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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celebrity Studies | 1/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_Studies | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:44:14.068076+00:00 | kb-cron |
Celebrity Studies is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Routledge which focuses on the "critical exploration of celebrity, stardom and fame". Founded in 2010 by media studies academics Sean Redmond (University of Victoria) and Su Holmes (University of East Anglia), Celebrity Studies is the first scholarly journal dedicated to the study of celebrity. The debut of the journal reflects a growing scholarly interest in the field following the proliferation of research on celebrity since the 2000s. Upon its announcement, the journal was met with negative media and academic reception. The journal has since helped legitimize the study of celebrity and is regarded as the preeminent journal in its field. The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) shortlisted Celebrity Studies for the Best New Journal award in 2011. Notable studies published in the journal include analyses on Pippa Middleton's buttocks, the history and influence of "climate contrarians", and Meghan Markle's relationship with feminism. Special issues of the journal have been devoted to singers David Bowie and Michael Jackson, actor Keanu Reeves, and reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race. The journal also sponsors an international biennial conference. Prior conferences took place at universities in Melbourne, London, Amsterdam, and Rome. The journal's current editors-in-chief include Erin Meyers (Oakland University) and Alice Leppert (Ursinus College).
== History ==
=== Creation === The field of "celebrity studies" emerged in academia in the 2000s coinciding with a wave of celebrity in popular culture. Due to the recent proliferation of research on celebrity across academic disciplines, a scholarly consensus has emerged about its importance. The journal was started by Sean Redmond (University of Victoria) and Su Holmes (University of East Anglia) in 2010 and is published by Routledge. Redmond and Holmes are both media studies academics who, in 2006, published a review of recent debates about celebrity. Celebrity Studies is the first scholarly journal dedicated to the subject of celebrity. It was initially published three times per year. In the inaugural issue of the journal, the co-editors noted that celebrity "exists at the core of many of the spaces, experiences and economies of modern life." Additionally, they wanted to remind readers that engaging with celebrity requires individuals "to defamiliarise the everyday" and thereby "make apparent the cultural politics and power relations which sit at the center of 'the taken for granted.'" Such a task of "uncovering and analyzing the systems and structures" of celebrity lies at the foundation of media, television, and cultural studies, according to the inaugural issue. Holmes also told the Times Higher Education that celebrity studies was "more central to understanding the everyday than maths, English or science".
One article in the inaugural issue authored by Redmond was titled "Avatar Obama in the Age of Liquid Celebrity". Redmond argued that US President Barack Obama is the "epitome of runniness" in an "era of disembedding without re-embedding." Another article explored actor Jackie Chan in relation to "ageing, race and masculinity in transnational action." Graeme Turner, Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland, was featured in the invitation-only first issue of the journal, where he explained why such a journal was needed and criticized the over-reliance of textual analysis in the field. Additionally, Turner issued a challenge to other academics that celebrity studies scholars do more than contribute to the "discursive regime surrounding celebrity" and instead "focus on its industrial production and audience consumption." The aim of the journal is to address the "production, circulation and consumption of fame" in contemporary and historical contexts and provide a forum for debate. The first few issues of the journal concentrated almost entirely on current people and events. The journal draws upon a range of interdisciplinary approaches and explores the relevance of celebrity studies to other disciplines like sociology and political science. The journal's initial editorial board totaled 15 editors from British universities and universities abroad. Each journal issue features a book review section and a forum section dedicated to shorter essays, observations, and debates. By August 2018, the journal had published thirty issues. Holmes stepped down as co-editor in 2019 and was replaced by Erin A. Meyers, who is an associate professor of communication at Oakland University. Alice Leppert, Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Ursinus College, was named co-editor of the journal in 2020. Leppert had been involved with the journal since its inception and has written about subjects such as a Hong Kong film star, the cast of Friends, and reality TV.