Philosophy & Religion

Philosophy & World Religions
	Welcome to the Department of Philosophy & World Religions	The Department of Philosophy and World Religions is committed to quality undergraduate education. With a diverse offering of coursework, engaging faculty, and a true sense of community among majors, the department stands as one of the best resources for students at the University of Northern Iowa. Why should I study World Religions? Why should I study Philosophy? Support the Philosophy & World Religions Department
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Departmental Events You are invited to 3 related events coming soon -- all on South Park and Anti-Semitism in the media The First Event: a brown-bag, bring-your-own lunch and conversation with Matt Sienkewicz, an Emmy-nominated documentary producer and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin. Students from several other departments have also been invited. When? Tuesday, February 9 in Baker 161. Drop in anytime between 12:15-1:15. What? Matt will be helping us think about anti-Semitism in popular culture today in advance of his Tuesday evening 7 pm lecture. Why Matt's visit is important? - Our department has invited Matt to come to UNI because of student responses to a survey conducted last fall in our Religions of the World classes. 25% of UNI students surveyed report having heard their classmates in middle school and high school direct comments such as “Don’t be a stupid Jew” and “You’re such a Jew” toward each other. According to the students surveyed, young people are imitating a character on Comedy Central’s South Park when they direct these anti-Semitic slurs at each other. South Park is intended for “mature audiences;” however, in practice, it is a favorite show of 11-13 year-old children across the United States. One character, Cartman, regularly hurls slurs at the other characters and picks on Kyle, a Jewish child on the sitcom. (Segments of the show can be viewed by typing “stupid Jew” into the Youtube search engine). Why you should come to the lunch? Matt is looking forward to talking with us about South Park. He wants to reflect on the show's place within the history of Hollywood storytelling as well as the contemporary pop culture landscape. He is interested in talking with us about South Park's dual audience of adult and youth viewers, as well as the potential effects of the program's ironic reintroduction of anti-Semitic slurs into teen and pre-teen conversations at a time when these stereotypes were thought by some (including your professors) to be less common and powerful today than in the past. Any questions? contact Professor Reineke at Martha.reineke@uni.edu. The Second Event: Lecture on South Park: "What’s Under Kyle’s Hat?: South Park, Anti-Semitism and the Jew Joke in Multicultural America," by Matt Sienkiewicz, Emmy-nominated screenwriter and documentarian and PhD candidate, U. of Wisconsin. When? Tuesday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m. Where? Maucker Union Ballroom The Third Event: Panel Discussion: Is There Really Anything Wrong with Offensive Humor? This is a follow-up to the 2-9-10 Matt Sienkiewicz South Park lecture and protests of anti-bias incidents on campus. See attachment for complete description. When? Wed. Feb. 10, Noon Where? Baker 161 Who? Panel discussion: Harry Brod, Philosophy and World Religions; Melissa Heston, Teacher Education Program; Doug Shaw, Mathematics.