Learning Outcomes:
This module examines the centrality of stardom to both historical and contemporary engagements with mass media and investigates the relation between celebrity culture and the sociology of consumption. We will consider the cultural and theoretical issues stars raise, as well as their vital historical importance through "the star system" of Hollywood representational codification before turning to the more freewheeling contemporary environment in which the star operates as independent producer and increasingly "self-made" figure. At the close of the trimester we will turn to contemporary debates about the saturation of celebrity culture and tabloidization. While our primary case studies will concentrate on film and television, our discussions will also consider realms such as popular music and sports and the increasing overlap of all these categories through new discourses of omnimediated stardom.