We are sharing this video in loving memory of Josh Nathan. As Jackie Raphael says, Josh contributed a lot to the Centre for Media and Celebrity Studies (CMCS) and is deeply missed. In this video, he shares his stories about working in journalism and becoming an academic. It is part of the media workshop at the 2015 CMCS conference in New York City. With this video, Jackie marks the launch of Season 4 of Celebrity Chat series. View and share Episode 1: https://youtu.be/CgdEOkHQ__M

Our committee completed reviews of excellent proposals for the next CMCS conference “Bridging Gaps: Where is Ethical Glamour in Celebrity Culture?” which will be held in Lisbon on July 1-3. Journalists, students, staff, and guests are most welcome to join us. Huge thanks to our chairing committee members Ana Jorge, Nicole Bojko, and Kiera Obbard. The early-bird registration deadline is March 31st. Registered delegates will have access to our closed Facebook Bridging Gaps group for sharing research, travel and accommodation ideas.

In the meantime, read and share P. David Marshall’s latest post: 2017: The Year of Fame and its Consequences http://www.pdavidmarshall.com.In this post, Professor Marshall leaves us with a poignant question to consider in contemporary celebrity culture: How does the relationship between communication, information and knowledge become visibly obscured?  

Also, check below for the following Calls for Papers: "Theorising the Popular Conference" (Deadline: March 23) and "All About Bette: The Cultural Legacies of Bette Davis" (Deadline: April 23). Thanks to Joshua Gulam and Martin Shinger for sharing these with the CMCS community.

If you missed The Kardashian Decade Symposium at King’s College London, read the review below. A link is also provided to access a recording of the event. Special thanks to Oline Eaton for organizing the symposium and for sharing with  CMCS community. 
 
In other news, Ellis Cashmore published his views on safe sports in popular culture. Our board member Celia Lam has been published in this month’s edition of Celebrity Studies. As well, our delegate Douglas Machado was interviewed on national television in Brazil.  For our media updates, visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/celebrity.studies. 
 
Have a great week ahead.

Stay tuned for professional opportunities in the next editions. E-mail info@cmc-centre.com for research and media updates, questions, and ideas and join our @celeb_studies conversations.
 
Sincerely,
Samita Nandy @famecritic
 
Call for Papers

CFP Theorising the Popular Conference 2018
Liverpool Hope University, July 11th-12th 2018
Deadline for abstracts: March 23, 2018
More: http://cmc-centre.com/theorising-the-popular2018/
 

 
CFP All About Bette: The Cultural Legacies of Bette Davis 
Northwestern University, October 5-6, 2018 
Deadline for abstracts: April 23, 2018
More: http://cmc-centre.com/bette-davis/
 
Publications


 
Celebrity Studies
Volume 9, Issue 1 March 2018
More: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcel20/9/1
 

Review


 
Symposium: Keeping Up with the Kardashian Decade
King’s College London
February, 2018
 
The Centre for Life-Writing Research at King’s College London was delighted to host ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashian Decade’, a short symposium on life-writing in the age of the Kardashians. Organised by Rob Gallagher (KCL, Postdoctoral Research Associate) and Oline Eaton (KCL, CLWR Visiting Research Fellow) as a part of Ego-Media, the afternoon featured talks followed by a panel discussion among scholars from diverse fields. Hannah Yellin (Oxford-Brookes, Lecturer in Media and Culture) started the session with a discussion of the Kardashian’s Armenianness and beauty regimen, as portrayed in the memoir Kardashian Konfidential (2010). Alexandra Georgakopoulou (KCL, Professor of Discourse Analysis & Sociolinguistics) followed with an analysis of Kim Kardashian’s self-presentation through the ‘Stories’ feature on apps. Rob Gallagher then made the case for the Kardashian smart-phone role-playing apps as forms of procedural biography, while Oline Eaton historically situated the emergent conventions of #MAGA life-writing as visible in responses to and writing about the Kardashians. A recording of the event is available here.

More: http://cmc-centre.com/kardashian-decade/