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Home How we watch The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

“This is not a costume, it’s public humanities”

Friday April 10, 9 am – 3 pm
Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House

Both campy and analytical, this symposium moves from close reading to collective watching.

Scholars and fans from the Salt Lake Valley and across the country gather for a day of lively discussion, appreciation, and spectacle. We will ask what The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reveals about fame, faith, femininity, conflict, fashion, and the art of performance.

At the University of Utah, the Tanner Humanities Center is committed to serious thinking about popular culture—and to the pleasure of thinking together.

Reserve Your Free Spot

Attendees are welcome to arrive in their best Housewives costume fashion.


Companion events

The night before · Thursday, April 9, 6 pm:
RHOSLC Trivia Night at Blue Gene’s
Hosted by Amplify Utah and Questionable Productions
Limited capacity. First-come, first serve.

After the symposium · Reserved space at 4 pm:
Gathering at Franklin Ave Cocktails & Kitchen
(true fans know what happened here)

9 am

Welcome and stage-setting

Speakers
9:15 am

Snowflakes, Scandal, and Sisterhood

Speakers
10 am

Housewives U: Core Curriculum

Speakers

“I'm Disengaging”: A Couples Therapist’s Guide to Communication on RHOSLC · Jordan Rullo

From Saints to Sinners: Tales of Dating and Marriage From Within the Hive · The Salty Hoes

11 am

Housewives U: Electives

Speakers

Talking Back at The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City · Ali Alkhalifa

Rented Revelations: Housewives, Crickets, and Empty Walls · Julia Soule and Li Murphy

The Function of Fashion in The Real Housewives of SLC · Rachel White

1 pm

Return from lunch for Salt Lake Acting Company performance

Speakers
1:05 pm

Housewives U: Extracurriculars

Speakers

Stuck in Time? What AI Baby Parodies May Reveal about RHOSLC, and Us · Crystal Rudds

The Cult Canonization of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City · Alexandra Docherty

Mormon Multiverse: How Reality TV Reveals a Spectrum of Faith Practice and Accelerates Identity Negotiation · Cassie Bingham

2 pm

How we watch after school

Speakers

The Ethics of Shade: Probity, Gossip, and Connection in Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Fan Communities

2:30 – 3 pm

Salt Lake Acting Company Performance

Speakers
The Tanner Humanities Center is grateful for the support of these co-sponsors

Views expressed in Tanner Humanities Center events do not reflect the official views of the Center or the University of Utah.