Fame—celebrity, notoriety, renown—confers recognition and immortality. It is an
enduring and desirable form of power; a uniquely human ambition and a central force in sociallife. Culture, commerce, politics, and religion all proffer promises of fame, whether for 15 minutes or 15 centuries. Drawing on texts from history, anthropology, sociology, this course reflects on the ethics, erotics, pragmatics and pathologies of fame. We compare fame to other forms of recognition and look at how it transforms across space-time, social boundaries, and technological conditions.
