Olivier Driessens

Olivier Driessens was previously a research and teaching assistant in the Department of Communication Sciences at Ghent University and a research assistant at Antwerp University. During Spring term 2012, Olivier was at Goldsmiths as Associate Research Student. Olivier earned his PhD in Communication Sciences at Ghent University (2013). He has an MA in Sociology (Leuven University) and an MA in Communication Sciences (Ghent University). He was also Young Scholar (YECREA) representative in the Temporary Working Group Mediatization of ECREA and member of the Reviewers Board of The International Journal of e-Politics.

As a media sociologist, Olivier is particularly interested in media, cultural and social change. In his doctoral dissertation he has studied the celebritisation of society and culture, or the changing nature and embedding of celebrity in social fields and people’s everyday lives. Apart from its strong theoretical focus, the dissertation also aimed to contribute to methodology and our empirical understanding of celebrity by focusing on the regional celebrity cultures in Flanders (Belgium) through in-depth interviews with celebrities.

A full list of publications can be consulted here: Olivier Driessens