The spectrum and the spectre of the public self : persona studies

One of the most intriguing elements of the study of celebrity is the complex relationship between the renowned individuals that have celebrity status and the populace. In past work, I have identified how celebrities “embody” audiences producing a kind of audience-subjectivity that is both collective and individual. If our media systems are producing slightly different collective configurations and quite different ways in which individuals exhibit and share, this relationship between the individual and the collective so foregrounded by celebrity culture may be differently constituted. This presentation will look at how the celebration of the self is played out now across culture in variations of the social and para-social structures of celebrity culture, in professional settings and what would be seen as forms of online leisure and recreational activities. In one sense, this is the spectre of celebrity that has now been virtualised by individuals and their forms of public display. In another sense, we now have a very diverse range and spectrum of public personalities which demands a more extensive analysis of the constitution of public persona, where the embodiment of collectives and the articulation of identity forms for different purposes and objectives produce via a series of micro-publics a substantially different public sphere.

Persona as method: exploring celebrity and the public self through persona studies

Researching persona is a study in the production, dissemination and exchange of public identity. One starting point in the process is to look at the production of the presentation of the self online, which allows for a particularly valuable way of exploring celebrity and public personalities. In order to advance on this point, this article examines three emerging and complementary methods of persona studies that work to capture different elements in the production of public identity. In the following we provide an introduction to the research currently being generated using three intersectional methods as a primer to the study of persona. We first present an adaptation of interpretative phenomenological analysis for the investigation of online identity as a means for understanding the strategic and negotiated agency that constructing a public persona entails. Second, we outline the potential for methods of social network analysis and data visualisation to contribute to the investigation of networked structures of public identities, and to further explore the assembly of a professional persona in the creative and niche paratextual industry roles enabled by social media. Finally, to explore reputation and relational cultural power we consider how persona is constituted by connections, adapting prosopography – an historical method for identifying relational status in a community – to the study of current public production of the self and relational reputation as a form of cultural field. All of these techniques are equally useful for the direct study of celebrity persona, and function dynamically together as means to access the wider dimensions of public persona.

Celebrity and public persona

Research on celebrity and public persona derives from fundamentally interdisciplinary sources. Although at its core, the study of public personality has been the object of investigations by those more closely associated with media and communication, the key disciplines of sociology, cultural studies, literary studies, political science, social psychology, and even anthropology and history have been part of its analysis. Celebrity identifies the “extra-textual” dimensions of the famous, in which the lives of the renowned are followed, read, and reported. It is a public celebration of individuality that is (but not exclusively) connected to consumer culture and democratic capitalism. Through these larger cultural tropes celebrity has had its strongest affiliations with the contemporary entertainment industries, particularly in terms of how they are covered by the media and the press for further value beyond the cultural forms that are often the origins of stardom—the public individual’s performances in fields such as film, television, sport, and popular music. Celebrity is a site of celebration and derogation in any culture: these public individuals are truly exalted and given a status beyond others, but they are also ridiculed for their believed-to-be unearned credentials for having such a public platform and voice. Moreover, the study of celebrity and public persona is also an investigation into the connection between the populace and these public personalities, where parasocial relations most evident in fandom identify how celebrities embody audiences with an affective connection that is truly powerful in contemporary culture. That power of embodiment and connection that celebrities possess is subsequently exploited by the media industries to promote and sell new connected cultural products. Identifying celebrities as part of a spectrum of public personas links the study of celebrity to the investigation of the celebrated and famed in a variety of professions and fields well beyond entertainment. Thus, the term persona is used in these studies of public personalities to acknowledge the mask that is deployed to present a public version of the self for this external consumption and reading by an audience, a collective, a network, a nation, a citizenry, or a community. Research into public personas has led to related studies of political leadership, self-branding, notoriety in business, and reputation management, and research delves into the presentation of the public self by greater portions of the populace in online cultures. Celebrity and public persona is a field in which research aims to investigate the significance and meaning of various versions of the public self in both contemporary culture and historically.

Analyse de la constitution et de l'effectivité de deux personnalités publiques au Québec : éléments d'une problématique du mémoriel

Cette thèse propose une approche du mémoriel qui interroge la production de la mémoire dans son caractère processuel. Elle comporte trois caractéristiques principales. D’abord, elle met l’accent sur une pluralité des temps qui participe de la production de la mémoire (mais aussi de l’instauration de collectivités et de la production de leurs continuités). Elle place aussi les processus de représentation au cœur de ses questionnements – notamment, elle met l’accent sur les manières par lesquelles la mémoire est constituée par la représentation (au lieu d’examiner les manières par lesquelles la mémoire est représentée). Enfin, elle interroge les manières par lesquelles la production de la mémoire concourt à délimiter, entretenir et faire être des collectivités, et quelles formes de collectivisation sont à cet égard réalisées. Le premier chapitre expose cette approche de la mémoire en constraste avec une présentation de trois grandes familles d’approches – les approches de la mémoire collective, celles de la mémoire culturelle et les approches présentistes – qui appréhendent la mémoire comme un construit. Il explique aussi comment je mets le mémoriel à profit dans une analyse de surface qui appréhende la constitution des représentations par lesquelles l’ex-hockeyeur Maurice Richard et l’ex-animatrice et auteure Janette Bertrand sont établis comme personnalités publiques, par le biais de technologies et de figures d’individualité publique qui les font être de manières singulières. Dans cette optique, je réalise, dans le deuxième chapitre, une analyse de la constitution de Maurice Richard comme héros, et dans le troisième, un examen de la constitution de Janette Bertrand comme pionnière. Dans le quatrième et dernier chapitre, je constate notamment les effectivités respectives des technologies et des procédés de représentation par lesquels des personnalités publiques sont instaurées. Je mets aussi en lumière que ces technologies et les éléments qu’elles produisent, traversent et mettent en relation, s’appréhendent à chaque fois dans la singularité de leurs rencontres. Je conclus ensuite en mettant en lumière les manières par lesquelles mon approche du mémoriel contribue aux études de la mémoire, lesquelles sont l’objet d’une disciplinarisation croissante.

What is a presentational media regime? The contemporary breakdown in systems of representation

Foundational to both the operation and legitimation of our traditional media is the idea of representation: in some sense the images of television, the sounds of radio, the narratives of film, and the various public personalities stand in or in place of ourselves. Likewise our contemporary political system function as an elaborate representational system, where regions, "seats", electorates, the nation, and the nationstate are represented by individuals, parties and symbols. Although, there are differences between and among modern nation-states as clearly different political and cultural agendas are at play, the interplay of contemporary media, culture and politics has produced what can be called a 'representational regime' that more or less operates globally, albeit fragmented into national and regional groupings.

This paper explores the initial stages in the breakdown of this system of representation that has allowed a certain organization of culture and politics to expand and develop over the last two centuries. It acknowledges that central to this regime is something Nick Couldry has identified as "the myth of the mediated centre" (Couldry, 2003). What the paper argues, and therefore differs from Couldry's conclusion, is that there are cracks in the glue that holds the system together and they are emerging in the uses of new media. Through an exploration of presentational media - that is, media that is more involved with the presentation of the self for public/private and networked consumption than traditional media's effort to embody their audience in its narratives - the paper reaches for conclusions that identify a more elaborate legitimation crisis looming in our political and cultural worlds.

A companion to celebrity

Companion to Celebrity presents a multi-disciplinary collection of original essays that explore myriad issues relating to the origins, evolution, and current trends in the field of celebrity studies. Offers a detailed, systematic, and clear presentation of all aspects of celebrity studies, with a structure that carefully build its enquiry Draws on the latest scholarly developments in celebrity analyses Presents new and provocative ways of exploring celebrity's meanings and textures Considers the revolutionary ways in which new social media have impacted on the production and consumption of celebrity

Reflexões sobre a formação do acervo da Academia de Direito do Largo de São Francisco: do século XIX aos nossos dias

O trabalho apresenta algumas reflexões sobre a história da formação do acervo acadêmico dos cursos jurídicos do Brasil criados no século XIX, especificamente da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo. A primeira Biblioteca Pública de São Paulo, fundada em 1825, exerceu forte influência para que o Convento dos frades franciscanos recebesse a escola de direito criada por Decreto Imperial, em razão de seu fundo bibliográfico de 5.000 mil livros, preponderantemente de cunho eclesiástico, e considerável para os padrões culturais do Brasil à época. Atualmente configura-se como uma importante biblioteca jurídica acadêmica da América Latina e, ao longo da sua história tem sido uma instituição de depósito moral, isto é, recebe doações das mais diversas localidades do país, encaminhadas espontaneamente pelos autores para ter sua obra disponibilizada no acervo do primeiro e um dos mais tradicionais cursos de Direito do Brasil. Atualmente, este acervo está estimado em aproximadamente 400 mil itens, com doações de personalidades brasileiras. Outro ponto estudado refere-se ao estabelecimento de critérios para seleção de material – corpo editorial, autores de renome, relevância nos temas abordados etc. – em razão do boom editorial ocorrido na década de 1990, concomitante com o aumento de escolas de Direito no país. Chama-se à reflexão de quem atua na seara jurídica para atentar a pontos relevantes no momento da seleção para não incorrer no erro de avaliar com preconceito, modernidade, ideológico, interesse de estudo pessoal ou embasado apenas na data de publicação da obra. As ciências humanas, diferentemente de outras áreas, têm sua obsolescência mais lenta ou inexistente, decorrendo em grave erro para o Direito julgar exclusivamente pela data de publicação, o que torna premente aos profissionais bibliotecários dominarem conceitos básicos na área de atuação para que as bibliotecas sejam depositárias de material bibliográfico de qualidade.

Bibliotecas Públicas Provinciais e desafios da acção cultural em Moçambique

A partir do conceito de ‘acção cultural’ proposto por Freire (1982), de actividade dialógica, consciencializada, educativa e libertadora, este estudo procurou perceber em que medida as Bibliotecas Públicas Provinciais moçambicanas desenvolvem acção cultural e que impacto estes sistemas apresentam no desenvolvimento humano da sociedade moçambicana. Procurou-se identificar, especificamente, os aspectos normativos destes sistemas, descrever os respectivos processos de acção cultural; explicar o envolvimento dos utilizadores nas diferentes actividades; e, por último, verificar qual o impacto das Bibliotecas Públicas Provinciais no desenvolvimento humano. Com recurso a técnicas de inquérito por questionário e a entrevistas, foram inquiridos os dirigentes das Bibliotecas Públicas Provinciais e algumas personalidades ligadas ao Livro, Leitura e Bibliotecas, sobre o contexto das políticas culturais existentes em Moçambique e sobre o funcionamento destes sistemas a fim de responderem às necessidades informacionais da população moçambicana. Os dados analisados permitem concluir que apesar de se poderem observar algumas dinâmicas inovadoras, as actividades das entidades supra mencionadas se centram mais na animação e menos na acção cultural. Pode constatar-se, também, que tais actividades são levadas a cabo de forma isolada, sem periodicidade regular e sem qualquer plano político-estratégico para a sua realização. Verifica-se, por outro lado, a carência de quadros com competências e formação em áreas de gestão administrativa, programas informáticos e projectos culturais que possam constituir a base de uma estrutura funcional. A ausência de funcionamento em rede destes sistemas é outra das omissões constatadas face às recomendações internacionais. Paralelamente, foi possível concluir que, as Bibliotecas Públicas Provinciais têm funcionando como peça fundamental de todo processo de ensino e aprendizagem, contribuindo, assim, para o desenvolvimento humano desta população.

Toward understanding human personalities

Includes bibliography.

Planes and personalities: a pot-pourri.

Mode of access: Internet.

Portraits + personalities : a self-guided tour for children and their families in the west building of the National Gallery of Art : suggested for ages 8 to 10 : approximate-- 45 minutes.

Mode of access: Internet.

Portraits & personalities : family guide : National Gallery of Art, West Building.

Mode of access: Internet.

America's sheep trails; history, personalities.

Includes bibliographical references.

McCaul, Croft, Forneri: personalities of early university days.

Mode of access: Internet.

Ellen Fleischer, First Woman Public Relations Commissioner of the New York Police Department

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.