U Of C To Hold Conference On 'Jersey Shore'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The University of Chicago is known for boasting 87 Nobel laureates, hosting the first nuclear chain reaction, and promoting a renowned culture of intellectual rigor.
But Demosthenes, Thucydides, the Peloponnesian War and H2SO4 are being cast aside at one conference coming up this week, in favor of the simpler concepts of "gym, tan, laundry."
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Between 200 and 500 attendees are expected for an academic conference on "Jersey Shore" studies on Friday. U of C senior and "Jersey Shore" fan David Showalter organized the conference, which has received submissions of papers from academics, grad students and undergrads from all around the United States and Canada, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
But it is still the U of C, so don't expect any vapid discussions of Snooki's fashion sense, The Situation's ab technique, or the details of the drunken sexual escapades from the last epsiode.
The purpose of the conference is to discuss the gender, sexuality, and ethnic identity issues involved in the show.
And the topics that will be presented at the lecture are every bit as U of C as Scav Hunt, the Society for Creative Anachronism, or a 4 a.m. dorm lounge debate about Schopenhauer. The Sun-Times reports they include, "Foucault's Going to the Jersey Shore, Bitch!", "You Dirty Little Hamster: The Abject and Monstrous Feminine in Jersey Shore," and "The Jersey Shore Saga: Honor Culture in Medieval Iceland and Modern Seaside."
The U of C student-run Uncommon Fund is paying for the conference.
