Module Code 2013
Theorising Celebrity
Module Booklet for 2010 – 11
_____________________________________________
For student completion:
Day
Room
Time
1
Module detail
Credits
Module leader
Assessment
Assessment Dates
20
Milly Williamson Room, 101 Gaskell Building
Email: Milly.Williamson@brunel.ac.uk
Method
Proportion of marks
1)1500 word analysis
40%
2) 3000 word essay
60%
1) Analysis: Friday 24, February 2012
2) Essay: Monday 2 April, 2012
Access to support material
Support material is provided electronically via the University’s u-Link system.
You can gain access to the u-Link system via the following web page:
 http://www.brunel.ac.uk/intranets/weblearn/
Introduction/aims/background
The aim of this module is to:
•
To provide an understanding of the historical social and cultural
conditions which have contributed to the emergence of celebrity.
•
To examine the economic context for the production of celebrity within
the cultural industries.
•
To consider the significant academic theories and debates about the
role and function of celebrity in modern mass media dominated
societies.
•
To examine the social, cultural and economic meanings of a range of
historical and contemporary celebrities.
Celebrity culture is a prominent feature of modern mass mediated society. We
seem to be surrounded by more celebrity figures than ever before and the
treatment by the media of well-known individuals from all walks of life
increasingly takes on the representational patterns and discursive repertoires
associated with celebrity. Figures from the world of politics, sport, and even
some well-known academics are represented in ways usually connected with
films stars and entertainment celebrities. Also, with the rise of reality TV
shows such as Big Brother, there is the emergence of the ‘average person’ as
celebrity, who, for a short period, is famous not because of their
extraordinariness, but on the contrary because of their ordinariness.
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This module will unpack the phenomenon of celebrity and will focus on
the main academic approaches to celebrity. We will examine the phenomenon
of celebrity as the outcome of specific historical and contemporary social and
cultural processes. We will ask: what is a celebrity? Is celebrity culture a
product of the commodification of the individual? Or is it the outcome of the
breakdown of old forms of social organisation and community? What is the
social function of celebrity? How can we understand the paradox at the heart
of celebrity discourses that pose the idea of the celebrity as a uniquely gifted
individual and that insist that anyone can achieve fame?
The sites for the consumption of celebrity are also on the increase, with
the emergence of magazines, websites, television shows and newspapers
that are entirely dedicated to celebrities. Meanwhile, the traditional machinery
for the production, promotion, marketing and distribution of celebrity is also
expanding. In this sense, celebrity culture can also be understood as an
industry. In this module we will analyse the production processes and the
economic functioning of the celebrity industry. We will also consider the way
that celebrity is consumed by examining specific celebrities and their
audiences.
Learning outcomes
There are learning outcomes that you must achieve in order to be awarded
the credits for this module. These learning outcomes are listed below:
By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate a
critical understanding of the relationship between modernity, the
development of the mass media, and the rise of celebrity culture;

By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate an
understanding of the complex relationship between the production of
media celebrities and their reception by diverse audiences.

By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate the
ability to summarize and evaluate a range of key theories relating to
the history and development of ‘celebrity’ both as a concept and as a
social practice;

By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate the
ability to critically evaluate the production of celebrity images and
values.
3
Method of teaching
Lectures, seminars, screenings. Please note that no timetabling details can
be given at this stage.
4
Teaching Programme
Research Weeks for 2012 will be as follows:-
Teaching Programme
This module runs in term two.
TERM 2
Modernity and the mass media:
the emergence of celebrity.
16
09/01/2012
to
13/01/2012
Celebrity, stardom and history: the
changing social meanings of fame.
17
16/01/2012
to
20/01/2012
Producing Celebrity: the
economics of the industry of
celebrity.
18
23/01/2012
to
27/01/2012
19
30/01/2012
to
03/02/2012
20
06/02/2012
to
10/02/2012
21
13/02/2012
to
17/02/2012
22
20/02/2012
to
24/02/2012
23
27/02/2012
to
02/03/2012
The press, publishing and celebrity
culture: a case of tabloidization?
Celebrity and Cultural Values.
ASK/RESEARCH WEEK –
NO TEACHING
Gender and Celebrity
First assessment DUE
Youth, cult, and celebrity culture.
Common Celebrity.
24
05/03/2012
to
09/03/2012
25
12/03/2012
to
16/03/2012
26
19/03/2012
to
23/03/2012
27
26/03/2012
to
30/03/2012
Star Gazing: celebrities, audiences
and consumption
Celebrity in the era of
Convergence Media.
Independent preparation for essay
and tutorials
Assessment
1)1500 – 2000 word analysis:
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The event or ‘pseudo-event’ has always been important to celebrity culture. In
1910 Carl Laemmle produced the first celebrity ‘pseudo-event’ when he
published a denial of the rumour that his leading lady, Florence Lawrence,
had been killed in a tram car accident in St Louis. Of course, Laemmle himself
started the rumour. He then invited the press to come to a press conference in
St Louis with Miss Lawrence to prove that she was a live and well.
For this assessment you must produce a written analysis of a recent
celebrity event or ‘pseudo-event’. You must examine how the event was
constructed by publicity agents and/or the media and you must explain the
event with reference to at least one relevant academic theory. You may
choose your own event, but you must confirm it with me first.
2) 2500 – 3000 word essay:
Please choose one question from the list below:
1. Choose two films. Compare the way these films construct the dilemmas of
fame. Refer to at least two academic sources in your answer.
2. Do celebrities contribute to the ‘myth of success’? Refer to at least two
academic sources in your answer.
3. Why is the existence of a modern mass media considered to be
fundamental to the rise and expansion of celebrity culture? Refer to at least
two academic sources in your answer.
4. Assess the view that celebrities construct ‘para-social’ interaction for young
consumers. Present arguments for and against this view. Draw on at least two
academic sources in your answer and use examples.
5. Is celebrity culture part of a social hierarchy? Refer to at least two
academic sources in your answer and provide examples.
6. Is celebrity a form of cultural capital? Draw on at least two academic
sources in your answer and provide examples.
7. In what ways can a celebrity be seen as a commodity? Refer to academic
sources in your answer and provide examples.
8. Critically examine the process by which a celebrity is constructed. Refer to
at least two academic sources in your answer and provide a celebrity
example.
How the assessment relates to the learning outcomes

Assessment One, 1500 – 2000 word analysis: this assessment
particularly asks you to focus on the learning outcomes where you can
‘demonstrate an understanding of the complex relationship between
the production of media celebrities and their reception by diverse
audiences’ and your ‘ability to critically evaluate the production of
celebrity images and values’.
6

Assessment Two, 2500 – 3000 word essay: all essay questions will be
expected to provide a discussion of the appropriate context and
summarise the relevant theories. This relates to the two remaining
learning outcomes: ‘demonstrate a critical understanding of the
relationship between modernity, the development of the mass media,
and the rise of celebrity culture’ and ‘demonstrate the ability to
summarize and evaluate a range of key theories relating to the history
and development of ‘celebrity’ both as a concept and as a social
practice’.
Key Texts
Excerpts of many of the set readings can be found in:
Marshall, P. D. (ed.) (2006) The Celebrity Culture Reader, London: Routledge
Redmond, S. and S. Holmes (eds.) (2007) Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader,
London: Sage.
For useful overviews and summaries:
Turner, G. (2004) Understanding Celebrity, London: Sage.
Evans, J. and D. Hesmondhalgh (eds.) (2005) Understanding Media: Inside
Celebrity, Open University Press.
______________________________________________________________
Weekly Schedule
Week 16 Session One: Modernity and the mass media: the emergence of
celebrity.
This lecture will examine the historical roots of celebrity culture. We will
explore the differing accounts of its emergence and consider the twin contexts
of the rise of bourgeois democracy and the mass media.
Screening: Life of Brian (1979 Terry Jones)
Set Reading:
Richard de Cordova (1990) ‘Chapter Two: The Emergence of the Star
System’ in Picture Personalities: The emergence of the star system in
America, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
This has been reproduced in:
Sean Redmond and Su Holmes (eds.) (2007) Stardom and Celebrity: A
Reader, Chapter 11, pgs. 132 – 141 and in (1991) Gledhill, C. (ed.) Stardom:
the Industry of Desire, London: Routledge, and Marshall, P. D. (ed.) (2006)
The Celebrity Culture Reader, London: Routledge.
Further Reading:
Robert C. Allen (1980) Vaudeville in Film, 1895 – 1915, New York: Arnos
Press.
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Charles Ponce de Leon (2002) Self Exposure: human interest journalism and
the emergence of celebrity in America 1890 – 1940, Chapel Hill and New
York: The University of North Carolina Press.
Alexander Walker (1970) Stardom: The Hollywood Phenomenon, New York:
Stein and Day.
Adorno, T. (Crook, S. ed.) (1994) Adorno: Stars Down to Earth and Other
Essays on the Irrational in Culture, London: Routledge.
Babington, B. (2001) British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to Sean
Connery, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Braudy, L (1986) The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and its History, New
York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dyer, R. (2004) Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, London: Routledge,
Second Edition, (first edition published in 1986), ‘Introduction’.
Gledhill, C. (ed.) (1991) Stardom: the Industry of Desire, London: Routledge
Giles, D. (2000) Illusions of Immortality: a psychology of fame and celebrity,
London: MacMillan, Chapter Two, pp. 12 – 32.
Foulkes, N. (2003) Scandalous Society: Passion and Celebrity in the
Nineteenth Century, London: Abacus.
Marshall, P. D. (1997) ‘Tracing the Meaning of the Public Individual’ in
Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture, Minneapolis/ London:
University of Minnesota Press, pp. 3 – 26.
Schickel, R (1985) Common Fame: the Culture of Celebrity, London: Pavilion,
Chapter Two pp. 23 – 64 and Chapter Seven, 255 - 285.
Turner, G (2004) Understanding Celebrity, London: Sage (chapter one).
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Week 17 Session Two: Celebrity, stardom and history: the changing
social meanings of fame.
There is considerable debate over the cultural politics of celebrity. For some
celebrity has represented a democratisation of the public sphere and an
expansion of democratic participation. For others, celebrity is a sign of the
persistence of hierarchy and social exclusion. This lecture will examine this
debate across the 20th and into the 21st century.
Screening: The Truman Show
Set Reading:
Rojek, C (2001) Celebrity, London: Reaktion, Chapter One, pp. 9 – 49.
Alberoni, F (orig. 1963) ‘The Powerless Elite: Theory and Sociological
Research on the Phenomenon of Stars’, in Sean Redmond and Su Holmes
(eds.) (2004) Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader, London: Sage.
Nick Couldry (2001) ‘The Hidden Injuries of Media Power’, Journal of
Consumer Culture, Vol 1 (2), 155 – 177. This article is available on the
module u-link pages.
Further Reading:
Adorno, T. And M. Horkheimer (orig. 1963/69) ‘The Culture Industry’ in Sean
Redmond and Su Holmes (eds.) (2007) Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader,
London: Sage.
Austin, T. and Barker, M. (Eds.) (2001) Contemporary Hollywood Stardom,
London: Arnold.
Boorstin, D. (1971) The Image: a guide to pseudo-events in America, New
York: Atheneum.
Braudy, L (1986) The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and its History, New
York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Corner, J. And D. Pels (2003) Media and the Restyling of Politics, London:
Sage.
Couldry, N. (2003) Media Rituals: A Critical Approach, London: Routledge.
Dyer R. (1998 [1979]) Stars, London: BFI, ‘Introduction’.
Dyer, R. (2004) Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, London: Routledge,
Second Edition, (first edition published in 1986), ‘Introduction’.
Evans, J. (2005) ‘Celebrity, Media and History’ in Evans, J. And D.
Hesmondhalgh, (eds.) Understanding Media: Inside Celebrity, Open
University Press, pp. 11 – 56.
Gledhill, C. (ed.) (1991) Stardom: the Industry of Desire, London: Routledge
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Giles, D. (2000) Illusions of Immortality: a psychology of fame and celebrity,
London: MacMillan, Chapter Two, pp. 12 – 32.
Turner, G (2004) Understanding Celebrity, London: Sage (chapter five).
Turner, G., Bonner, F., & Marshall, P.D. (2000) Fame Games: The Production
of Celebrity in Australia, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Wilson, E. (2000) Bohemians: The Glamorous Outcasts, London: I.B. Tauris.
Week 18 Session Three: Producing Celebrity: the economics of the
industry of celebrity.
This lecture considers the view that the celebrity is a commodity within the
cultural industries. We will examine the role of celebrity in the economic
activities of these industries and we will also consider how the celebrity is
‘produced’. Finally, we will examine the impact of globalisation on the
production of celebrity.
Screening: A Star is Born
Set Reading:
Hesmondhalgh, D. (2005) ‘Producing Celebrity’ in Evans, J. and D.
Hesmondhalgh (eds.) Understanding Media: Inside Celebrity, Open University
Press, pp. 97 – 134.
Gamson, J (1994) ‘The Organization of Industrialized Production’ in Claims to
Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America, Berkeley/ LA/ London: University
of California Press, pp. 59 – 78.
Further Reading
Turner, G. (2004) ‘Chapter Two: The economy of celebrity’ in Understanding
Celebrity, London: Sage, pp. 31 – 51.
Cashmore, E. (2006) ‘Chapter Four: Fabricating Fame’ in Celebrity Culture,
London: Routledge.
Gabler, N. (1998) Life in the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality,
New York: Knopf.
Holt, J. (2004) ‘In deregulation we trust: the synergy of politics and industry in
Regan-era Hollywood’, in Schatz, T. (ed.) (2004) Hollywood, Critical Concepts
in Media and Cultural Studies, London: Routledge, Vol. III, Part Nine, pp. 330
– 342.
Klein, N. (2001) No Logo, London: Flamingo.
Lacey, J. (2003) ‘”A Galaxy of Stars to Guarantee Ratings”: Made-fortelevision Movies and the Female Star System’, in Austin, T., and Barker, M.
(eds.) Contemporary Hollywood Stardom, London: Arnold, pp. 187 – 198.
Marshall, P. D. (1997) ‘The System of Celebrity’ in Celebrity and Power: Fame
in Contemporary Culture, Minneapolis/ London: University of Minnesota
Press, pp. 185 – 202.
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McDonald, P (2000) The Star System: Hollywood’s production of popular
identity, London: Wallflower.
McCracken, G. (2005) ‘Who is the Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations
of the Endorsement Process’, in Culture and Consumption II: Markets,
Meaning, and Brand Management, Bloomington/ Indianapolis: Indiana
University Press, pp. 97 – 188.
Schatz, T. (ed.) (2004) Hollywood, Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural
Studies, London: Routledge, Vol. II, part 6 (‘The Star System and Star
Studies’, pp. 147 – 249.)
Schickel, R (1985) Common Fame: the Culture of Celebrity, London: Pavilion,
Chapter Five, pp. 134 – 208.
Turner, G., Bonner, F., & Marshall, P.D. (2000) Fame Games: The Production
of Celebrity in Australia, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Wernick, A. (1991) Promotional Culture: Advertising, Ideology and Symbolic
Expression, London: Sage.
Week 19 Session Four: The press, publishing and celebrity culture: a
case of tabloidization?
This lecture will explore the idea that celebrity culture is invading all aspects of
public life. We will examine the view that tabloids handle public figures as
celebrities and will consider the view that ‘serious’ news and television is
being replaced by an entertainment approach to politics. Finally, we will
consider the impact of the tabloid concentration on celebrities on citizenship
and the public sphere.
No Screening: mini project – the press and pseudo events
Set Reading
Franklin, B. (1997) ‘Newszak: Regulation Excesses – Keeping it Bright, Light
and Trite, Regulating the Tabloid Press in Newzak and the News Media,
London: Edward Arnold.
This has been republished in Biressi, A. And H. Nunn (2008) The Tabloid
Culture Reader, Open University Press, pp. 13 – 22.
Corner, J. (2003) ‘Mediated Persona and Political Culture’ in Corner, J. And
D. Pels (2003) Media and the Restyling of Politics, London: Sage.
Further Reading:
Conboy, M. (2002) The Press and Popular Culture, London: Sage.
Couldry, N. (2003) Media Rituals: A Critical Approach, London/ New York:
Routledge.
Dovey, J. (2000) Freakshow: First Person Media and Factual Television,
London: Pluto.
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Gamson, J. (1994) Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America,
Berkeley: University of California Press.
Hartley, J. (1996) Popular Reality: Journalism, Modernity, Popular Culture,
London: Edward Arnold.
Langer, J. (1998) Tabloid Television: Popular Television and the ‘Other’
News, London: Routledge.
Lumby, C. (1999) Gotcha: Life in a Tabloid World, Sydney/ London: Allen
Unwin.
Muir, K (2005) ‘Media Darlings and Falling Stars: celebrity and the reporting of
political leaders’, Westminster Papers in Communication, Vol. 2 (2), pp. 54 –
71. Available on-line.
Pels, D. (2003) ‘Aesthetic Representation and Political Style: Re-balancing
identity in media democracy’ in Corner, J. And D. Pels (2003) Media and the
Restyling of Politics, London: Sage.
Ponce de Leon, C. (2002) ‘The Rise of Celebrity Journalism’ in SelfExposure: Human Interest Journalism and the Emergence of Celebrity in
America 1890 – 1940, Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, pp.
42 – 75.
Scammel, M. (2003) ‘Citizen Consumers: Toward a new marketing of
politics?’, in Corner, J. And D. Pels (2003) Media and the Restyling of Politics,
London: Sage.
Street, J. (2003) ‘The Celebrity Politician: political style and popular culture’, in
Corner, J. And D. Pels (2003) Media and the Restyling of Politics, London:
Sage.
Turner, G. (1999) ‘Tabloidisation, journalism and the possibility of critique’,
International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2: 1, pp. 59 – 67.
Week 20 Session Five: Celebrity and Cultural Values.
In this lecture we will examine the different ways that the social and cultural
meanings of celebrities have been understood. We will be looking at Richard
Dyer’s original approach to the social meanings of fame and considering more
recent ideas about the cultural values and functions of celebrity.
Screening: Hannah Montana
Set Reading:
Weber, M. (2004 [1922]) ‘The Nature of Charismatic Domination’ in Sean
Redmond and Su Holmes (eds.) Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader, London:
Sage pp. 17 - 34. Originally published in German in 1922. Translated by
Talcott Parsons in (1947) Theory of Social and Economic Organisation.
Dyer (1998 [1979]) Stars, Second Edition, pages 46 – 53. Here Dyer applies
Weber to the phenomena of stardom.
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Rojek, (2001) Celebrity, London: Reaktion, chapter two.
Further Reading:
Beltán, M. (2004) ‘The Hollywood Latina Body as a Site of Social Struggle:
Media constructions of stardom and Jennifer Lopez’s “cross-over butt”’, in
Sean Redmond and Su Holmes (eds.) Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader,
London: Sage.
Bonner, F. (2005) ‘The Celebrity in the Text’ in Evans, J. And D.
Hesmondhalgh, (eds.) Understanding Media: Inside Celebrity, Open
University Press.
Conboy, M. (2006) Celebrity and National Community, in Tabloid Britain,
London: Routledge, pp. 185 – 206.
Couldry, N. (2000) Media Rituals: A critical approach, London: Routledge.
Dyer, R. (2004 [1986]) Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, London:
Routledge, Second Edition, (particularly the Introduction).
Frow, J. (1998) ‘Is Elvis a God? Cult, culture, questions of method’,
International Journal of Cultural Studies, 1: 2, pp. 197 – 210.
Holmes, S. (2004) ‘”Off-guard, unkempt and unready?”: Deconstructing
contemporary celebrity in Heat magazine’, Television and New Media, Vol.
5(2), pp. 147 - 172. Republished in Biressi, A. And H. Nunn (2008) The
Tabloid Culture Reader, Open University Press, pp. 163 – 176.
McDonald, P. (1998) ‘Stars and History’ in Dyer, R., Stars, London: BFI. This
is a supplementary chapter to the original 1979 edition of Stars which offers a
succinct and useful contextualisation of the changes in emphasis in the study
of stars.
Marshall, P. D. (1997) ‘Tracing the Meaning of the Public Individual’ in
Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture, Minneapolis/ London:
University of Minnesota Press, pp. 3 – 26.
Turner, G. (2004) ‘Chapter Five: The cultural function of celebrity’ in Celebrity,
London: Sage.
Schickel, R (1985) Common Fame: the Culture of Celebrity, London: Pavilion,
Chapter Two pp. 23 – 64 and Chapter Seven, 255 - 285.
Shickel, R (2000) Intimate Strangers: The Culture of Celebrity in America,
Chicago: Ivan R. Dee.
Simons, J (2003) ‘Popular Culture and Mediated Politics: intellectuals, elites
and democracy, in in Corner, J. and D. Pels (2003) Media and the Restyling
of Politics, London: Sage.
Wilson, E. (1997) ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Diana’, New Left Review, Vol.
I (226)
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Week 21 Reading Week ASK Week No classes
Week 22 Session Six: Gender and Celebrity.
For many feminist scholars, the denigration of female pleasure in celebrity
culture is part of a gendered cultural hierarchy. They seek to redress the
balance by examining what is of value in female engagements with popular
culture. This view is exemplified in the article by van Zoonen. More recently,
feminists have suggested that there is a misogynistic quality to popular
representations of female celebrities which contributes to the overall
denigration of women. This lecture will explore these differing perspectives on
gender and celebrity.
Screening: TBA
Set Reading:
Negra, D and S. Holmes (eds.) (2008) ‘Going Cheap? Female Celebrity in
Reality, Tabloid and Scandal Genres: Special Edition’, Genders, Issue 48.
This is an on-line journal that can be accessed for free at
http://www.genders.org/. You must read the introduction. Please read any
further articles that interest you.
Van Zoonen, L (2006) ‘The Personal, the Political and the Popular: a woman’s
guide to celebrity politics, Cultural Studies, Vol. 9(3), pp. 287 – 301. This
journal article will be available on U-link.
Further Reading:
Ehrenreich, B., Hess, E. and Jacobs, G. (1992) ‘Beatlemania: Girls Just Want
to Have Fun’ in L. Lewis, The Adoring Audience, Fan Culture and Popular
Media, London and New York: Routledge.
Gever, M. (2003) Entertaining Lesbians: Celebrity, Sexuality, and SelfInvention, London: Routledge.
Gledhill, C. (ed.) (1991) Stardom: Industry of Desire, London: Routledge.
Hopkins, S. (2002) Girl Heroes: The New Force in Popular Culture, London:
Pluto.
Lumby, C. (1997) Bad Girls: The Media, Sex and Feminism in the 90’s,
Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Lumby, C. (2007) ‘Doing it for themselves? Teenage girls, sexuality and fame’
in Sean Redmond and Su Holmes (eds.) Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader,
London: Sage.
Shattuc, J.M. (1997) The Talking Cure: TV Talks Shows and Women, New
York: Routledge.
Stacey, J. (1994) ‘With Stars in Their Eyes: Female Spectators and the
Paradoxes of Consumption’ in Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female
Spectatorship, London: Routledge, pp. 179 – 223.
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Van Zoonen (2003) ‘“After Dallas and Dynasty we have ... democracy”:
Articulating Soap, Politics and Gender’, in Corner, J. And D. Pels Media and
the Restyling of Politics, London: Sage.
Whannel, G. (2002) Media Sports Stars: Masculinities and Moralities, London:
Routledge
Week 23 Session Seven: Youth, cult, and celebrity culture.
What is the appeal of ‘outsiderdom’ for fans of cult celebrities? How do the
culture industries track the mobile attachments of youth culture? How do
underground and cult celebrities produce social meaning and cultural value?
These questions will be explored in this week’s lecture.
Screening: Privilege (1967, Peter Watkins)
Set Reading:
Hill, M. & Williams, R. (2005) ‘It’s all my interpretation’: reading Spike through
the subcultural celebrity of James Masters’, Amy-Chinn, D. & Williamson, M.
(2005) The European Journal of Cultural Studies, special edition, Vol. 8, No.
3, August, pp. 345 – 366.
Wee, Valerie (2004) ‘Selling Teen Culture: How American Multimedia
Conglomerate Reshaped Teen Television in the 1990’s in Glyn Davis and Kay
Dickenson (eds)Teen TV: Genre, Consumption and Identity, , London: BFI
Barbas, S. (2001) ‘the Movie Star Fan Club’ in Movie Crazy: fans, stars and
the cult of celebrity, New York: Palgrave, pp. 109 – 134.
Further Reading:
Bennett, A. and Kahn-Harris, K. (eds.) (2004) After Subculture: critical studies
in contemporary youth culture, London: Routledge.
Dickenson, K (2004) ‘”My Generation”: popular music, Age and Influence in
Teen Drama of the 1990s in Glyn Davis and Kay Dickenson (eds.)Teen TV:
Genre, Consumption and Identity, London: BFI
Dyer, R. (1998) ‘Alternative or Subversive Types’ in Stars, London BFI, pp. 52
– 59.
Duncombe, S. (1997) Notes from the Underground: zines and the politics of
alternative culture, London and New York: Verso.
Fiske J. (1992) ‘The Cultural Economy of Fandom’ in L. Lewis (ed.) The
Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, London: Routledge.
Fowles, Jib (1992) Starstruck: celebrity performers and the American public,
Washington/ London: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Gwenllian Jones, S. (2000) ‘Starring Lucy Lawless?’ Continuum: Journal of
Media & Cultural Studies, Vol. 14. No. 1, 9 – 22
15
Gritten, D. (2002) Fame: Stripping Celebrity Bare, London: Allen Lane, The
Penguin Press, Chapter Four, ‘The Fans’, pp. 42 – 56.
Harris, C. & Alexander, A. (eds.) (1998) Theorizing Fandom: Fans, Subculture
and Identity, Cresskill, N.J.: Hampton Press.
Jancovich, M. and Lyons James, Quality Popular Television, London: BFI
Publishing.
Jenkins, H. (1992) Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory
Culture, London: Routledge.
Jenson, J. (1992) ‘Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of
Characterisation’ in Lewis, L. (ed.) The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and
Popular Media, London: Routledge, pp. 9 – 29.
Moseley, R. (2005) Fashioning Film Stars: Dress, Culture, Identity, London:
BFI.
Wilson, E. (2000) Bohemians: The Glamorous Outcasts, London: I.B. Tauris.
Week 24 Session Eight: Common Celebrity.
With the rise of reality television, a new form of celebrity is said to have been
born – the common celebrity. This lecture will examine the relationship
between television, common or ordinary celebrity and the expansion of
celebrity culture. It will consider the extent to which ‘ordinary’ celebrity is a
new phenomenon and will pose questions about the cultural politics of
celebrating the ordinary.
Screening: Paris Hilton
Set Reading:
Palmer, G. (2005) The Undead: Life on the D-List’, Westminster Papers in
Communication and Culture, Vol. 2 (2). Available on-line.
Biressi, A and H. Nunn (2008) ‘The especially remarkable: celebrity and social
mobility in reality TV, in Biressi, A. and H. Nunn (eds.) The Tabloid Culture
Reader, Open University Press.
Further Reading:
Andrejevic, M. (2003) Reality TV: The work of being watched, Rowman and
Littlefield.
Biressi, A. and H. Nunn (2004) Reality TV: Realism and Revelation, London:
Wallflower.
Couldry, N. (2003) Media Rituals: A Critical Approach, London: Routledge.
Gitlin, T. (1997) ‘The Anti-Political Populism of Cultural Studies’, in M.
Ferguson and P. Golding (eds.) Cultural Studies in Question, London: Sage,
pp. 25 – 38.
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Holmes, S. (2006) ‘It’s a jungle out there! Playing the game of fame in
celebrity reality TV’, in Holmes, S. And S. Redmond (eds.) Framing Celebrity:
New directions in celebrity culture, London: Routledge.
Holmes, S. and D. Jermyn (eds.) (2004) Understanding Reality Television,
London: Routledge.
Hill, A. (2002) ‘Big Brother: The real audience’, Television and New Media, 3:
3. August, pp. 323 – 40.
Week 25 Session Nine: Star Gazing: celebrities, audiences and
consumption.
This lecture will consider different ways of understanding the relationship
between stars and their audiences. For some scholars it is audiences and
fans who ultimately produce celebrity through their consumption of texts and
images. Others understand audiences and fans in more sociological terms,
asking questions about an attachment to a star or celebrity functions in
cultural terms and in terms of the production of the self.
Screening: TBA
Set Reading:
Stevenson, N. (2005) ‘Audiences and Celebrity’ in Evans, J. And
Hesmondhalgh, D. (eds.) Understanding Media: Inside Celebrity, Open
University Press.
Further Reading:
Barbas, S. (2001) Movie Crazy: fans, stars and the cult of celebrity, New York:
Palgrave.
Cashmore, E. (2006) ‘Worshipping/From Afar’, in Celebrity/Culture, London:
Routledge.
Hermes, J. (1999) ‘Media Figures in Identity Construction’, in P. Alasuutari
(ed.) Rethinking the Media Audience: The New Agenda, London: Sage, pp. 69
– 85.
Stacey, J. (1994) Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship,
London: Routledge.
Turner, G. (2004) ‘Consuming Celebrity’ in Understanding Celebrity, London
Sage, pp. 109 – 125.
Week 26 Session Ten: Celebrity in the era of Convergence Media.
This final lecture examines the continuing pervasiveness of celebrity culture
due to the proliferation of media sites and the demand for content. It looks at
the way that the figure of the celebrity must exist across multiple media sites
in order to retain visibility and that this process (although complex) tends to
emphasise the celebrity-as-commodity.
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Set Reading:
Dahlgren, P. (2003) ‘Reconfiguring Civic Culture in the New Media Milieu in in
Corner, J. And D. Pels (2003) Media and the Restyling of Politics, London:
Sage.
Further Reading:
Austin, T. and Barker, M. (Eds.) (2001) Contemporary Hollywood Stardom,
London: Arnold.
Baym, N. (1999) Tune In, Log On, London: Sage.
Cheung, C. (2000) ‘A Home on the Web: Presentations of Self on Personal
Home Pages’, in D. Gauntlett (ed.) Web.Studies: Rewiring Media Studies for
the Digital Age, London: Arnold, pp. 43-51.
Flanagan, M (2004) ‘Mobile Identities, Digital Stars, and Post-Cinematic
Selves’, in Sean Redmond and Su Holmes (eds.) Stardom and Celebrity: A
Reader, London: Sage.
Hills, M. (2006) ‘Not just another powerless elite?: When media fans became
subcultural celebrities’ in Holmes, S. And S. Redmond (eds.) Framing
Celebrity: New directions in celebrity culture, London: Routledge.
Jermyn, D. (2006) ‘”Bringing out the *star* in you”: SJP, Carrie Bradshaw and
the evolution of television stardom’, in Holmes, S. And S. Redmond (eds.)
Framing Celebrity: New directions in celebrity culture, London: Routledge.
P. David Marshall (2006) Celebrity Culture Reader, London: Routledge.
Marshall, P. D. (2004) New Media Cultures, London: Hodder Arnold.
Toynbee, J. (2007) Bob Marley: Herald of a Post Colonial World? Cambridge:
Polity Press.
Wark, M (1999) Celebrities, Culture and Cyberspace: The Light on the Hill in a
Postmodern World, Pluto Press.
Week 27 Session Eleven: Independent preparation for essay and tutorials.
Please sign up for an appointment on my door (GB 101) if you would like to
discuss your essay.
_____________________________________________________________
Brunel University
Generic Undergraduate Grade Descriptors
Grade A*
Clearly demonstrates a highly sophisticated, critical and thorough
understanding of the topic. Provides clear evidence of originality
and independence of thought and clearly demonstrates
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exceptional ability to develop a highly systematic and logical or
insightful argument, solution or evaluation at the current Level.
Demonstrates exceptional ability in the appropriate use of the
relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, etc., to
analyse and synthesise at the current Level. Shows an
exceptionally high level of clarity, focus and cogency in
communication at the current Level.
Grade Band A (A+, A, A-)
Clearly demonstrates a sophisticated, critical and thorough
understanding of the topic. Provides evidence of independence of
thought and clearly demonstrates the ability to develop a highly
systematic and logical or insightful argument, solution or
evaluation at the current Level. Demonstrates excellence in the
appropriate use of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies,
practices, tools, etc., to analyse and synthesise at the current
Level. Shows a high level of clarity, focus and cogency in
communication at the current Level.
Grade Band B (B+, B, B-)
Clearly demonstrates a well-developed, critical and comprehensive
understanding of the topic. Provides some evidence of
independence of thought and clearly demonstrates the ability to
develop a systematic and logical or insightful argument, solution or
evaluation at the current Level. Demonstrates a high degree of
competence in the appropriate use of the relevant literature,
theory, methodologies, practices, tools, etc., to analyse and
synthesise at the current Level. Shows clarity, focus and cogency
in communication at the current Level.
Grade Band C (C+, C, C-)
Demonstrates a systematic and substantial understanding of the
topic. Demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic argument
or solution at the current Level. Demonstrates a significant degree
of competence in the appropriate use of the relevant literature,
theory, methodologies, practices, tools, etc., to analyse and
synthesise at the current Level. Provides evidence of clarity and
focus in communication at the current Level.
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Grade Band D (D+, D, D-)
Provides evidence of a systematic understanding of the key
aspects of the topic. Demonstrates the ability to present a
sufficiently structured argument or solution at the current Level.
Demonstrates an acceptable degree of competence in the
appropriate use of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies,
practices, tools, etc., to analyse and synthesise at the current
Level. Provides evidence of effective communication at the current
Level.
Grade Band E (E+, E, E-)
Provides evidence of some understanding of key aspects of the
topic and some ability to present an appropriate argument or
solution at the current Level. Demonstrates some competence in
the appropriate use of the relevant literature, theory,
methodologies, practices, tools, etc at the current Level. Provides
some evidence of effective communication at the current Level.
However, there is also evidence of deficiencies which mean that
the threshold standard (D-) has not been met.
Grade F
Work that is unacceptable.
Assessment Criteria
Indicative
Mark Band
Degree class
equivalent
Grade
Grade Point
29 and below
Fail
F
1
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Submitting your work
In order to be marked without penalty for lateness, work must
always be handed in before 1.00 p.m. on the day it is due.
It should be submitted with an official blue cover sheet (available in
the foyer of the Gaskell Building).
Your work must be date stamped in 4 places
1.
on the blue cover sheet
2.
on the front page of your work
3.
on the last page of your work
4.
and a page in the middle of your work.
The assignment and the attached cover sheet should be “posted”
in the appropriate coursework collection box in the foyer of the
Gaskell Building.
You must add your student number to the top of every page of
your work.
You must NOT write your name on the pages of your work.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK:
You are also required to submit an electronic copy of every piece
of work submitted. This electronic version must be submitted
within 48 hours (2 working days) of the coursework submission
date.
Your work is to be submitted through U-Link. In order to submit
work, you need to click on Assignments on the left hand side of
the Module page and follow these instructions:1.
Click on the Assignment button on the left hand side of
the page.
2.
then select the correct coursework you want to submit
for; and scroll down to Add Attachment – click into
this.
3.
This will take you into a Browse screen, then double
click on my computer and this will take you into your
computer files then you can select the c/work you want
to attach. Now double click your work and this will
place it underneath the box for attachments, once you
are sure this is the correct piece, then press SUBMIT –
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there is no need to add any comments. You will
now have successfully submitted your coursework
on to U-Link.
If work is submitted late, the following penalties will be uniformly
applied, in the absence of accepted relevant mitigating
circumstances:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Up to 1 working day late
Up to 2 working days late
Up to 5 working days late
Up to 10 working days late
Up to 15 working days late
More than 15 working days late
Grade capped at A- (GPA14)
Grade capped at B- (GPA 11)
Grade capped at C- (GPA 8)
Grade capped at D- (GPA 5)
Grade capped at E- (GPA 2)
Grade capped at NS
A working day is defined as Monday to Friday at any time of year,
with the exception of UK national holidays.
Mitigating circumstances are defined by the University as: “A
serious or significant event” (Senate Regulation 4.31). For
example, serious illness or death of a close relative. Please refer
to the School of Arts handbook for further details.
Feedback on your work
You will be notified via your Brunel Webmail account when your
coursework and feedback will be either available for collection from
UG Administration or posted to your term time address. If the
deadline is at the end of the term it will be posted to your
permanent home address. Please check your addresses are
correct on e-Vision to ensure it is sent to the right place.
Academic staff aim to mark work and provide detailed and
constructive feedback, normally within three weeks of the hand-in
date. However, there may be delays. An example Feedback
Sheet is at the back of this Module Booklet.
If your piece of work is amongst a sample sent to an External
Examiner, you will only receive your work when the External
Examiner has returned it to us. However, you will still receive
detailed and constructive feedback.
Plagiarism
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Plagiarism is passing off ideas words, illustrations, ideas or other
materials created by someone else as being one’s own ideas or
words. The following penalties currently operate:
First offences for
undergraduate
students
a mark of zero/grade F is assigned to the piece of
work in question and to the associated assessment
block; where permitted under the Regulations,
reassessment may be allowed for a maximum grade
of D- in the assessment block (this reassessment
shall not contribute to the reassessment volume limit
defined in SR2); the assessment block in question
shall contribute grade point 0 to the GPA calculation
for the classification of any award.
Repeat offences a mark of zero/grade F is assigned to the piece of
for undergraduate work in question and to the associated module; the
students
student shall be expelled from the University and
barred from re-entry; any credits already achieved
will be retained and an intermediate award may be
awarded as appropriate, unless the Panel
determines that there is just cause to deprive the
student of any credits already achieved and any
intermediate award to which they may lead.
For further information on plagiarism, and how to avoid committing
this serious offence, please refer to the School of Arts handbook
and Senate Regulations 6 http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/administration/rules/senatereg
s/sr6
The School of Arts Handbook contains detailed information on
referencing and the presentation of coursework.
Student Support:
Academic Skills Services (ASK)
Study skills support is offered in the Library. This covers a number
of areas including:
Academic Writing; Critical Reading; Maths, Numeracy and
Statistics; Time Management; Presentations and Seminars; Note
Taking; and Critical Thinking.
For further details, please contact the Library or go to
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http://www.brunel.ac.uk/library/ask
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