The University of Glasgow is offering the “D’Oh! The Simpsons Introduce Philosophy” course next semester.
Costing £30, professor John Donaldson will teach the class on Saturday, January 21 and Saturday, February 4.
“‘The Simpsons’ is one of the modern world’s greatest cultural artifacts partly because it is so full of philosophy,” reads the course description. “Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Camus, and many other great thinkers’ ideas are represented in what is arguably the purest of philosophical forms: the comic cartoon. This day-school will explore some of philosophy’s most inspiring ideas as presented in Matt Groening’s monument to the absurdities of human existence.”
In an interview with the BBC, Donaldson said that “Homer is a very complex character in many ways. He’s very gluttonous, he can be quite violent and self-interested. But at the same time he’s a character that’s hard not to like.”
“The Simpsons” first aired in 1989 and was created by Groening. It is one of the most popular animated TV shows of all time, and was just renewed for a 29th and 30th season earlier this month.
The renewal will bring the total number of episodes to 669, surpassing 635 “Gunsmoke” episodes to claim the record for the most ever by a scripted program.
“The Simpsons” is a Gracie Films Production in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Brooks, Groening and Jean are the executive producers. The Gracie Films Worldwide Brand Division develops and produces the licensed content for the series.
11 Surprising 'Simpsons' Deaths That Rocked Springfield (Photos)
Jackie Mason won an Emmy for playing Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, aka Krusty the Clown's father, on the episode "Like Father, Like Clown."
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Maude Flanders died on a 2000 episode of the show, but still makes the occasional posthumous appearance.
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Lisa's sax-wielding mentor Bleeding Gums Murphy is one of the first recurring characters "The Simpsons" killed off.
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Jebediah Springfield died well over a hundred years before Homer Simpson was born, but he's the town's namesake and the star of several episodes.
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Poochie died on his way back to his home planet in 1997.
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The Gypsy appeared on several episodes of "The Simpsons," once turning Lisa into a Centaur, but died while reading Abe Simpson's fortune.
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Grimey died in an accident at the nuclear power plant while trying to prove Homer's idiocy.
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Mob boss "Fat Tony," voiced by Joe Mantegna and at one time Phil Hartman, had a heart attack and died while in Homer's arms.
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Dr. Marvin Monroe was pronounced dead on the show's 138th episode spectacular and even got a tombstone in Springfield Cemetery, but reappeared nearly 10 years later explaining he'd "been very sick."
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The submarine captain torpedoed himself into an enemy ship in "Simpson Tide" and is presumed dead
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Arnie Gumble was killed off on his one and only episode, "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"; he served alongside Abe Simpson memorably.
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Rabbi Krustofski dies in the long-running Fox show’s Season 26 premiere, but he isn’t the first ”Simpsons“ character to unexpectedly get axed
Jackie Mason won an Emmy for playing Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, aka Krusty the Clown's father, on the episode "Like Father, Like Clown."