We deliver primarily academic research-based content and we also provide resources for academics and teachers. We archive online content so that we can deliver researchers a referencing service. We are impartial and are not affiliated with any institution. Therefore we remain objective and balanced in our content. We provide content of a diversity which gives us perspectives of all kinds and makes very clear that we can study Michael Jackson from a wide variety of subject specialisms, from Popular Culture and Literature to African-American Heritage.
We provide a very diverse range of content, including a monthly academic podcast, essays, opinion pieces, editorials, journal issues and volumes, resources, detailed academic book reviews, exclusive authorial interviews, a monthly column which updates readers on the world of Michael Jackson Studies, which is the only one of its kind. We also provide much-needed academic publications on Michael Jackson’s artistry.
14th June 2025 / 1 Comment on MJ Studies Today CXIV
Abstract: Many fans of Michael Jackson collect books about the pop icon, wanting to read as much as they can about his life and career. Referencing titles from her own collection, MJ Studies Today columnist Kerry Hennigan finds that biographies presenting a factual portrait of the King of Pop are a rarity. Similarly, critical analysis […]
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14th February 2023
Michael Jackson, Top 200 greatest singers, MJ, Bad, Dangerous, Blood on the Dance Floor, Invincible, Michael Jackson’s Ghosts, Leave Me Alone, Tabloid Junkie, Privacy, 2 Bad, Why you wanna trip on me, Threatened, Continue reading →
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14th April 2021
MJ Studies Today, April 2021 continues the discussion of Brice Najar’s publication Book on the Dance Floor: Let’s Make HIStory in the Mix which was previously the subject of our February 2021 column. In his book, Najar interviews numerous Michael Jackson collaborators on the King of Pop’s “Blood on the Dance Floor” remix album and brings to light little-known details of Jackson at work in the studio, on his “Ghosts” short film, and on tour. Continue reading →
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14th February 2021
This month’s MJ Studies Today column looks at the making of Michael Jackson’s album “Blood on the Dance Floor” as explored in the recently released book by Brice Najar, titled “Book on the Dance Floor: Let’s Make HIStory in the Mix”. The focus here is on some of the album’s newly recorded and previously unreleased songs that are too often neglected by music critics when discussing Jackson’s catalogue. Najar’s meetings and interviews with some key personnel involved in these recordings afford greater appreciation of these unique tracks, more of which will be addressed in a Part 2 article at a later date. Continue reading →
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16th July 2018
Abstract: In this month’s column, Kerry Hennigan looks at the song and video for Michael Jackson’s “Blood on the Dance Floor” which, when released in 1997, displayed a new, aggressive sound and sensual attitude for Jackson. She discusses the durability of its impact 21 years after it was released. Column by Kerry Hennigan, editor of the monthly […]
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14th January 2017
Abstract: In the first column of this year, Kerry Hennigan continues her research to Michael Jackson’s fascination for the film noir genre. Column by Kerry Hennigan, editor of the monthly newsletter, A Candle for Michael, and administrator of the widely-subscribed Facebook group, Michael Jackson’s Short Film ‘Ghosts. REFERENCE AS: Hennigan, Kerry. “MJ Studies Today XIII (14-01-2017).” The […]
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21st December 2016
Abstract: From as early as his 1982 Billie Jean short film, it has been apparent that Michael Jackson had a distinct fascination with Film Noir, the Classical Hollywood Cinema movement, which was popularized in the post-war era. In this opinion piece, Jan Carlson carries out an in-depth analysis of a range of Michael Jackson songs devoted in their subject […]
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29th August 2016
Abstract: This thirteenth episode is a celebration of Michael Jackson’s 58th birthday. Karin and Elizabeth’s conversation explores Michael Jackson and Afrocentricity, the predominantly American study of the history of black Africa. They discuss the many ways in which Michael Jackson was aware of, knowledgeable about, and proud of his African-American heritage, and how throughout his career, he gave a strong message […]
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Michael Jackson Academic Studies (MJAS) is dedicated to the rigorous, interdisciplinary study of Michael Jackson’s work as a unified aesthetic system. Grounded in art history, visual culture, musicology, dance studies, early modern studies and film theory, MJAS approaches Jackson not as a biographical problem to be defended or debunked, but as a major late-20th-century artist whose work reshaped the relationship between sound, image, body, and mass media.
The journal foregrounds form, lineage, and reception history, situating Jackson within global artistic traditions, from classical European aesthetics and Black diasporic performance to postmodern visual culture. By refusing reductive moral binaries and sensationalist framings, MJAS provides a scholarly space in which Jackson’s art can be interpreted with the seriousness routinely afforded to canonical figures.
Our aim is not rehabilitation, but understanding: to examine how Jackson’s work functions, why it mattered, and what it reveals about race, embodiment, modernity, and the aesthetics of popular culture.
An academic, scholarly journal, which is peer-reviewed, in which academic writing and scholarship relating to Michael Jackson can be accessed. Academic journals are one of the most wonderful ways to share academic criticism and research with interested parties. This research is presented as books, courses, events, essays, teaching resources, columns, articles, book reviews, academic podcasts and original research. In addition, we publish author interviews.
It is a little-known fact that academic, well-researched “books on Elvis Presley alone outnumber titles on Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, andMichael Jackson combined”. (Vogel, Man in the Music). Whereas an artist like Michael Jackson is incredibly visible through the media and tabloid coverage, research on his art remains comparatively small. If this continues Michael Jackson’s contributions could be written out of history in just a few decades. Therefore, this journal nurtures, fosters, protects, preserves and grows the vital research and recognition of his work.
The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies has three editors: Kerry Hennigan, Elizabeth Amisu and Karin Merx.
Podcasts are a fantastic way of getting academic ideas around Michael Jackson into the public sphere in a way that is easily accessible to listeners. Presented by the journal’s editors, it is the world’s first academic podcast which solely discusses the art of Michael Jackson as well as the broader contexts in which his music, performance and short films were created and received. Each podcast is filled to the brim with academic insights, a plethora of references from a range of academic disciplines, humor and a great deal of discussion, taking Michael Jackson’s work and the study of its reception to new heights.
MichaelJackson’s Dream Lives On: An Academic Conversation is our official, original monthly/fortnightly academic podcast which focuses on the life, art and creative work of Michael Jackson. Recently, featured on the iTunes ‘New and Noteworthy’ lists, Michael Jackson’s Dream Lives On: An Academic Conversation is the world’s foremost podcast on Michael Jackson in academic studies. It is available via iTunes, Android, Email, RSS, and Stitcher. Listen here.
