COMM 157 – Celebrity, Fame, and Social Media
Students will investigate the role of fame and celebrity in the age of social media through the study of theoretical perspectives, empirical research, popular journalism, and social science and humanistic measurement. Utilizing uniquely Los Angeles’ celebrity rich resources like summer movie premiers and trendy restaurants, students collect interview, focus group, ethnographic, social network, or content analysis data and develop convincing academic arguments that synthesize their data with popular, theoretical, and empirical sources to develop novel assertions about celebrity and its relationship with contemporary social media.
Student Testimonials:
The lectures were enjoyable and the videos and news discussions made the material feel more current.
Instructor(s):
Steven Peterson
Steve Peterson’s research foundations have revolved around how people learn and communicate through television, film, and new/social media. He has researched and produced large-scale online products, taught in Korea and Japan, and has leveraged his decades of living and working in Los Angeles to gain an in-depth understanding of the US entertainment industry.
