First International Conference of Lifestyle Television: The Big Reveal: Style, Class and Industry Communication, Cultural and Media Studies Research Centre. University of Salford - 25th - 27th of April, 2007 Lifestyle television encompasses a range of themes including cookery, make-over shows, homes & gardens and design-oriented shows. But despite the rapid expansion of the genre over the last twenty years the area remains relatively under- explored by scholars. The significance of lifestyle television may lie in a number of factors such as the promotion of certain moral frameworks, or proposing alternative models of social identity. Such programming can reveal much about issues of class, taste and gender. Lifestyle television is peculiarly engaging because it can encourage individuals to see themselves as projects that must be carefully maintained and which can be transformed and managed through the guidance of lifestyle gurus and other types of expertise. The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars working in television studies, cultural studies and sociology with industry figures responsible for the many developments in the field. We welcome panels and proposals for papers that investigate gender, class and identity as well as those which theorise the relationship between the moral-pedagogical tenets of lifestyle television and their varied audiences. Possible topics for consideration might include, but are not limited to, the following: Lifestyle TV histories Feminism and femininity Class and taste Cosmetic surgery and body politics Consumer culture Celebrity and lifestyle Self and identity Queer theory and lifestyle Domesticity Lifestyle gurus Models of Masculinity Please send 300-word abstracts or panel proposals by November 30th 2006 to [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask] ‘The Big Reveal’ Lifestyle Conference School of Media, Music and Performance University of Salford Adelphi Campus Salford M3 6EQ United Kingdom T: +44 0161 2956060/2956044 W: www.ccm.salford.ac.uk ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.ScreenSite.org