This short course is a social and cultural introduction to zines. Defined as “noncommercial, nonprofessional, small circulation magazines which their creators produce, publish, and distribute themselves,” zines are valuable historical media sources that can voice to unconventional viewpoints and show how everyday people reacted to and processed current events (Duncombe, 2014, p. 9). Zines have also highlighted youth experiences and can paint a rich portrait of everyday life that is not similarly captured in mass media. Using the SUNY New Paltz Sojourner Truth library zine collection as a resource, this class will first explore how zines have been used historically by different subcultural, countercultural, or oppressed groups. Students will then apply what they have learned to create their own cut-and-paste zines. Above all, this course examines the important role of alternative media in promoting social justice and enhancing cultural diversity.
Homework
Come up with a plan for your zine. What will your zine be about? What will be the format of your zine, e.g. one-page, quarter-page, or half-page? Please be realistic; you must be able to execute your zine in 1 hour. You can choose to work individually or in a small group. However, if you work in a group, you must do at least 1 individual page each. While you should feel free to create a zine that is meaningful to you, when designing your zine, please consider the historical and cultural spirit of zine-making we learned about in day 1 of class.
Required Zine Components:
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Must utilize a zine format (i.e. booklet). [Single page would not be a “zine”.]
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Separate front and back cover
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Title
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Must include both images and text
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Must be reproducible or shareable
Instructions: How to Make a Zine
One-Page Zine (better for individual):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab4O9SWNl9g
Quarter-Page Zine (better for individual or group):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6KO5MkWVfM
Half- Page Zine (better for group):
(just fold 1 sheet of paper in half!)
Example Zines
Do What You Want: A zine about mental wellbeing - designed digitally
https://issuu.com/dowhatyouwant/docs/dwyw_ebook_-_2020_-_pages_
Resilient Roots 2020 - more of a cut and paste style!
Zine Collection at Sojourner Truth Library & Submitting!
Our Sojourner Truth library at New Paltz is unique in that we have our very own "zine" library featuring a robust zine collection. If you would like to submit your finished zine to the library, you can do so at:
https://hawksites.newpaltz.edu/zines/submit-your-zine/
To learn more about zines and the history of the SUNY New Paltz zine library, check out this excellent short documentary produced by former student Kelly Lindberg (Class of 2016) as part of her Honors Thesis project.
https://hawksites.newpaltz.edu/zines/documentary-film-about-zines-at-np/
More Background
Why study zines?
So, what is a “zine”? Stephen Duncombe (2014) defines zines as “noncommercial, nonprofessional, small circulation magazines which their creators produce, publish, and distribute themselves” (p. 9). To build on Duncombe’s definition, zines have primarily been produced outside the traditional publishing industry and are characterized by a distinctive handmade quality. Once completed, the finished zine will typically be photocopied and assembled into a booklet form before being distributed.
In the United States, zines were very much borne of the country’s alternative press movements, and they were an important tool utilized by different subcultural, countercultural, or marginalized groups. For instance, in the 1930’s, science fiction fan communities began to create “fanzines” to share their own creative writing, whereas zines like “FIRE!! Devoted to Younger Negro Artists” featured the dynamic creative output of authors like Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes (Bold, 2017; Duncombe, 2014; Radway, 2011).
In the 1970’s, zines had emerged as a mainstay of New York’s underground punk music scene and by the 1990’s zines became a key form of protest communication utilized by the feminist punk rock movement known as “Riot grrrl” (Comstock, 2011; Downes, 2012; Duncombe, 2014; Fateman & Hanna, 2013; Harris, 2004; Piepmeier, 2009).
Zines have highlighted youth experiences and can paint a rich portrait of young adult life that is not similarly captured in mass media (Knobel & Lankshear, 2002; Harris, 2004; Radway, 2010). Chidgey (2006) argues that young zine makers should therefore be understood as “proto-historians” in that they engage – in very personal terms – with the social, cultural and political issues of their time. In short, zines are valuable historical sources in that they can give rise to alternative viewpoints and show how everyday people reacted to and processed current events.
References:
Bold, M. R. (2017). Why diverse zines matter: A case study of the people of color zines project. Publishing Research Quarterly, 33(3), 215-228.
Chidgey, R. (2006). The resisting subject: Per-zines as life story data. University of Sussex Journal of Contemporary History, 10, 1-13.
Comstock, M. (2001). Grrrl zine networks: Re-composing spaces of authority, gender, and culture. jac, 383-409.
Downes, J. (2012). The expansion of punk rock: Riot Grrrl challenges to gender power relations in British indie music subcultures. Women's Studies, 41(2), 204-237.
Duncombe, S. (2014). Notes from underground: Zines and the politics of alternative culture. Microcosm Publishing.
Fateman, J., & Hanna, K. (2013). The riot grrrl collection. The Feminist Press at CUNY.
Harris, A. (Ed.). (2004). All about the girl: Culture, power, and identity. Routledge.
Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2002). Cut, paste, publish: The production and consumption of zines. Adolescents and literacies in a digital world, 164-185.
Piepmeier, A. (2009). Girl zines: Making media, doing feminism. NYU Press.
Radway, J. (2011). Zines, half-lives, and afterlives: On the temporalities of social and political change. Pmla, 126(1), 140-150.
Radway, J. (2010). Bodytalk| The Body Project of Girl Zines. International Journal of Communication, 4, 2.
