Dr Jenessa Williams

Profile

I am an academic and journalist specialising in popular music, audiences and online cultures. For 2026-2029, I am a recipient of a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship, and will be conducting various research activities under the project “Democratising Expertise: Music, Superfandom and Cultural Criticism Online”.

Born and raised in Hertfordshire, I moved to the North of England in 2011 to complete a degree in Music Journalism at The University of Huddersfield. This led to a Masters by Research in Communication and Cultural Studies (also at The University of Huddersfield), and then a PhD at The University of Leeds. My thesis, Music Fandom after #MeToo, which I defended in October 2023, examined the nuances of cancel culture and ethical consensus-searching in fans desire to articulate their responses to ‘problematic’ artists on social media, and the complex expression of race, gender, and genre expectation that such debates brought up. This research formed the basis of my forthcoming debut book, written during a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University.

I am a co-founding member of the Music and Online Cultures Research Network (MOCReN), co-editor of the Forum section of the Celebrity Studies Journal, and a board member-at-large for Come Play With Me, a non-profit, CIC music development organisation specialising in supporting creatives from marginalised communities.

I also work as a freelance music journalist and critic, with work appearing in the Guardian, NME, the Forty-Five, Pitchfork, Alternative Press and various other publications.

Research interests

My research (and teaching) is broadly concerned with understanding the contemporary sociology of popular music. At present, I am particularly curious about investigating ‘fangirl’ and ‘stan’ identities, and the way that journalists, artists, influencers and audiences all interact and make meaning out of music within the modern online attention economy. I am also involved in projects that take a wider look at wellbeing, equality and diversity in the music industries, with a specific interest in the experience and engagements of fans, artists and practitioners who identity as women and/or people of colour.

Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below.

Qualifications

• PhD, Media & Communication (University of Leeds)
• Masters by Research, Media & Communication (University of Huddersfield)
• BA Honours Music Journalism (University of Huddersfield)

Student education

I have taught at Stanford University, Leeds Beckett University and The University of Leeds, as well as guest lectures at Leeds Conservatoire, Edge Hill University and The University of Huddersfield. Modules have included Platforms, Inequalities and Participatory Cultures; Music Industries; Popular Music & The Press; Feminism, Identity and Media; Popular Music & Society; Creative Industries Skills and Media & Communication Research Skills.