Biography
Simone Driessen is an assistant professor in Media & Popular Culture in the Arts & Culture Department of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Before, she worked as a senior lecturer in the Media and Communication Department. As a researcher she is interested in topics at the intersection of media and popular culture. As a lecturer she is involved in several courses in the Arts & Culture program(s), and supervises theses.
In June 2017, Simone obtained her PhD from the Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture (ERMeCC). Her PhD-project examined the affordances of mainstream popular music in the everyday life of ageing audiences (e.g., exploring why fans remain fan of a band like boy band Backstreet Boys over time). In addition to researching why fans remain fans over time, Simone is currently examinig why fans discontinue their fandom (e.g. after a controversial moment or the cancellation of an artist).
Furthermore, Simone is involved as a researcher in two Horizon projects (Inspiring and Anchoring Trust in Science, and COALESCE, which works towards a European center on science communication) on science communication, particularly popular, digital science communication.
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication
Assistant professor | Department of Arts and Culture Studies
- driessen@eshcc.eur.nl
More information
Work
- Simone Driessen, Gaëlle Ouvrein & Eve Ng (2026) - Introduction: cancel culture & celebrity bashing, exploring the theatre of morality? - Social Semiotics - doi: 10.1080/10350330.2026.2627224 - [link]
- Simone Driessen & Sidsel Kirstine Harder (2026) - #WeGotYou: examining the intersections of believability, cancel culture, and fandom (in a not-cancel case) - Social Semiotics - doi: 10.1080/10350330.2026.2617361 - [link]
- Simone Driessen (2026) - Invisible string(s): Exploring conspiratorial participatory practices among Swifties - Popular Communication - doi: 10.1080/15405702.2026.2617543 - [link]
- Guilherme Giolo, Simone Driessen & Mel Stanfill (2026) - Waving the cancelling wand: Harry Potter fans and the cancellation of J.K. Rowling - Social Semiotics - doi: 10.1080/10350330.2026.2615634 - [link]
- Jason Pridmore, Sarah Young & Simone Driessen (2025) - "We Lied to You... and We'll Do It Again": Communicating Science via YouTube - Kairos, a Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 30 (1) - [link]
- Guilherme Giolo , Daniel Trottier & Simone Driessen (2025) - They Not like Us: Cultural Aggregation and Ambiguous Meaning-Making in Internet Culture - Media/Culture : a Journal of media and culture, 28 (3) - doi: 10.5204/mcj.3183 - [link]
- Adriana Amaral & Simone Driessen (2024) - FAN ENGAGEMENT, IDENTITIES, AND REPRESENTATION IN POP CULTURE - Brazilian Creative Industries Journal, 4 (1), 2-12 - doi: 10.25112/bcij.v4i1.3676
- Ana Barbosa Mendes, Charlotte Bruns, Dana Mahr & Simone Driessen (2024) - Understanding methodological innovation in participatory research: insights from participatory EU-funded projects - Journal of Science Communication, 23 (6) - doi: 10.22323/2.23060803 - [link]
- Simone Driessen, Bethan Jones & Benjamin Litherland (2024) - From fan citizenship to ‘fanspiracies’: Politics and participatory cultures in times of crisis? - Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 30 (1), 304-312 - doi: 10.1177/13548565241236005
- Simone Driessen (2023) - The participatory politics and play of canceling an idol: Exploring how fans negotiate their fandom of a canceled ‘fave’ - Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 30 (1), 395-409 - doi: 10.1177/13548565231199983 - [link]
- Simone Driessen & Annelot Prins (2023) - Rooting for the anti-hero: how fans turned Taylor Swift’s short relationship with Matty Healy into a political statement - [link]
- Simone Driessen (2022) - Campaign Problems: How Fans React to Taylor Swift’s Controversial Political Awakening - American Behavioral Scientist, 66 (8), 1060-1074 - doi: 10.1177/00027642211042295 - [link]
- Simone Driessen (2022) - Look what you made them do:: understanding fans’ affective responses to Taylor Swift’s political coming-out - Celebrity Studies, 13 (1), 1-4 - doi: 10.1080/19392397.2021.2023851
- Qian Huang, Simone Driessen & Daniel Trottier (2022) - When Pop and Politics Collide: A Transcultural Perspective on Contested Practices in Pop Idol Fandoms in China and The West - International Journal of Communication, 16, 1-19 - [link]
- Simone Driessen (2020) - Irritainment & unfluencers: waarom we anderen afkeuren voor ons plezier - Unknown - [link]
- Simone Driessen (2020) - ‘CANCEL CULTURE’ OM MENSEN TERECHT TE WIJZEN: 'GECANCELDE' PERSOON MOET UITLEG GEVEN - Unknown - [link]
- Simone Driessen (2020) - “I did something bad” – How fans give meaning to Taylor Swift’s political awakening
- Simone Driessen (2020) - Hoe Tiger King Joe Exotic een hit werd: 'Hij is de klassieke underdog' - Unknown - [link]
- Simone Driessen (2020) - Taylor Swift, political power, and the challenge of affect in popular music fandom - doi: 10.3983/twc.2020.1843 - [link]
- Simone Driessen (8 maart 2026) - Van cancel naar comeback: waarom krijgt Lil Kleine weer podium?
- Simone Driessen (28 februari 2026) - The Olympics and Politics Are More Intertwined Than Ever. Maybe That’s a Good Thing
- Simone Driessen (5 december 2025) - Keert Marco Borsato ooit terug op het podium? Ook bij vrijspraak is dat nog maar de vraag
- Simone Driessen (6 november 2025) - Blote borsten, seksuele mores: hoe team Borsato de aandacht wist af te leiden
- Simone Driessen (1 november 2025) - ‘Popvrouwen laten zich niet langer dicteren door mannelijke platenbazen’
- Simone Driessen (2 oktober 2025) - Taylor Swift laat fans diep in buidel tasten voor albums: 'Ze slaat door'
- Simone Driessen (5 september 2025) - Backstreet Boys bestaan 30 jaar: Nederlandse fans nog altijd dolenthousiast
- Simone Driessen (26 augustus 2025) - Waarom zijn fans zo gelukkig met de verloving van Taylor Swift? "Het is alsof hun grote zus gaat trouwen"
- Simone Driessen (7 augustus 2025) - Hoe Sydney Sweeney’s jeans/genes de VS verdelen
- Simone Driessen (13 mei 2025) - Wie wisten het allemaal? Dat is de grote vraag in misbruikzaak tegen rapper P. Diddy
- Simone Driessen (2026) - Fandom & Virality (Speaker)
Activiteit: Invited talk › Professional - Matteo Rinaldi, Freya De Keyzer, Simone Driessen & Julia Kneer (2025) - "Why do women steal away men’s joy?" – A qualitative visual-verbal video content analysis of manfluencers discourse on YouTube short content (Speaker)
Activiteit: Oral presentation › Academic - Matteo Rinaldi, Freya De Keyzer, Simone Driessen & Julia Kneer (2025) - Toxic Entertainment: a Trojan Horse for Toxicity (Speaker)
Activiteit: Oral presentation › Academic - Simone Driessen (2025) - Reactionary Fandoms (Speaker)
Activiteit: Invited talk › Academic - Simone Driessen (2024) - Roundtable Toxic Fans (Speaker)
Activiteit: Oral presentation › Academic - Simone Driessen (2024) - Cancelcultuur in de Media - juridische duiding (Advisor)
Activiteit: Consultancy › Professional - Charlotte Bruns, Simone Driessen & Jason Pridmore (2024) - Science speaks pop: leveraging popular culture for effective science communication (Speaker)
Activiteit: Oral presentation › Academic - Simone Driessen (2022) - Insights into music fandom across the life course (Speaker)
Activiteit: Invited talk › Academic - Simone Driessen (2022) - De relatie tussen fan en idool (Speaker)
Activiteit: Invited talk › Popular - Simone Driessen (2022) - Cancel Culture, how to deal with it? (Speaker)
Activiteit: Invited talk › Professional
- Simone Driessen (2025) - ESHCC Societal Impact Award
- Simone Driessen (2018) - ICA top paper award Popular Communication Division
- Simone Driessen (2014) - DAME: Dean’s Award for Multidisciplinary Excellence
Arts, Culture and Media
- Year Level
- BA-1, BA-1
- Year
- 2025
- Course Code
- CC1021
Internship
- Year Level
- BA-2, BA-2
- Year
- 2025
- Course Code
- CC2020
Cultural & Media Studies
- Year Level
- BA-2, BA-2, BA-3, BA-3
- Year
- 2025
- Course Code
- CC2051
Master Thesis Class ACS
- Level
- MA
- Year Level
- MA
- Year
- 2025
- Course Code
- CC4008
Master Thesis
- Level
- MA
- Year Level
- MA
- Year
- 2025
- Course Code
- CC4050
Master Thesis
- Level
- MA-2
- Year Level
- MA-2
- Year
- 2025
- Course Code
- CS5050
