Apologies for cross posting
CFP: Desecrating Celebrity, Fourth International Celebrity Studies Conference
Wednesday 27th June to Friday 29th June 2018, at Sapienza University of Rome.
Routledge, Celebrity Studies Journal, and Sapienza, University of Rome are pleased to announce the fourth International Celebrity Studies conference.
Keynote Speakers:
Lucy Bolton, Queen Mary, University of London
Misha Kavka, University of Auckland
Douglas Kellner, UCLA
Pramod K. Nayar, University of Hyderabad
Martin Shingler, University of Sunderland
Deadline for individual and panel abstracts: November 6th 2017
Desecrating Celebrity
Celebrity culture is the result of a twofold process – ‘celebritization’ (i.e. Boykoff and Goodman 2009) and ‘celebrification’ (Gamson 1994; Turner 2006) - connected to a mediascape that is defined by traditional mass media and, recently, by the internet. Within these mediascapes celebrities and micro-celebrities constantly emerge through online performances which are recognized by audiences as an expression of celebrity status. If we consider celebrity as a process, as a set of circulated strategies and practices (boyd, Marwick 2011) that build publicly, we have to reflect also on moments that remove celebrity from a place of value. Across cultures, degradation is the opposite to accreditation ceremonies (such as celebrification and celebritization), which are two social practices that involve a community’s shared values and specific social roles (Garfinkel, 1957).
In contemporary society, media rituals of recruitment and ‘celebrification’ can easily turn into rituals of degradation, marking significant movements in a person's social position. In other words, media constantly manages a complex and intensified representation, where the person’s status dynamics are constantly negotiated and evaluated by the people and the audience through their participation and everyday interactions. The role of the diffused audience (Abercrombie and Longhurst, 1998) is crucial: a degradation ritual without witnesses does not have a social impact. Widespread digital circulation of content on social media enlarges the audience and increases people’s engagement, resulting in a stronger effect of desecration.
We invite papers and panels that consider questions related to these processes: what happens when celebrities lose their own status? How can celebrities manage their status in the contemporary fluid media-scape? What role do media rituals have in building representations of both celebrification and degradation? What role does the audience play in desecrating a celebrity? What set of communicative practices may compose a degradation ceremony, transforming the social identity of the celebrity into another of a lower rank (such as an ordinary person)?
The conference welcomes submissions from a broad range of disciplines: from film and television to digital media studies; from reception and audience studies, sociology, psychology and anthropology, politics, history, economics, literary studies, philosophy and more. We invite abstracts for individual 20-minute papers or pre-constituted panels of 3 x 20-minute papers on any topic related to the conference theme.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Anti-fandom and 'haters'
Celebrities #fails
Celebrity and audience tolerance
Celebrity and religion, celebrity as religion
Celebrity assassinations
Celebrity beefs, feuds, and mud fights
Celebrity confessions
Celebrity justice
Committed celebrity
Celebrity meltdowns
Celebrity politicians
Celebrity reputation
Scandals and celebrity status
Celebrity rise, fall and rebirth in the mediascape
Celebrity, media and surveillance
Disingenuous and/or exposed celebrity
Exposing celebrity
Fallen sports heroes and celebrity culture
Famous frauds
Famous scapegoats
Fandom and the search for celebrity authenticity
Hapless and celebrity
Inequality and transgression in celebrity culture
Libel and slander
Marketers risks in celebrity scandals (celebrity's suitability to continue endorsing)
Media rituals and celebrity
Parasocial attachment to celebrities
Reality-TV and ordinary celebrity
Audience and affect
(In)sincerity and political celebrity
Gossip culture
Celebrity hoaxes
Illness and celebrity
Authenticating celebrity and gender, race, class, ethnicity
Marketing authenticity
Ridiculous celebrities
Sacrifice, crucification and public torture
Schadenfreude and celebrity envy
The phenomenology of fame
True fans/anti-fans
Sincerity and stardom
Trusting celebrity
Deadline for individual and panel abstracts: November 6th 2017
Submitted to: [log in to unmask]
Individual Abstracts to be: 250 words, plus a 50-word biography. Please indicate if PhD student.
3 Person Panel Abstracts: 150-word overview, plus 3x 250 word abstracts, and 3x 50-word biography, plus name of lead contact.
Colleagues will be notified of decisions by: January 8th 2018
There will be a small bursary prize for the best PhD abstract submitted (again notified on January 8th 2018)
Conference Website: https://celebritystudiesconference.com
All enquiries to: [log in to unmask]
On behalf of the organisation committee
Chair: Romana Andò
James Bennett
Hannah Hamad
Neil Ewen
Alessandro Saggioro
Andrea Minuz
Gaston Franssen
Sean Redmond
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Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.ScreenSite.org
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