By ChristopherOctober 12, 2009
It is easy, as a historian, to get caught up in your efforts to prove a point. This is especially true for graduate students, who seemingly have to strive to make a unique contribution to their chosen field. In sorting and sifting through evidence found in sometimes obscure primary source material, I often find myself straining to relate it to larger issues; issues that others will care about, issues that will change the way the field approaches a particular subject.
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By matt b.October 8, 2009
I.
The facts are these:
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By ChristopherOctober 7, 2009
Adam Reilly of the Boston Phoenix has written an article (“Latter day Taint: How Glenn Beck is driven by Mormonism ? and why his fellow faithful (including Mitt Romney) should be worried”) further teasing out the relationship between Glenn Beck’s politics and Mormonism (following up what was originally posted here at the JI and more recently, Alexander Zaitchik’s take on Cleon Skousen and Glenn Beck at Salon).
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By ChristopherOctober 7, 2009
Robert Orsi. The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, 1880-1950, Second Edition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002 (original edition 1985). xlix + 287 pp.
I recently finished reading Robert Orsi’s 1985 classic, The Madonna of 115th Street, for a readings course on religion, immigration, and transnationalism. Throughout it, I considered some of the possibilities such an approach to Mormonism might yield. What follows is a review of the book (for those who haven’t read it), and then some of my meandering thoughts on how a similar approach might be useful in studying various aspects of the Mormon experience. I apologize for the length of this post, and encourage any so inclined to simply skim (or skip, if you’re already familiar with Orsi’s book) the post and skip to the final few paragraphs dealing with Mormonism.
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By matt b.October 6, 2009
Given our blog’s audience, this year’s theme and location seems oddly appropriate. Feel free to use the thread to assemble panels.
Call for Papers for SHEAR 2010
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By ElizabethOctober 4, 2009
Two brief notes on Elder Scott’s Saturday morning talk. I was grateful for his denunciation of pornography. Viewing pornography has profound personal theological implications, as Elder Scott notes. It “degrades the mind and heart,” which directly influences our ability to feel the Spirit.
However, he did not adequately complete the central theological argument,
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