Ours is the age of celebrity. An inescapable aspect of daily life in our media-saturated societies of the twenty-first century, celebrity is celebrated for its infinite plasticity and glossy seductions. But there is also a darker side. Celebrity culture is littered from end to end with addictions, pathologies, neuroses, even suicides. Why, as a society, are we held in thrall to celebrity? What is the power of celebrity in a world of increasing consumerism, individualism and globalization?
Routledge Handbook of Celebrity Studies, edited by acclaimed social theorist Anthony Elliott, offers a remarkably clear overview of the analysis of celebrity in the social sciences and humanities, and in so doing seeks to develop a new agenda for celebrity studies. The key theories of celebrity, ranging from classical sociological accounts to critical theory, and from media studies to postmodern approaches, are drawn together and critically appraised. There are substantive chapters looking at fame, renown and celebrity in terms of the media industries, pop music, the makeover industries, soap stars, fans and fandom as well as the rise of non-Western forms of celebrity. The Handbook also explores in detail the institutional aspects of celebrity, and especially new forms of mediated action and interaction. From Web 3.0 to social media, the culture of celebrity is fast redefining the public political sphere.
Throughout this volume, there is a strong emphasis on interdisciplinarity with chapters covering sociology, cultural studies, psychology, politics and history. Written in a clear and direct style, this handbook will appeal to a wide undergraduate audience. The extensive references and sources will direct students to areas of further study.
Part I: Theories and Concepts of Celebrity 1. Celebrity and Contemporary Culture: A Critical Analysis of Some Theoretical Accounts, Anthony Elliott and Ross Boyd 2. Celebrity’s Histories, Robert van Krieken 3. Celebrity in the Contemporary Era, Hannah Hamad 4. Postmodern Theories of Celebrity, Lee Barron 5. Cultural Studies and the Politics of Celebrity: From Powerless Elite to Celebristardom, Barry King 6. Celebrity and Religion, Kathryn Lofton Part II: The Culture of Celebrity 7. The Death of Celebrity: Global Grief, Manufactured Mourning, Anthony Elliott 8. Soap Stars, C. Lee Harrington 9. Celebrity, Fans and Fandom, Nick Stevenson 10. Celebrity in the Social Media Age: Renegotiating the Public and the Private, Anne Jerslev and Mette Mortensen Part III: Non-Western Celebrity 11. Victims, Bollywood and the Construction of a Cele-meme, Pramod K. Nayar 12. K-pop Idols, Artificial Beauty and Affective Fan Relationships in South Korea, Joanna Elfving-Hwang 13. ‘Idols’ in Japan, Asia and the World, Patrick W. Galbraith 14. Celebrity and Power in South America, Nahuel Ribke 15 Celebrity Philanthropy in China: Rethinking Cultural Studies’ ‘Big Citizen’ Critique, Elaine Jeffreys Part IV: The Conduits of Celebrity 16. Celebrity in the Age of Global Communication Networks, Olivier Driessens 17. Celebrity Involvement: Parasocial Interaction, Identification and Worship, William J. Brown 18. Celebrity, Reputational Capital and the Media Industries, Philip Drake 19. Human Rights, Democracy and Celebrity, Mark Wheeler 20. Drastic Plastic: Identity in The Age of Makeover, Anthony Elliott 21. The Great Gomez: John Astin in Conversation with Anthony Elliott
Biography
Anthony Elliott is Executive Director of the Hawke EU Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the University of South Australia, where he is Research Professor of Sociology and Chancellery Dean of External Engagement. He is Super-Global Professor of Sociology (Visiting) at Keio University, Japan, and Visiting Professor of Sociology at UCD, Ireland. Professor Elliott studied at the Universities of Melbourne and Cambridge, where he was supervised by Lord Anthony Giddens. He was previously Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK and was Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Flinders University, Australia. Professor Elliott is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, a Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, and a member of King’s College, Cambridge. He is the author and editor of some 40 books, which have been translated or are forthcoming in 17 languages. His recent books include Identity (4 volumes), Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction, The New Individualism (with Charles Lemert), Mobile Lives (with John Urry), On Society (with Bryan S. Turner), Reinvention, Identity Troubles, and The Culture of AI. He is best known for Concepts of the Self, which has been in continuous print for 20 years and across three editions.
