3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Over the last century, the child as performer has played a central—if often unacknowledged—role in the Western cultural imagination. Occupying a third space between “real” children and adults, the child star has functioned as a surface upon which (adult) audiences can project their fears and fantasies about the future, the past, innocence, sexuality, talent, and human nature. This course examines the work that child stars perform for Western society at large, pulling apart the various ways that this enduring and meaningful area of performance acquires cultural, economic, and political significance. We’ll focus on the careers of young classical music virtuosi, television and film stars, and the Disney-promoted singers of the last few decades; our readings will draw from labor history, race and gender studies, and theories of children’s literature. We will ask the following questions: Why is child stardom generally limited to the performing arts (rather than the visual arts, literature, or musical composition)? Why are contemporary child stars always accompanied by a tragic narrative of “lost” childhood, even as their exceptional status is translated into the kind of wealth and recognition that many adults dream of? And what are the ethical issues in promoting, consuming, and sometimes exploiting children’s talent?