The Real World

Kerry Ferris is Associate Professor of Sociology at Northern Illinois University, where she teaches introduction to sociology, qualitative methods, mass media and popular culture, and sociology of food. She uses ethnographic methods and a symbolic interactionist approach to study celebrity as a system of social power. Her past studies have included analyses of fan-celebrity relations, celebrity sightings, celebrity stalking, red-carpet celebrity interviews, the work lives of professional celebrity impersonators, and the experiences of local celebrities. Her current project examines dead celebrities and their fans. Her work has been published in Symbolic Interaction, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, The Journal of Popular Culture, and Text & Performance Quarterly. She is the coauthor, with Scott R. Harris, of Stargazing: Celebrity, Fame, and Social Interaction. Jill Stein is Professor of Sociology at Santa Barbara City College, which was recently named the top community college in the United States by the Aspen Institute. She teaches introduction to sociology in both face-to-face and online formats every semester. She also teaches classes on social psychology, media, culture and society, and social problems. In addition, she is involved in many student-success initiatives at the local and state levels. Her research has examined narrative processes in twelve-step programs, the role of popular culture in higher learning, and group culture among professional rock musicians. Her work has been published in Symbolic Interaction, Youth & Society, and TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology.