[Commlist] CfP: 5th International Celebrity Studies Conference: Celebrity Crises and Conflicts

5th International Celebrity Studies Conference: Celebrity Crises and 
Conflicts
July 1-3, 2024
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Routledge, Celebrity Studies Journal, and the University of Amsterdam 
are pleased to announce the
fifth Celebrity Studies conference. The conference will take place in 
Amsterdam, July 1st to 3rd, 2024.

The 5th International Celebrity Studies Conference will be themed 
‘Celebrity Crises and Conflicts’. This
subject will run through our plenaries and form a strand running 
throughout the conference.

Fame is fickle, as the saying goes, but in current times, celebrity 
appears to be more in crisis than
ever. The #MeToo movement has brought to light disturbing facts about 
the reality behind the
celebrity façade. The conspicuous consumption associated with stardom is 
attracting increasing
criticisms in an era of pandemic lockdown, austerity, and environmental 
crisis. Developments in
artificial intelligence are feeding an existential crisis of celebrity, 
too: is stardom now becoming a
post-human phenomenon? Additionally, geopolitical conflicts, as well as 
polarizing debates on class,
race and gender differences, have put stars under increased political 
pressures, and have resulted in
vicious attacks on – and by – celebrities. Finally, more and more public 
figures are opening up about
their mental health crises, raising awareness about the negative effects 
of fame – burn-out,
depression, anxiety, the impact of hate speech, fat-shaming, or 
performance pressure.

Together, these developments raise urgent questions about the current 
and past status of celebrity,
such as: what do celebrity crises and conflicts tell us about the 
social, political, economic, and
cultural dimensions of stardom? What can we learn about current, as well 
as historical, celebrity
crises and conflicts? What impacts do they have on the study of 
celebrity as an academic endeavor?

The conference welcomes submissions from a broad range of disciplines 
that generate new ways of
thinking and understanding celebrity: from film, television, literary, 
digital media, (art) history and
theatre studies through to psychology, sociology, politics, etc.

Keynote speakers will soon be announced on 
https://celebritystudiesconference.com/

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Contemporary celebrity crises and conflicts / historical celebrity 
crises and conflicts /
stardom and technological developments / virtual stardom / celebrity 
feuds / stardom and
mental health / political conflicts and celebrity / economic conflicts 
and celebrity / celebrity
divorces and break-ups / attacks on celebrities / legal conflicts and 
stardom / celebrity
scandals / celebrity and intersecting oppressions / stardom and sexism / 
disgraced
celebrities / conflicted celebrity / downsides of stardom / ‘cancel 
culture’ and celebrity /
celebrity and the ‘cultural wars’ / celebrity and 
generationality/inter-generational conflict /
celebrity deep fakes / celebrity and gamification / celebrity brand 
management / celebrity
and platformisation / fan conflicts and celebrity / fan wars / fandom 
and celebrity conflict /
celebrity and the pandemic / stars on lockdown / celebrity and 
industrial relations / celebrity
and unions / stardom and synthetic media / celebrity and political 
crises / celebrity and
climate crises / celebrity and war / celebrity and anti-fans / toxic 
fandom / destabilizing
definition of celebrity / excessive media interest / social impact of 
political celebrities /
weaponized celebrity / the conference team is open to other topics and 
themes, please get
in touch if you have questions about potential approaches or topics.

The conference committee invites proposals for :

• Individual 20-minute papers:
o 350 word abstract + 50-word biography in a single Word document

• Pre-constituted panels comprising 3 x 20 minute papers:
o 150-word overview + 3 x 350-word abstracts + 3 x 50-word bios + name 
of lead
contact and panel chair in a single Word document

• Masterclasses for Early Career Researchers (ERC) (advanced PhDs or 
early-stage postdocs):
sessions, moderated by members of the conference organization team, will 
include informal
discussion on work provided by the ERC and sharing of ideas in a safe 
and constructive
environment; feedback will be offered from keynote speakers and relevant 
senior
academics:
o Short outline of work (PhD thesis, chapter, project...) in progress: 
150-350 words +
50-word biography in a single Word document.

Please abide by the maximum word limits.

Stipends will be awarded to most promising abstract and best conference 
presentation by
postgraduate students. Please indicate on your abstract if you wish to 
be considered for these.

A special issue of the best papers from the conference will be published 
in Celebrity Studies Journal
in 2026

Deadline for all proposals: December 8th, 2023.

Successful abstracts will be notified by: December 22nd, 2023.

Enquiries/abstracts to: (celebritystudies /at/ gmail.com)

More information (on conference fees etc.): 
https://celebritystudiesconference.com/

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