A Modern renaissance: a thematic analysis of fan discourse on Dante Alighieri’s Inferno in r/Hozier

Abstract

The present thesis aims to study the phenomenon of pop culture driving a modern renaissance of classical culture by conducting a thematic analysis of fan discourse on the r/Hozier subreddit, a digital communication hub for fans of the Irish musical artist Hozier. The study aims to reveal how online fan communities contribute to the phenomenon and how analyzing the relevant discourse helps us understand it. The thesis includes an introduction, a literature review, an empirical study and a conclusion. The introduction provides background information on Hozier and his inspiration for the album Unreal Unearth (2023). The literature review introduces the academic literature on Hozier, fandom studies, and the social media platform Reddit. The empirical study covers the collection and pre-processing of data, as well as the thematic analysis of 27 posts and related comments in eight thematic subsections. The discussion of the findings and their implications is presented in a separate subsection. The conclusion summarises the main findings of the thesis and considers possibilities for further research. Key words: thematic analysis, Hozier, Reddit, fandom studies, Dante Alighieri, the Inferno