Critical Studies of Stardom and Celebrity

3 credits

This course may be used to satisfy one of the four electives required within the Communication major. This course critically investigates how stardom and celebrity are conceived, constructed, performed, commodified, and circulated within historical and contemporary media landscapes. It will do so by mapping the paradoxical and contingent nature of fame, public and private selves, and the politics of the 'ordinary' social sphere against the 'extraordinary' world of celebrity culture. Drawing on literature and theories from the fields of media and cultural studies, critical theory, and visual culture alongside social-scientific case studies, students will interrogate the role of celebrity in social identity formation, its connection with networks of economic and political power, and its relation to emerging media practices and platforms. This course is restricted to fourth-year students in the Communication major.