Beyond ABCs of Lady Gaga to the Sociology of Fame

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta may not sound famous, but the University of South Carolina is offering a course next spring devoted to her — and the sociology of fame.

Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Lady Gaga performs as part of Lollapalooza 2010 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois.

Apparently one secret to becoming famous is to change your name. Ms. Germanotta now goes by Lady Gaga.

What else accounts for the soaring popularity of the 24-year-old global phenom? The question has intrigued and inspired Mathieu Deflem, 48, a sociology professor at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, who plans to teach a course called “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame.” He believes it is the only such full-time college course in the country.

He wants to explore what makes a person famous and what being famous means in today’s culture. Or, as the course description puts it: “The central objective is to unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga.”

Read on...

What does this have to do with Criminology? Tom

7 comments:

nikpeace said...

"What does this have to do with Criminology? Tom
Posted by Tom at 11:17 AM"

Very confusing.

Anonymous said...

There must be a connection.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the media's preoccupation with Lady Gaga and fame is criminal.

Anonymous said...

Well, I think the outfit verges on criminal.

Anonymous said...

Is it a crime that a university would offer this course?

Anonymous said...

There are over 14 million results for a Google search of fame and crime. The answer lies there.

nikpeace said...

"What does this have to do with Criminology? Tom
Posted by Tom at 11:17 AM"

I find it strange that Tom would post something and then ask why he posted it. Perhaps he is feeling logy.