Call for proposals

From Lisa Barlow’s claim of being “Mormon 2.0,” to Meredith Marks’ immortal declaration about “the rumors and the nastiness,” The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has captured imaginations far beyond Utah. The show is at once high drama, cultural export, and local funhouse mirror—inviting us to think seriously (and playfully) about how Salt Lake City is represented, interpreted, and mythologized.

This symposium will bring together fans, critics, scholars, and community members for a day of lively discussion, re-enactment, and reflection. We are less interested in the strict application of academic methods than in thoughtful, stimulating insights rooted in local culture, fandom, and appreciation.

We welcome diverse presentation styles: traditional talks, multimedia work, guided discussions, audience participation, or other inventive approaches. 

Want to join the steering committee? (Scott Black, Marcie Young Cancio, Robert Carson) — Email scott.black@utah.edu 

Proposals (250 words or less) are due Friday, October 17.
(This gives you a whole month of Season 6 watching!)
The committee will respond to proposals by October 31.

Possible topics

• RHOSLC’s varied faiths (LDS, Judaism, Pentecostalism, Eastern Orthodoxy) 
• Representations of Utah—to itself and beyond 
• Friendship, loyalty, betrayal 
• Sprinter van field trips as travel narratives 
• Gossip, secrets, credibility  
• Camp, melodrama, messiness 
• SLC’s distinctive dominant cultures vs its vibrant counter-cultures 
• Entrepreneurship, class aspiration, seat 17C 
• Celebrity, influence, and attention 
• Community and fandom 
• Taglines and branding as a way of life 
• Evidence, “receipts,” public shaming, redemption 
• Utah’s built and natural environments as set dressing 
• Reality TV, hot mics, and mise-en-scene 
• Bathtubs, party favors, charcuterie boards

SUBMIT ABSTRACTS HERE