WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including Batman and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Mad Men and Philosophy.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks for Helping Us

Go to There ix

Introduction: Platonic Fantasies and Tina Fey-losophy 1

PART ONE WHAT WOULD OPRAH DO?: ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE AT 30 ROCK

1 Being Kenneth: Some Moral Lessons 7
P. Sue Dohnimm

2 Sour Lemon: Liz's Workaholism and the Meaning of Life 16
Jeffrey A. Hinzmann

3 Friendship on 30 Rock: What a Greek Philosopher Can Teach Us about Companionship 28
Dan Yim

4 A Confucian-Aristotelian Critique of 30 Rock's "Semi-Virtuous Path" 43
Adam Barkman

PART TWO THE GIRLIE SHOW: GENDER, RACE, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION AT 30 ROCK

5 Race at the Rock: Race Cards, White Myths, and Postracial America 57
J. Jeremy Wisnewski

6 Getting Gay: How 30 Rock Helps Us Understand Sexuality 75
J. Jeremy Wisnewski

7 And the Followship Award Goes to . . . Third-Wave Feminism? 89
Ashley Barkman

PART THREE DEALBREAKER!: CORPORATIONS, PROFESSIONS, AND POLITICS

8 Medicine's Not a Science: Dr. Leo Spaceman and the Role of the Incompetent Professional in Today's America 101
Kevin S. Decker

9 Is There a Difference between East Coast Television and Microwave Ovens?: Moral Questions about Corporate Management 114
Andrew Terjesen

10 The Emancipation Corporation: Loving and Loathing the Shinehardt Wigs of the World 130
Nicolas Michaud

11 Liz and Jack Can't Be Friends!: Communitarianism, Libertarianism, and Politics at 30 Rock 138
Nicolas Michaud

PART FOUR MIND GRAPES (TO NOURISH YOUR THINKING)

12 "The Bubble," the Cave, and Samsara: Being Deluded at 30 Rock 149
Adam Barkman

13 Of Cookie Jars and CEOs: Time and Self on 30 Rock 161
Tyler Shores

14 One City's Cheese-Curl Addict Is Another City's Model: A Question of Taste 174
Michael Da Silva and Melina Found

15 "I'm Straight-Up Mentally Ill": Tracy Jordan and True, Justified Belief 186
Robert Arp

16 Performing at 30 Rock (and Everywhere Else) 195
Marc E. Shaw

APPENDIX 1 : Frank's Hat Store 209

APPENDIX 2 : The Wisdom of the Page: Meet Kenneth Ellen Parcell 211

CONTRIBUTORS: Cast Members of 30 Rock and Philosophy 217

INDEX: Shinehardt Wig Company Filing System 221