A New Era of Zines: Taking Lessons From the Past to Combat Intellectual and Political Fascism

Authors

Catherine Kane, Portland State University

Sponsor

Portland State University. Department of English

Document Type

Paper

Publication Date

9-2025

Subjects

Book Publishing, Zines -- Reviews -- Periodicals

Abstract

Zines have long functioned as a way to circumvent the traditional gatekeepers of news, art, mainstream narratives, and publishing. They are largely non-commercial, and their emphasis is to put the means of production and distribution directly into the hands of the individual. Although their roots are in DIY, proletariat culture, they are now the subject of study in museums, libraries, and higher education, and have been co-opted by big brands, media outlets, and publishing houses—the institutions they originally sought to undermine.

In their most authentic form, zines have represented free thinking and speech, while giving individuals and communities a rallying point for questions of identity, meaning, and socio-political mobilisation. This paper seeks to determine the ways in which zines have been absorbed into mainstream culture, examining the extent to which they continue to serve as tools for challenging dominant narratives, cultivating community and identity, and driving grassroots activism. Further, it will discuss the future of zines in an American landscape increasingly shaped by heightened censorship and government surveillance across digital forms of media.

Through this, I hope to contextualize zines as a powerful tool for political change and to assess the extent to which, in the pre-digital era, they fomented political activism, formed communities, and allowed people to express themselves in opposition to dominant narratives. I intend to offer an avenue of hope in the coming years and to provide readers with a path to meaningful resistance against AI-driven surveillance that is making online political activity unsafe.

Rights

© 2025 Catherine Kane

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Description

Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Writing: Book Publishing.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44095

Recommended Citation

Kane, Catherine, "A New Era of Zines: Taking Lessons From the Past to Combat Intellectual and Political Fascism" (2025). Book Publishing Final Research Paper. 89.
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44095