Stardom, Celebrity and Fandom Conference

Kylo-Patrick Hart Announcement
Location
Texas, United States
Subject Fields
Film and Film History, Popular Culture Studies, Sociology, Contemporary History, Communication

We invite presentation proposals for the Stardom, Celebrity and Fandom Conference, to be held at Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas) November 10-11, 2017.

The conference organizers are seeking contributions that explore various realities associated with living in the limelight and/or admiring those who do, insightful analyses of individual stars and/or celebrities, and in-depth analyses of intriguing media offerings that examine and represent stardom, celebrity and/or fandom, during any historical era.

Given adequate participant interest and high-quality submissions, we are hoping to publish selected papers (with author’s permission) in a special collection of essays pertaining to the conference theme.

Participants are encouraged to interpret the conference theme quite broadly and innovatively. Possible topics may include (but are certainly not limited to) achieving fame, active vs. passive fan phenomena, addiction and destructive behaviors as coping mechanisms, authenticity, celebrity culture, challenges associated with continual media attention, cult of personality, dynamics of celebrity and stardom, falling from grace, gossip and innuendo, Hollywood’s Golden Age, the illusion of intimacy, instant celebrity status, fandom realities and pleasures, media (over)saturation, micro-celebrity, noteworthy stars and celebrities, scandals, social mobility and the American Dream, stalkers and other obsessive admirers, the studio system, television stardom, and trends in social media.

We encourage submissions from scholars, educators, and students at all levels, and from disciplines including art, communication, cultural studies, film and video studies, history, journalism, LGBTQ studies, media studies, music, political science, popular culture, sociology, television studies, and women’s studies, among others. Individual paper presentations will be limited to 25 minutes in length.

Please e-mail presentation proposals containing (a) a one-page abstract with complete contact information (name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and contact telephone number) and (b) a one-paragraph author biography to Professor Kylo-Patrick Hart (k.hart@tcu.edu) on or before Tuesday, August 1, 2017.

Decisions regarding the status of submitted proposals will be made and communicated as quickly as possible following the submission deadline, and certainly no later than August 15, 2017. For specific inquiries prior to submitting a proposal, please contact Dr. Hart at your convenience by e-mail (k.hart@tcu.edu).