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 philanthropy'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 philanthrophy 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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Dr Paul Allatson
Head of International Studies Program,
Senior Lecturer in (US) Latino Studies & Spanish Studies,
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
University of Technology Sydney,
PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia.
email: <mailto:(Paul.Allatson /at/ uts.edu.au)>(Paul.Allatson /at/ uts.edu.au)
tel: 61-2-95142104; fax: 61-2-95141578;
webpage:
<http://datasearch2.uts.edu.au/fass/staff/listing/details.cfm?StaffId=2441>http://datasearch2.uts.edu.au/fass/staff/listing/details.cfm?StaffId=2441
Member Transforming Cultures Research Centre
Founding editor and Chair editorial committee: PORTAL Journal of
Multidisciplinary International Studies:
<http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/portal>http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/portal
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