ABSTRACT
An even more recent development in sociology is the critical exploration of celebrity, stardom and fame. In their editorial marking the launch of the journal Celebrity Studies, Su Holmes and Sean Redmond (2010) reflect on the largely unfavourable media response to their initiative which they attribute to fears about the ‘dumbing down’ of higher education. Indeed, as one British broadsheet journalist predicted, ‘we can expect plenty of pseudo-academic mumbo jumbo’. However, in linking these fears to reports that ‘David Beckham Studies’ were amongst the ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees for which future government funding would be under threat in the UK, they inadvertently highlight the relationship this chapter centrally seeks to examine, specifically: To what extent has sport been influential in the development of this field? How have sociologists of sport responded to this developing academic trend? And how has the work of sociologists of sport been received within the ‘celebrity studies’ community? More broadly, to what extent has the growth of this area enabled sociologists of sport to make an impact on other areas of sociology?
