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How is MJAS different from a fan-site or fanzine?

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.

What Services Do You Provide?

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 interviewsa 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.

MJ Studies Today XCVII

MJ Studies Today, January 2024 looks at the number 7 as it pertains to Michael Jackson, and as the focus of various responses from members of his audience - his dedicated fans. Continue reading

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Episode 62 – Part III – Interview Kerry Hennigan

Abstract: In this episode (Part III), Karin and Elizabeth have a special guest, Kerry Hennigan, columnist of the journal. This three-part series discusses nine columns Elizabeth and Kerry wrote to celebrate the 80th MJAS column. REFERENCE AS: Merx, Karin, and Elizabeth Amisu. “Episode 62 –Part III Interview with Kerry Hennigan & MJ Studies Today” Podcast, […]

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MJ Studies Today LXXV

MJ Studies Today, March 2022 looks at the Michael Jackson's hit song "Billie Jean." its creation and its legacy 39 years after its release as a single. Continue reading

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MJ Studies Today LXXIV

Abstract: Michael Jackson’s album Invincible celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its release in October 2021. It remains the album least appreciated by critics and even some of Jackson’s fans and is the album from his canon most likely to cause heated debate in online forums. In this month’s MJ Studies Today column, Kerry Hennigan discusses […]

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MJ Studies Today XXVIII

Abstract: In this month’s column, Kerry looks at the friendship between Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor. Despite intense media scrutiny they managed to stay friends until the ends of their lives, including supporting each other through career ups and downs, good times and bad. The media called them “Hollywood’s Odd Couple” – but if we […]

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MJ Studies Today XXVI

Abstract: In this column Kerry discusses the friendship of Gregory Peck and Michael Jackson, their love for art and how ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ plays a significant role in their relationship. 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 […]

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MJ Studies Today XXV

Abstract: In this column Kerry examines and questions the amount of songs actually written by Michael Jackson for the release of his 1987 album “Bad”. Are they all really recorded, or are they fragments and not yet finished songs? A discussion worth looking into. Column by Kerry Hennigan, editor of the monthly newsletter, A Candle for […]

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MJ Studies Today XXI

Abstract: In her September column, Kerry Hennigan discusses how each of us can celebrate Michael Jackson at home. She encourages fans to ‘do their own thing’. 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 […]

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MJ Studies Today XV

Abstract: In this column, Kerry Hennigan discusses the way fans express their passion and solidarity with Michael Jackson. 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 XV (14-03-2017).” The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies […]

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MJ Studies today XIV

Abstract: In this column, Kerry Hennigan wonders why Michael Jackson suggested burning tabloids while knowing the history of the burning of books and pamphlets in the medieval period, and the Nazi book burning. 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 […]

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Mission Statement

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.

What is The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies?

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.

Why Michael Jackson?

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.

Who are the Editors?

The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies has three editors: Kerry Hennigan, Elizabeth Amisu and Karin Merx.

Where does your content come from?

Our content comes from academics and researchers around the world who wish to professionally publish their work. A list of all of our contributors can be found here.

Why do you have a Podcast

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 iTunesAndroidEmailRSS, and StitcherListen here.