ENGLISH 711 / Celebrity/Culture

3 unit(s)

L. York (cross-listed as CULTR ST 711)

This course engages the pervasive phenomenon of celebrity and poses questions about its operations in the field of culture. It will focus on influential theories of stardom and ideology, power, and cultural value that see celebrity operating variously within culture, and audiences, in turn, acting and signifying upon celebrity. Students will be encouraged to develop a framework for using a specific study of a celebrity or celebrity phenomenon to assess theoretical texts. This course will consider the workings of celebrity in academia.