Summer II 2012

Professor Mathieu Deflem, Ph.D.
University of South Carolina

Department of Sociology
Office: Sloan 217.|.Email: deflem@sc.edu
Class meets MTWTh at 1:00 p.m.

www.mathieudeflem.net

This overview is for the SUMMER session. Click here for regular Fall/Spring semesters.

“What music colors is the desolation of the inner sense. It is the decoration of empty time.”

–Theodor W. Adorno

"A few can touch the magic string, and noisy fame is proud to win them;

Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them!"

–Oliver Wendell Holmes

Objectives: Within a framework of the sociology of popular culture and music, this course focuses on the rise of Lady Gaga to her status as a pop music icon. The central objective of this course is to unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga. Specific attention will be devoted to the role of: business and marketing; entertainment law; the old and new media; fans and live shows; gay culture; religion and political activism; sex and gender; and the city of New York

Framework: This is not a course in music or cultural studies. Although some familiarity with the artistry of Lady Gaga will be useful, this course instead focuses on the societal contexts of Lady Gaga’s rise to fame. These social issues, furthermore, are explored from a scholarly perspective that is grounded in the theoretical traditions of sociology. Thus, this is not a course in Lady Gaga but in sociology; and it is not a course about Lady Gaga as much as about the culture of the fame as exemplified by the career of Lady Gaga.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to engage in sound scholarly thinking on selected aspects of popular culture, music, and fame, especially from the viewpoint of the discipline of sociology. Students should also have garnered empirical knowledge of some of the most important social dimensions of fame as exemplified by the career of Lady Gaga.

Course syllabus: will be made available to students during the first class. 

Part I – Analytical Framework: The Sociology of Popular Culture

      a)   Sociological Perspectives of Music

      b)   The Case of Pop & Rock

      c)   The Sociology of Fame and Celebrity

Part II – Topic of Inquiry: A Brief Introduction to Lady Gaga

      a)   Life and Times

      b)   The Music

Part III – Dimensions of Analysis: The Fame of Lady Gaga

      a)   Business and Marketing

      b)   Law and Legalities

      c)   Old & New Media: From Radio to Internet

      d)   Fans and Live Concerts

      e)   Gay Culture

      f)    Religion and Politics

      g)   Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

      h)   New York

      1)   Frith, Simon et al., eds 2001.The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

      2)   Lester, Paul. 2010. Lady Gaga: Looking for Fame. The Life of a Pop Princess. London: Omnibus Press.

      3)   Articles in the sociology of popular culture (available online):

Corona, Victor P. 2010. “Gaga Studies.” PopMatters, November 24, 2010.

Deflem, Mathieu. 2011. "The Fame of Lady Gaga." [Video]. Presentation at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, DC, October 19, 2011.

Deflem, Mathieu. 2012. "The Presentation of Fame in Everyday Life: The Case of Lady Gaga." Margins (Haverford College), Issue on Divas, Spring 2012.

Kurzman, Charles et al. 2007. “Celebrity Status.” Sociological Theory 25(4):347-367.

Deflem, Mathieu. 2012. "Marketing Monster: Selling the Fame of Lady Gaga.” Essay in a catalogue accompanying the exhibition “The Wicked Twins: Fame and Notoriety,” Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers University, January-May 2012, forthcoming.

Corona, Victor P. 2011. “Memory, Monsters, and Lady Gaga.” Journal of Popular Culture 44:1-19.

Deflem, Mathieu. 2012. "The Sex of Lady Gaga." Chapter in The Performance Identities of Lady Gaga, edited by Richard J. Gray. McFarland Publishing, forthcoming.

Currid, Elizabeth. 2007. “Art, Culture and New York City.” Chapter 1 in her The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art, and Music Drive New York City. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

      5)   Media sources: available online via http://www.gagacourse.net on the following topics:

            a)   Business and Marketing

            b)   Law and Legalities

            c)   Old/New Media: From Radio to Internet

            d)   Fans and Live Concerts

            e)   Gay Culture

            f)    Religion and Politics

            g)   Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

            h)   New York

Dr. Mathieu Deflem, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology

Office: Sloan College 217 (near the walking bridge across Pickens Street)
Office Hours Summer: by appointment

Messages via email: deflem@sc.edu

Other courses taught: Student Pages

Website: www.mathieudeflem.net

Mailing address:

Professor Mathieu Deflem, Ph.D.

University of South Carolina
Department of Sociology
911 Pickens Street
Columbia, SC 29208 

Email: deflem@sc.edu

For your information, my USC course evaluations are available online.

The course blog is available at: www.gagacourse.net