Doing Celebrity Studies
For: Research master students
Type: Tutorial in relation to international conference
ECTS: 6
Dates: February 5, February 26, March 18, April 8, April 29, June 28-30
Time: tba
Place: tba
Organizer: Gaston Franssen
Registration: gaston.franssen@uva.nl
Contact: gaston.franssen@uva.nl
Instructor:
Gaston Franssen
UvA, PC Hoofthuis room 444
Spuitraat 112, 1012 VB Amsterdam
gaston.franssen@uva.nl
Course dates:
- Friday February 5
- Friday February 26
- Friday March 18
- Friday April 8
- Friday April 29
- Tuesday-Thursday June 28-30 2016 (conference attendance)
Goals:
In this course, students will
- gain theoretical and methodological insights in the foundations of and current developments in celebrity studies
- learn to use analytical tools to analyze notions such as fame, celebrity, popularity, notoriety, public image, authenticity
- hone their research skills through their engagement with a case study
- apply achieved insights in academic discussions by attending an international conference and writing a journal forum contribution
Content:
On June 28th-30th, 2017, Routledge, Celebrity Studies Journal, and the University of Amsterdam will organize the third Celebrity Studies conference. The conference will take place in Amsterdam will be themed on the question of ‘Authenticating Celebrity’. This subject will run through our plenaries and form a strand running throughout the conference. Current developments in celebrity studies research will be discussed by five confirmed keynote speakers:
- David Giles, University of Winchester
- Joke Hermes, University of Amsterdam/Inholland University of Applied Sciences
- Jo Littler, City University London
- Alice E. Marwick, Fordham University
- Ginette Vincendeau, King’s College London
This RMA tutorial prepares students to attend the conference and take part in the academic discussions it will involve. Students will meet in five workshop sessions, in which they will discuss selections from seminal publications by the five keynote speakers. Each session will entail a prepared ‘expert’ presentations by (groups of) students, introducing the key note speaker that is the focus of that particular session, and general discussions. After the final session, students will write a forum journal contribution, in which they apply their achieved insights. The aim is to submit this paper to the Celebrity Studies Journal.
Classes:
5 x 3-hours workshop session
- Expert presentations (30%)
- Discussion participation (prepared questions: 10%)
- Forum contribution paper (60%)
Reading material:
Selection of critical sources, to be distributed through DropBox
Grading:
- Expert presentations (30%), every session
- Discussion participation (prepared questions: 10%), every session
- Forum contribution paper (60%), deadline July 15, 2016
Assessment regulations:
In order to pass this tutorial, you will need to complete all of the above assignments (see grading) and attend the conference. For each assignment you will receive a grade ranging from 1 (worst) to 10 (best), with each grade counting towards the overall grade. Grade distinctions will be limited to one decimal point after the comma (e.g. 5.8, 8.6).
If you fail any assignment, i.e. receive a grade below 5.5, its grade will simply be included in the overall grade calculation, which means not every element needs to receive a passing grade for you to pass the tutorial as a whole. However, if you fail to submit one or more of the assignments, you will not be eligible to pass.
If you have passed all requirements by submitting all assignments and your overall grade is below 5.5, you will be eligible for the resit option. The resit will take the form of an additional essay set by the instructor that will replace the lowest grade out of the assignments listed under ‘Grading’.
The grading of each presentation will be based on
- your ability to reflect constructively on the reading material and draw connections between the texts discussed;
- the quality of its argumentation;
- its effective as well as economical use of references and secondary literature;
- stylistic features such as clarity, coherence, rhetorical elegance, general presentation skills, etc.
The grading of the discussion will be based on:
- your ability to reflect constructively on the reading material;
- the originality and relevance of the comments brought forward/questions posed;
- the relevance of the additional, individually selected literature.
The grading of the forum contribution will be based on:
- your ability to contribute to current debates within celebrity studies;
- the quality of its argumentation;
- its effective as well as economical use of references and secondary literature;
- stylistic features such as clarity, coherence, rhetorical elegance, etc.
Note: the submission guidelines for the Celebrity Studies Journal forum section read as follows:
“Celebrity Forum is a section of Celebrity Studies Journal that provides a space for timely responses to contemporary and historical issues in celebrity culture. We encourage submissions in two forms: 1,000-1,500 words (including notes) ‘think pieces’, including case studies, which should be provocative and open-ended, encouraging exchange and debate. Alternatively, we invite 500-1,000 word (including notes) submissions of comments and views on previous articles published within either the main section of the journal or Celebrity Forum.” See http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=rcel20&page=instructions#.VfK5eZdImsY
Feedback:
All students will receive feedback on their academic performance. Assignments will be followed by online feedback from the course instructor. Students receive written feedback on the forum contribution paper.