The Intellectual Prospects for Mormonism?: The Third Biennial Faith and Knowledge Conference for LDS Graduate Students in Religion
Duke University
February 11-12, 2011

The Faith and Knowledge conference series was established in 2006 to bring together LDS graduate students and young faculty in religious studies and related disciplines in order to explore the intellectual interactions between religious faith and scholarship.  In past conferences, graduate students have been invited to reflect upon aspects of their own   intellectual reconciliations?or their failures to do so?between church and academy, and to offer fruitful solutions to fellow students undergoing similar intellectual journeys.

In keeping with these past objectives, we invite graduate students in religious studies and related disciplines working on issues related to religion (including philosophy, anthropology, sociology, ethics, history, and others) to consider Mormonism?s prospects. What intellectual and ethical issues do Mormons now face in the academy and in the intellectual world generally?  What are Mormonism?s prospects for development, reconciliation, or heightened conflict?

The conference will feature a keynote address by Grant Hardy, author of Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader?s Guide.

Papers should be brief, pointed comments of ten to fifteen minutes reflecting the author?s experience and designed to serve as starting points for discussion.

Travel and accommodations subsidies will be available for those who contribute papers.

The deadline for paper proposals has been extended to October 15, 2010. Short proposals (no more than 250 words) should be sent to Ariel Bybee Laughton ( ariel.laughton@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).  Presenters will be notified by December 1, 2010.

Richard Bushman
Jason Combs
Ariel Bybee Laughton
Seth Payne
Taylor Petrey

UPDATE:

The upcoming Faith and Knowledge conference for graduate students in Religious Studies is now accepting participant registration for those not giving papers.  The 2011 conference schedule should soon be finalized and made available to those who register.  In the past, qualified registrants have been eligible for a free hotel room for the duration of the conference in order to make it easier for graduate students to attend.  The $25 registration fee helps pay for the conference expenses.  Register here.