[ecrea] Desecrating Celebrity, Fourth International Celebrity Studies Conference

*CFP: Desecrating Celebrity, Fourth International /Celebrity Studies/ 
Conference*

*Wednesday 27^th  June to Friday 29^th  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 6^th 2017_/*

*Desecrating Celebrity*

Celebrityculture 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 6^th 2017_*

**

*Submitted to: **(celebritystudies /at/ gmail.com)* 
<mailto:(celebritystudies /at/ gmail.com)>

**

*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 8^th 2018_*

There will be a small bursary prize for the best PhD abstract submitted 
(again notified on January 8^th 2018)

Conference Website: https://celebritystudiesconference.com 
<https://celebritystudiesconference.com/>

All enquiries to: *(celebritystudies /at/ gmail.com)* 
<mailto:(celebritystudies /at/ gmail.com)>

**

*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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