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[ecrea] Call for papers: Celebrity Philanthropy, edited book

Thu Mar 25 06:30:00 GMT 2010



Call for papers: Celebrity Philanthropy, edited book


Editors: Paul Allatson and Elaine Jeffreys
Affiliation: University of Technology, Sydney
Contact details: (Paul.Allatson /at/ uts.edu.au), (Elaine.Jeffreys /at/ uts.edu.au)


Abstract deadline: Potential contributors should send an abstract, maximum 200 words, with full contact details, to the editors named above by 1 May 2010.

Chapter deadline: 15 November 2010, maximum 8,000 words plus references.


Celebrity Philanthropy
Celebrity philanthropy and the study of the sociopolitical role and impact of the celebrity philanthropist are growing cultural phenomena. While the involvement of celebrities in philanthropic work and activism is neither a new nor recent phenomenon, many critics agree that celebrity philanthropy has expanded and evolved in western societies since the 1990s. This change is usually attributed to a combination of factors: the post-Cold War triumph of neoliberalism and the decline of socialism and the welfare state ideal; the failure of governments and politicians to resolve the structural inequalities of globalization; the spread of information technology; the growing dependence of an increasingly competitive non-profit sector on marketing, branding and public relations; and the pervasiveness of celebrity culture in everyday life.

Among critics, celebrity philanthropy is alternatively praised and criticized as a manifestation of the perceived benefits and downsides of advanced capitalism and western liberal democracy in action. It is lauded for popularizing humanitarian values and global citizenship, or condemned for affirming global capitalism and undermining philanthropyâ??s potentially transformative emphasis on the need for social change. While praise for celebrity philanthropy often overstates its capacity to transform society, much criticism of celebrity philanthropy dismisses celebrity as the epitome of all that is superficial and deplorable about contemporary life.

This edited volume on celebrity philanthropy seeks to move beyond blanket dismissals of celebrity philanthropy by approaching celebrity, philanthropy and international humanitarianism as related historical products of capitalism and the mass media. The volume aims to explore how celebrity politics, celebrity philanthropy, celebrity activism, and the individual motivations of celebrities and their fans for philanthropic engagement, can take very different forms.

The editors welcome case studies and typologies of celebrity philanthropy from across the world today that explore such issues as the links or tensions between celebrity philanthropy and activism, the theorization of celebrity politics and of celebrity philanthropy as a mode of cultural citizenship, and the role of fans in the operations of celebrity philanthropy. We particularly welcome studies of celebrity philanthropy in developing countries, both to provide a comparative framework for assessing the perceived benefits or otherwise of celebrity engagement in philanthropic activities, and to balance the western and Anglophone bias of existing studies.

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Nico Carpentier (Phd)
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Studies on Media and Culture (CeMeSO)
Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.56
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.36.84
Office: 5B.401a
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European Communication Research and Education Association
Web: http://www.ecrea.eu
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E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
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