Every year I look forward to seeing which books will be published (you can read my recap of the best books and articles of 2019 HERE). The list isn’t comprehensive—many books don’t have listings on press websites quite yet. Nevertheless, I hope that I’ve highlighted many of the books Mormon historians are anxiously waiting to have their hands on in the next twelve months (and that you’ll send me information on books I’ve missed!). All quotations are from the Press’s website (when available) and all links are to the publisher’s website (where available).
The Mormon History Association (MHA) is accepting submissions for a poster session, to be held in the Riverside Convention Center Exhibit Hall during the 55th annual conference in Rochester/Palmyra, New York, June 4-7, 2020. We welcome proposals that address the conference theme, “Visions, Restoration, and Movements,” but all proposals will receive equal consideration. Please visit https://mormonhistoryassociation.org/2020-conference to view the conference call for papers. This poster session offers participants the opportunity to discuss and answer questions about their work in a relatively informal, interactive setting. This format is particularly useful for works-in-progress and for projects with visual and material evidence. Presenters must be MHA members, register for and attend the meeting, and be available for a two-hour poster viewing session and reception during the conference, date and time TBD. MHA will waive the conference registration fee for all student poster presenters.
Better Days 2020 is looking for volunteer ambassadors to help share suffrage history at community events throughout Utah in the next year.
2020 will mark the 150th
anniversary of Utah women’s first votes, the 100th anniversary of
the Nineteenth Amendment, and the 55th anniversary of the Voting
Rights Act. Better
Days 2020 is a non-profit founded to commemorate these voting
rights anniversaries in Utah. They’re working statewide to raise the profile of
women in Utah’s history through education, public art, and events.
You can get involved by
giving presentations, sharing information at a booth or table, or volunteering
at events. To become a volunteer ambassador, check out the online
training and sign
up here to indicate your interest and availability.
Better Days 2020 will send you a t-shirt and other materials when you schedule
your first event!
Find more details about becoming a Better Days ambassador here. If have any questions or know of any groups interested in hosting a presentation on Utah’s suffrage history, please contact Katherine Kitterman, Better Days 2020 historical director, at katherine (at) betterdays2020 (dot) org.
Another year, another excellent year for Mormon history and Mormon studies publications! Traditional categories, like biography and primary source collections, continue to see strong publications and newer methodological innovations written within interdisciplinary fields are showcasing their value to the field. While there’s no way to include every single publication, these are the thirty or so that I believe will be most important to the field in the future. What did I get wrong? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments!
Our friends at the John Whitmer Historical Association have published their call for their 2020 conference. You can see the original post HERE.
As pioneers and Zioneers left Nauvoo due to crushing conflict, Restoration groups in newly-created outposts struggled to build communities of worship. Did they create economic stability and refinement, or did they experience strife with competing neighbors? Perhaps the outpost provided a visionary oasis with new doctrine and ritual. How did saints returning to Nauvoo try to negotiate a peaceful existence?
Assist the Global Support and Acquisitions Division (GS&A) of the Church History Department in collecting, preserving, and sharing Church history throughout the world. This is an exciting and unique opportunity for someone interested in pursuing a career in history or library/archival science. We are looking for a motivated, energetic, and organized individual to join our team!
This paid internship is anticipated to last one year (12 months). This position is a part-time (28 hours per week) hourly, nonexempt position. The candidate must be currently enrolled in, or recently graduated from (within the last 12 months), an undergraduate- or graduate-degree program. Preference will be given to history/MLIS students, or those who are English majors working on an editing certificate.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought seeks research-based
articles, personal essays, round-table discussions, fiction, art, and poetry on
Indigenous, Native, or First Nations peoples and their place in the Latter-day
Saint (or other Restoration churches) tradition. The submissions will be considered
for a special issue of the journal that will focus on this topic and related
themes.
The Book of Mormon, the foundational scripture of Joseph Smith’s movement, recounts a historical narrative about the origins of peoples in the Americas and the Church’s drive west led to numerous meetings and convergences of Indigenous peoples with diverse peoples/immigrants/migrants. The landscape was then shaped by Mormon and US Government interventions. As the Church spread globally, these encounters continued to be tinged by colonization as a geo-political force. Such encounters and narratives about indigeneity continue to define the present.
We encourage research article submissions to treat such topics as
colonialism and postcolonial studies, historical studies and enthographic
approaches, indigeneity as a category of identity, scriptural narratives, and
theological reflections, among other topics. Personal essays, art, fiction, and
poetry on these topics would ideally also wrestle with legacies of Mormonism’s
relationship to indigenous peoples as well as issues that are of contemporary
concern. We are especially interested in featuring the work of Indigenous
persons.
Questions about submissions may be directed to Taylor Petrey,
editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (dialogueeditor@dialoguejournal.com).
Joseph Smith’s attention to his own day-to-day
activities ebbed and flowed throughout his fourteen years of religious
leadership. The final three years of his life mark the high point of his
documentary record. In Documents, Volume 9 of the Joseph Smith Papers,
historians and editors Alex Smith, Christian K. Heimburger, and Christopher
Blythe provide invaluable insight and background on 102 documents created
between December 1841 and April 1842. As the editors note in their
introduction, this volume captures less than six months of Smith’s life,
“and no subsequent volume in [the Documents] series will capture more than
half a year of Smith’s activities.”[1]
Smith created a large number of documents during this period, at least in comparison to previous times in his life, owing to several circumstances. Latter-day Saints enjoyed a season of relative peace during this time frame, which allowed for physical improvements to the city and a steady trickle of immigrants gathering to Nauvoo. Stability brought innovation. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expanded its own organization, most notable among them being the Nauvoo Female Relief Society.
Many thanks to Ben Spackman for passing this on to us! His bio can be found at the bottom of this post.
We are delighted to invite you to contribute to a BYU Studies Quarterly special issue on the thoughtful integration of evolution and faith. BYU Studies publishes scholarship within a restored gospel of Jesus Christ context. Submissions are invited from all scholars who seek truth “by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118), discern the harmony between revelation and research, value both academic and spiritual inquiry, and recognize that knowledge without charity is nothing (1 Cor. 13:2).
In this special issue we seek to faithfully explore issues related to biological evolution and Latter-day Saint belief and practice. We are soliciting articles on any issues related to this topic, including but not limited to: interpretations and contexts of Genesis (including Moses and Abraham), 2 Nephi 2:22, Doctrine & Covenants 77:6–7, 101:32-34, and related passages; hermeneutical and exegetical history; Latter-day Saint intellectual history within American contexts (e.g., the Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy); historical, contextual, and intellectual factors influencing Latter-day Saint interpretations of scripture and interpretive assumptions; religious and scientific epistemologies; the historical Adam and Eve; the nature of science; misconceptions about evolution (e.g., “the Second Law of Thermodynamics disproves evolution”); approaches to evolutionary pedagogy; how evidence of evolution does not necessarily threaten a gospel perspective; and methods for reconciliation.
We are issuing an open call for abstract submissions. If you have an idea for a manuscript that you believe would fit into this special issue, please email an abstract (1,000 words or fewer) to submissions@byu.edu by February 1, 2020.
“The Restoration and the Arts: Theory, Practice, Intersections” Brigham Young University June 8 – July 14, 2020
In the summer of 2020, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at Brigham Young University, with support from the Mormon Scholars Foundation, will sponsor a summer seminar for graduate students and other qualified individuals on “The Restoration and the Arts: Theory, Practice, Intersections.”
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. …”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Large civilizations leave behind evidence of their existence. For instance, I just read that scholars estimate the kingdom of Judah to have been around 110,000…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”
Recent Comments
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. …”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Large civilizations leave behind evidence of their existence. For instance, I just read that scholars estimate the kingdom of Judah to have been around 110,000…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”