The Cultural Politics of Celebrity

Various publications are planned for work presented at the conference. The initial call is for papers related to a special edition of the international, refereed journal Cultural Politics (published by Berg). If you would like your paper to be considered for publication, please ensure that you submit your full manuscript by 30 September, 2005 (revised schedule). If your paper does not fit into this special, themed issue on 'The Cultural Politics of Celebrity', then it will also be considered for an edited book volume with a leading academic publisher.

The special edition of the international, refereed journal Cultural Politics published by Berg will be guest edited by Dr Philip Drake and Dr Andy Miah (about the editors). The title of the volume will be 'The Cultural Politics of Celebrity' and the general editors for the journal are Douglas Kellner, John Armitage and Ryan Bishop (for full editorial board).If you would like to ensure your paper fits with the journal mission, please visit its website and note the advice below:

This special edition aims to develop and extend work on the cultural politics of celebrity and stardom, and to examine the role of celebrity in contemporary cultural life. Questions that might be addressed and of interest to this edition:

• Can we explain cultural politics through celebrity?
• To what extent is the political now mediated through celebrities and celebrity discourse?
• What function do celebrities perform in contemporary societies?
• How does celebrity status contribute to the understanding and relevance of politics and the political?
• What is the changing role of celebrity in the early 21st Century and is it similar to/different from earlier periods?

The proposed edition will aim to build upon existing work in the study of film stardom, television personalities, popular music stars and sports heroes. The focus on the journal is on the intersection between the political and the celebrity, and we particularly welcome submissions in the following areas:

• Definitions of stardom and celebrity: celebrity as a socio-economic/political construct
• Critical analysis: Celebrity-making industries, television’s ‘personality’ system, celebrity versus hero, role models
• Case studies: cinema, sport, music, television, politics, science, academics, monarchy
• Public and private spheres: impact of celebrity culture on political discourse/ influence of media on political culture and its involvement in the construction of politicians as personalities
• Star/Celebrity/Personality systems and their relationship to different media.
• The political economy of celebrity: (how) are celebrities made?
• Intimacy at a distance: Media stars as “friends”
• Celebrity politics and the demise of the public sphere
• Celebrity privacy and scandal
• Media pundits and ‘experts’ as celebrities
• The politics of academic celebrity
• Monarchy and celebrity
• Sports stars as role models/heroes/brands
• Celebrity journalism and interviewers

Examples considered may range across the cultural industries, including film, sport, television and popular music, as well as political celebrity, literary celebrity and biography and monarchy.

Publication Schedule /

Papers: 30 September 2005 (revised date)
Final Submission: 30 November 2005
Publication: Expected November, 2006

NB: For authors interested in having their paper considered for this volume, please make this explicit on your submission. However, please not that we have extendef the submission deadline for the full manuscript to 30 September. At this point, papers will be reviewed by Drs Drake and Miah, before they are considered for peer-review.