2022 in Review: Article and Book Highlights

By November 30, 2022

This is my third year(!) doing this recap and I decided to limit listing five for each category. There are many more worthy of consideration. This list is reflective of my own interests and I want folks to add more publications in the comments.

Also, I’ll tell you who I think is going to win MHA awards if you Venmo me enough an Austin SLAB (IYKYK). Topics and works are in alphabetical order and are not an indication of rank.

Global Mormonism

The future of Mormon studies is global.

Legal Studies

Oman, Nathan B. “Salt, Smurthwaite, and Smith: The Origins of the Modern Legal Identity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Journal of Mormon History 48 no. 1 (January 2022): 92-122.

Church and state issues remain central to contemporary Mormonism in the US and abroad. This article helps place major events within their legal and Mormon contexts.

Media Studies

Allred’s work forces Mormon studies scholars to think more critically about discursive, cultural, and media histories. We need more folks thinking in these areas.

Champoux’s collection may end up being the most important contribution to Mormon studies this year. There’s a wealth of material here that will spawn future studies.

Primary Sources

Thank goodness for the folks doing the hard work of organizing, annotating, and publishing primary sources. 

Race

I’m thrilled that most of these articles whose topics and approaches are truly innovative. Perhaps it’s because race is the subfield I’m most engaged in, but I can get frustrated with the repeated framing of certain topics. That isn’t the case this year. The future of Mormon studies is moving beyond the US-centric framing of the racial restriction. The theories and methods and multiple fields engaged in these works are crucial to the field’s continued relevance. 

Sacred Space

I’m always thrilled to see folks engaging in broader religious studies theory and methods. While these articles are largely historical I think that they point to new directions for Mormon history.


Sacred Texts

Several folks who like speculating about the future of the field as much as I do have told me that scripture and theology are the next “big thing” in Mormon Studies. As a humble historian I am not so sure. What I am sure of, though, is that this year features a bumper crop of scholarship on scripture. 

Theology

My comments from the “Scripture” section apply here, too.

Women and Gender

Women’s history remains a central focus of the field (rightfully so) and I’m also excited to see how new questions are starting to move to the fore.

Article filed under Miscellaneous


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