In 2011 and 2014, our own Ben P. set out a theoretical Mormon history “canon” or “comprehensive exams list.” Here’s what he wrote in 2014: “It is designed as a template for a grad student’s theoretical comprehensive exam list (though I should again emphasize that I’d think it’d be a stupid idea for a grad student to dedicate a portion of a comprehensive exam merely to Mormonism). Thus, books need to cover a broad swath of topics, chronologies, and approaches in order to be inclusive, but they should also match a particular level of quality.”
With all of this indoor time and time to finish long-thought-of-but-not-written blog posts, I decided to try my hand at it. While Ben stuck to naming 25 books to orient one to the field, I went to 42 and wrote a list for those studying American history. I plan to write one for religious studies, but we will see what time I have to do that in future months.
IMPORTANT: This reflects my own interests and biases. It is not definitive. If I didn’t include your book or your cousin’s best friend’s bowling coach’s book that doesn’t mean that I don’t like it. These are introductory books that set the table for future study in American history. Other titles may appear on other lists.
The William A. Wilson Folklore Archive at Brigham Young University’s L. Tom Perry Special Collections is collecting the stories of Latter-day Saint missionaries who have served during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you or someone you know may be interested in sharing their story, please contact the curator, Christine Blythe at Christine_blythe [at] byu [dot] edu. The interviews will become a part of a broader collection of Latter-day Saint experiences with COVID-19. Please help us document this unique era in world and Latter-day Saint history.
Sarah M.S. Pearsall’s argument in Polygamy: An Early American History is succinct: Polygamy “is a form of marriage and therefore, like monogamy, a matter of public concern structuring societies, cultures, and lineages” (7). She repeatedly, and helpfully, drives this home as she documents and analyzes arguments for and against plural marriage/polygyny/polygamy over three centuries, from early Spanish colonization in New Spain, New France, King Phillip’s War, and among the enslaved in eighteenth-century British colonies before moving on toward the Latter-day Saint practice of plural marriage in antebellum America. She proves, beyond all reasonable doubt, that, “Contrary to popular opinion, American polygamy did not start with the Mormons” (1).
The Book of Mormon Studies Association (BoMSA) is pleased
to announce its fourth annual meeting, to be held October 9–10, 2020, at Utah
State University. The event is sponsored by USU’s Department of Religious
Studies and with thanks to Patrick Mason, the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of
Mormon History and Culture.
This annual event gathers a variety of scholars invested
in serious academic study of the Book of Mormon. It has no particular theme but
instead invites papers on any subject related to the Book of Mormon from any
viable academic angle. This year’s two keynote speakers will be John Durham
Peters (Yale University) and Nancy Bentley (University of Pennsylvania). We
will also hold a special plenary session on the Maxwell Institute’s Brief
Theological Introductions to the Book of Mormon series in conjunction with
its full release in 2020.
We therefore invite the submission of papers and
proposals for inclusion in the 2020 conference program. Note that newcomers to
the organization are required to submit a full paper for consideration, while
those who have presented at any of the previous conferences are free to submit
a proposal or a paper. Papers submitted should be no longer than 4000 words,
while proposals should be between 500 and 750 words.
The submission deadline is June 1, 2020. All submissions
should be sent to bookofmormonsa@gmail.com. Be sure to include “Conference
Submission” in the subject line of the submission email.
We particularly encourage the participation of graduate
students. To that end, BoMSA will continue to host a special lunch for graduate
students in attendance, free of charge, in the hopes of creating networking
opportunities.
Hotel space for the conference has already been secured
at a reduced rate at the USU Campus Inn. Once acceptance letters have been sent
out in June, rooms can be booked online through the “Conference” page at
www.bomsa.org.
KEYNOTES: John
Durham Peters (Yale University) + Nancy Bentley (University of Pennsylvania)
DATE: October 9–10,
2020
LOCATION: Utah
State University, Inn and Conference Center
As millions of us throughout the world move into voluntary isolation to avoid spreading COVID-19 I thought it would be nice to recommend a few podcast episodes to download to pass the time. Please add your own in the comments!
An excerpt from an interview with our own Benjamin Park, Assistant Professor of History at Sam Houston State University, whose book on politics and polygamy in Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo is soon to be published with Liveright/Norton. Park received his PhD in History from Cambridge University in 2014. He is also co-editor of the Mormon Studies Review. For the full interview, head over to Kurt Manwaring’s site, From the Desk.
What surprised you during your research for Kingdom of Nauvoo?
68th Annual Utah State Historical Society Conference
THEME: RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITES
September 25, 2020
The Utah State Historical Society invites you to attend its 68th annual conference on September 25, 2020.
In 1920, with the passage of the nineteenth amendment, women throughout the United States won the right to vote. In recognition of that event, the 2020 conference will focus on the question of rights and responsibilityin Utah history. Those who have sought legal, political, and social equality have often had to disentangle ideologies, legal doctrines, and established opinion. The push for women’s suffrage is a prime example of this process.
Other topics to be addressed may include women’s rights, Native voting rights, religious and secular liberty, disability rights, LGBTQ rights, questions of family law, desegregation, free speech, property rights, equal access to education, conscientious objection, and protection of labor. The conference promises to present other interpretations of rights and responsibility, as they pertain to Utah history, to encourage a broad understanding of the topic.
Nestled in the
charming hills of northeastern Ohio, this “House of the Lord” stands
as a vivid reminder that Kirtland was once home to some of the 19th century’s
most successful community builders. Inspired by the beliefs and practices of
the earliest Christians, followers of Joseph Smith Jr. gathered in Kirtland and
built their first temple between 1833 and 1836. The Kirtland Temple stood at
the center of community life for more than 2,000 believers by 1838. Within a
year, all but 100 were gone. The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic
Landmark.
Consider an internship at Kirtland Temple, for a rewarding
and fun experience where you will:
The Joseph Smith
Historic Site preserves the properties and memories of Joseph Smith Jr.,
founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, his father, Joseph Smith Sr., and
son, Joseph Smith III. The site houses many original structures from the 1840s,
as well as the Smith Family Cemetery, final resting place of Joseph and Emma
Smith, Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, and numerous other family
members and friends. The Joseph Smith Historic Site is part of the Nauvoo
National Historic Landmark District.
Consider an
internship in Nauvoo, Illinois, at the Joseph Smith Historic Site, for a
rewarding and fun experience where you will:
Steve Fleming on BH Roberts on Plato: “Interesting, Jack. But just to reiterate, I think JS saw the SUPPRESSION of Platonic ideas as creating the loss of truth and not the addition.…”
Jack on BH Roberts on Plato: “Thanks for your insights--you've really got me thinking.
I can't get away from the notion that the formation of the Great and Abominable church was an…”
Steve Fleming on BH Roberts on Plato: “In the intro to DC 76 in JS's 1838 history, JS said, "From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important…”
Jack on BH Roberts on Plato: “"I’ve argued that God’s corporality isn’t that clear in the NT, so it seems to me that asserting that claims of God’s immateriality happened AFTER…”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “The burden of proof is on the claim of there BEING Nephites. From a scholarly point of view, the burden of proof is on the…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”
Recent Comments
Steve Fleming on BH Roberts on Plato: “Interesting, Jack. But just to reiterate, I think JS saw the SUPPRESSION of Platonic ideas as creating the loss of truth and not the addition.…”
Jack on BH Roberts on Plato: “Thanks for your insights--you've really got me thinking. I can't get away from the notion that the formation of the Great and Abominable church was an…”
Steve Fleming on BH Roberts on Plato: “In the intro to DC 76 in JS's 1838 history, JS said, "From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important…”
Jack on BH Roberts on Plato: “"I’ve argued that God’s corporality isn’t that clear in the NT, so it seems to me that asserting that claims of God’s immateriality happened AFTER…”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “The burden of proof is on the claim of there BEING Nephites. From a scholarly point of view, the burden of proof is on the…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”