Last year, Kris W. and I hosted a “Mormonism in Religious Studies” workshop at the University of Utah. We discussed religious disappointment, Mormonism and Spiritualism, failed healings, immigration, Mormon women and masonry, and other topics at length.

The workshop helped to create a sense of community among young scholars from a variety of places and disciplines while providing helpful feedback for developing projects.  As a result, we have decided to host another workshop as a pre-conference workshop at the 2017 meetings of the Mormon History Association in St. Louis, MO. The workshop, “Surveying Trends in the Field: Mormon History and Mormon Studies in the Modern Academy,” will be held on Thursday, June 1 at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis from 9 AM-5 PM. There will be no cost for the workshop beyond punctual arrival and rigorous intellectual engagement.

ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY:

Any graduate student or early career scholar that is interested in Mormon Studies in any discipline may apply. Women and less represented groups are especially encouraged to apply. The paper you propose to present must touch on Mormonism in some way; preference will be given to papers that examine gender, race, sexuality, the twentieth century, or global Mormonism. You must be physically present at the Danforth Center to participate.

In order to apply, please send the following application materials to joseph dot stuart at Utah dot edu or klwright at princeton dot edu:

• Name and Email
• CV
• A 200-250 word abstract of the paper you’d like to contribute to the workshop

Anyone that does not submit each part of the application will not be considered for participation.

THE WORKSHOP:

This year, we have the good fortune to have Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp, Patrick Mason, and Spencer Fluhman in attendance as speakers. In the morning, they will speak to current trends and possibilities in the fields of Mormon History and Mormon Studies. They may ask participants to come prepared, having read some material in advance. They will not be participating in the paper workshop–although their insight will undoubtedly help workshop participants in their work.

Then, after the provided lunch, the workshop’s accepted graduate students and early career faculty will discuss each participant’s paper as a group. Papers may be up to 10,000 words (including footnotes). Submissions could be anything from a seminar paper to a conference paper to a book chapter, but it is expected that a draft will either be completed or close to completion. Each participant will be required to read all of the participants’ papers and be prepared to discuss each of them in depth.

As a participant, you will also be responsible for introducing a colleague’s paper to the rest of the group. You will be responsible for summarizing the paper to the group and assessing the paper’s strengths and weaknesses (5 minutes or less). You will then facilitate discussion of the paper for 20-25 minutes.

Applications are due on March 27, 2017 and notices of acceptance or rejection will be sent out on April 3, 2017. Accepted applicants must have a draft ready to be sent to other participants by May 23, 2017. Please help us spread the word by social media and word-of-mouth! Any questions should be directed to Kris or myself.