We will definitely be submitting our proposal and YouTube video to this conference. Here are the details:
The UChicago Conference on Jersey Shore Studies
October 28th, 2011 The University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is proud to announce The UChicago Conference on Jersey Shore Studies, the first conference to interrogate the landmark MTV reality television show “Jersey Shore.” The conference will take place at the University of Chicago on Friday, October 28th, 2011. Confirmed speakers include Candace Moore (University of Michigan), Alison Hearn (University of Western Ontario), and Marah Eakin, Nathan Rabin, and Genevieve Koski from the Onion A.V. Club.
The conference is open to graduate and undergraduate students, scholars, and cultural commentators researching and writing about “Jersey Shore.” To submit, please send an abstract of 500 to 600 words to David Showalter at [email protected]. Be sure to include an email address. The deadline for submission is 5 pm (CST) on August 1, 2011. All presenters will be notified by August 12, 2011.
The conference is free and open to the public. Direct any questions to: David Showalter at [email protected]. Follow the conference on Twitter (@JerseyShoreConf) and on Facebook (search for “The UChicago Conference on Jersey Shore Studies”).
More coverage from Gawker:
I have always called Jersey Shore the most important sociological experiment of our time, and it seems one intrepid University of Chicago student agrees with me because he’s not only stolen my tag line, but is trying to organize an academic conference around the reality show. This is a brilliant idea.
Reality TV junkie David Showalter has taken to the internet to try to get funding for his endeavor, a one-day conference that would include papers and presentations from a number of students, academics, and other experts. “The conference will be the first of its kind, and should be of interest to scholars in the fields of media and cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, race, ethnicity, and gender studies, and the social sciences more generally.” Yes, David! I have been saying this all along!
David, you are the man. GTL forever baby.