The Simpsons go to college
Columbia offering a course that even noted school-phobe Bart would like
By Jason George
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 7, 2005
Students fill seats and even much of the floor of a Columbia College Chicago classroom every week to learn about Homer.
No, not the Homer of Odysseus and Cyclops.
Try Homer of Bart and doughnuts.
Many parents and educators alike once abhorred "The Simpsons" for encouraging the underachiever lifestyle, but one Chicago lecturer has turned it into coursework. And other academics now profess that the longest-running sitcom in television history is a fantastic teaching tool.
Even the city is getting behind America's most popular dysfunctional family. On Wednesday night, Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Columbia will present a one-night event, "The Simpsons: Cultural Criticism and America's Favorite TV Family," which will gather faculty from Columbia, Northwestern University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, to discuss the show's social commentary and take on philosophy and politics.
Could a PhD'oh! be that far behind?
Columbia lecturer Deb Foote said that as someone who has focused her scholarship on 15th- and 16th-Century Spanish literature, she might seem unlikely to teach the "The Simpsons as Satirical Authors," as her Columbia course is named.
"If anyone else had proposed this class, I think I would have been pretty opposed to it," she said.
But Foote said she realized that the show is a "text" her students already have a working knowledge of.
"Students entering the university would not have known life without the Simpsons," she said. "And some of the things I can talk about in Renaissance society are in `The Simpsons.'"
At a recent class, students and Foote discussed how the elderly are portrayed in the media, between watching episodes about some of the show's older characters falling in love. Other topics have included gender relations, constructing sexual identity and civil disobedience.
"I've had more interesting and stimulating conversations in this class than any other class I've ever taken in school," said Eric Burgher, a 22-year-old Columbia senior majoring in theater.
Marketing major Holly Brinkman said her father was initially skeptical of her taking the class.
"At first, he wasn't very eager because he's paying my tuition," she said with a laugh. "But as the class progressed, I showed him the book and he saw that there was substance to what we were learning."
That book is "Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture," a collection of academic papers, one of which was authored by Bill Savage, a senior lecturer in English at Northwestern and one of Wednesday's speakers.
Savage said "The Simpsons" is useful in the classroom because its appeal cuts across generations. "I don't think anything grabs students and ... grabs professors as much," he said.
Foote, who began teaching her class last summer, said this semester's 27 spots filled up so quickly that the university added another section. It also soon filled.
Asked if she could confirm an undergraduate rumor that she's considering a course on another popular animated show, perhaps "South Park," Foote laughed and whispered.
"I don't want to give anything away, but it's something I'm working on."
Hitting a Homer for college credit
"The Simpsons as Satirical Authors" course at Columbia College Chicago examines how the show uses satire and social commentary. It counts toward three humanities or cultural studies credit hours, according to the university. Here are some of the weekly topics, and the issues students have been discussing:
TOPIC: "The Simpsons' Self-Referentiality"
EPISODES VIEWED: "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" and "The Day the Violence Died"
MEMORABLE QUOTES:
Bart: "Lisa, if I ever stop loving violence, I want you to shoot me."
Lisa: "Will do."
TOPIC: "What's (Not) Wrong with America? Critiquing the U.S. Government"
EPISODES VIEWED: "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" and "Sideshow Bob Roberts"
MEMORABLE QUOTES:
Lisa: "I'm too excited to sleep. Anyone up for the Winifred Beecher Howe Memorial?"
Homer: "Who's that?"
Lisa: "An early crusader for women's rights. She led the Floor Mop Rebellion of 1910. Later, she appeared on the highly unpopular 75-cent piece."
TOPIC: "Homer's Body as a Vehicle of Postmodern Parody"
EPISODES VIEWED: "King-Size Homer" and "Homer's Enemy"
MEMORABLE QUOTES:
Mr. Burns: "Smithers, I've just seen the most heroic dog on television. He pulled a toddler from the path of a speeding car, then pushed a criminal in front of it. Find this dog. I want to make him my executive vice president."
Sources: the simpsons archive,
www.snpp.com; course syllabus.
