Though “Jersey Shore 101: Cultural Identity in Post-GTL America†has yet (to our knowledge) to make it into the course offerings of a major university, there is now a major academic conference devoted to the MTV reality phenomenon. The first Jersey Shore studies meeting went down last Friday at the University of Chicago, and a number of very kind professors and scholars assembled there in order to legitimize your fascination with the Smush Room. The very high-minded topics included: “the Guido pose†and Italian-American identity, Jersey Shore as a refutation to Marxist labor theory, and “Bodily Discipline: Foucault + Snooki = BFF.†(Please translate and report back on your own time.) Still unexamined: Deena’s special relationship with gravity. Maybe next year? [NYT]