Communication and the Baseball Stadium: Community, Commodification, Fanship, and Memory

Baseball stadia are places of memory, identity, athletic and architectural accomplishment. They are sites capable of arousing passion, sentimentality and a sense of community. The baseball stadium provides a unique lens through which to understand, explore and expand an understanding of communication theories. While baseball has previously been explored by scholars, this volume introduces the stadium as a way of exploring communication and communication theories through an examination of the four discrete themes that frame the organization of this work: community and communication, fandom and communication, memory and communication, and commodification and communication. This volume offers a unique approach to those interested in communication theory, popular culture, sports management, and people environment studies.

Dale Herbeck (Ph.D., University of Iowa) is Chair of and Professor in the Communication Department at Northeastern University. He is the author of Freedom of Speech in the United States (2013).

Susan J. Drucker (J.D., St. John’s University School of Law) is Professor in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University. She has authored or edited eleven books, including Regulating Social Media: Legal and Ethical Considerations (Peter Lang, 2013), co-edited with Gary Gumpert.