Chapter deadline: 15 November 2010, maximum 8,000 words plus references.

Celebrity Philanthropy

Among critics, celebrity philanthropy is alternatively praised and criticized as a manifestation of the perceived benefits and downsides of advanced capitalism and western liberal democracy in action. It is lauded for popularizing humanitarian values and global citizenship, or condemned for affirming global capitalism and undermining philanthropy’s potentially transformative emphasis on the need for social change. While praise for celebrity philanthropy often overstates its capacity to transform society, much criticism of celebrity philanthropy dismisses celebrity as the epitome of all that is superficial and deplorable about contemporary life.

This edited volume on celebrity philanthropy seeks to move beyond blanket dismissals of celebrity philanthropy by approaching celebrity, philanthropy and international humanitarianism as related historical products of capitalism and the mass media. The volume aims to explore how celebrity politics, celebrity philanthropy, celebrity activism, and the individual motivations of celebrities and their fans for philanthropic engagement, can take very different forms.

The editors welcome case studies and typologies of celebrity philanthropy from across the world today that explore such issues as the links or tensions between celebrity philanthropy and activism, the theorization of celebrity politics and of celebrity philanthropy as a mode of cultural citizenship, and the role of fans in the operations of celebrity philanthropy. We particularly welcome studies of celebrity philanthropy in developing countries, both to provide a comparative framework for assessing the perceived benefits or otherwise of celebrity engagement in philanthropic activities, and to balance the western and Anglophone bias of existing studies.