[ecrea] CFP: Special Issue of Celebrity Studies on Reality TV Celebrity

Celebrity Studies Special Issue: The New Reality of Reality Television 
Celebrity Call for Papers


In the late 1990s and early 2000s, scholarship on celebrity culture 
expanded to incorporate the rising popularity of reality television 
celebrities. Much of this early work used Chris Rojek’s concept of the 
celetoid and Graeme Turner’s identification of the “mass production” of 
celebrity to explain the nature of short-lived fame gained from reality 
television. Other scholars acknowledged the reality celebrity as a 
unique and specific form of the celebrity image that subverted 
traditional notions of stardom by emphasizing the revelation of the 
private and “ordinary” self as the point of entry into the public eye 
(Mole, 2004; Holmes, 2005; Turner, 2010). While many early reality 
celebrities experienced only fleeting fame, the greater longevity of 
certain individuals and the enduring existence of reality celebrity as a 
category point to the continued relevance of reality television to 
contemporary celebrity culture.


This special issue of Celebrity Studies seeks to build upon the robust 
body of existing work on reality celebrity within television and 
celebrity studies in order to interrogate the contemporary state of the 
reality television celebrity. In particular, this special issue aims to 
address the impact of contemporary shifts within the media landscape 
that defines celebrity culture as well as trace related changes to the 
category of reality television celebrity.


We seek scholarly essays that explore these shifts from a variety of 
disciplinary and methodological approaches. Questions to be considered 
include, but are not limited to: How has the reality television 
celebrity changed in the second decade of the twenty-first century and 
what do such changes tell us about broader shifts within celebrity and 
media cultures? Is the reality celebrity still a distinct part of the 
celebrity industrial system? How do reality celebrities leverage their 
fame across extratextual media in an increasingly convergent media 
system? How does the reality celebrity function as a brand? In what ways 
does the contemporary reality television celebrity challenge or 
reinforce norms of cultural identity, particularly race, class, gender, 
and sexuality?

Potential topics for essays include, but are not limited to:

  *

    Specific contemporary reality television stars (e.g. the
    Kardashians, the Duggars)

  *

    The changing industrial landscape of reality television and its
    impact on celebrity (e.g. networks that rely

    on reality television brand, the decline of reality television as a
    genre)

  *

    The enduring and shifting celebrity status of earlier reality
    television celebrities (e.g. Lauren Conrad,

    Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Katie Price)

  *

    Aging reality stars and long-running franchises

  *

    Celebrity within the reality television franchise (e.g. the various
    incarnations of Love & Hip-Hop, The Real

    Housewives, The Bachelor/The Bachelorette etc.)

  *

    Celebrity within “talent”-driven reality series (e.g. The X Factor,
    Project Runway, Top Chef)

  *

    The re-circulation of reality celebrities across series (e.g.
    Dancing with the Stars, Marriage Boot Camp, Celebrity

    Apprentice, I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!)

  *

    Influence of other media on the fame of reality celebrity (i.e.
    social media, tabloids)

  *

    The expansion of the conception of “ordinary” celebrity beyond the
    traditional reality star (e.g. what

    does it mean to be “Instagram famous”?)

  *

    The reality television celebrity as a brand, extending beyond the
    scope of the show

  *

    Existing traditional celebrities using reality television to reclaim
    their brand/image

  *

    Masculinity and reality television celebrity (e.g. Duck Dynasty, The
    Bachelor)


    Interested authors should send an abstract of 500 words, 3-5
    sources, and a brief bio to Erin Meyers ((emeyers /at/ oakland.edu)) and
    Alice Leppert ((aleppert /at/ ursinus.edu)) by Dec. 1, 2016. Acceptance
    notices will be sent by Jan. 10, 2017, and full papers of 6000 to
    8000 words will be due June 15, 2017.



---------------
ECREA-Mailing list
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier and ECREA.
--
To subscribe, post or unsubscribe, please visit
http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
--
ECREA - European Communication Research and Education Association
Chauss�de Waterloo 1151, 1180 Uccle, Belgium
Email: (info /at/ ecrea.eu)
URL: http://www.ecrea.eu
---------------