Call For Papers:

A panel for the 16th annual Cultural Studies Conference on
"Entertainment" at Kansas State University, March 8-10, 2007.

(http://www.k-state.edu/english/symposium/)

"HOW TO BROW"

This panel seeks papers that explore how celebrities (open to any
culture, nation or time period) have used their status to impart
"highbrow" values onto their audiences.

Such individuals should have "celebrity" status before their
interventions into high culture; those who become celebrities based
solely on their demonstration of high culture should be excluded.

I would like to emphasize the pedagogical function of such celebrity
impartations: examples could include book clubs, travelogues,
"introductions" to "classic" works of art, television documentaries
(hosted or voice-over), infotainment and other television and radio programs.

At issue is how what Pierre Bourdieu calls "distinction" is
transmitted through entertainment and how this not only shapes
"entertainment" but also the plane, popularity, and demonstration of
"distinction" itself.

Papers should briefly highlight the historical tensions that surround
these celebrity interventions and emphasize a cultural studies
approach that will preferably include reactions from highbrow
authorities to such celebrity efforts.

Please send a summary of your paper (no longer than one page), and a
brief biography (no more than a paragraph) to
douglas-dowland_at_uiowa.edu. by September 1, 2006.

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Received on Fri Aug 04 2006 - 09:25:35 EDT