By November 4, 2012
A conference planned for October 3 – 6, 2013, in Newport and Providence, Rhode Island, organized by the Newport Historical Society, the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, Salve Regina University, the George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom, the John Carter Brown Library, and Brown University to mark the 350th anniversary of the 1663 Rhode Island Charter.
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By ChristopherOctober 26, 2012
It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since that fateful day at J-Dawgs when five lowly BYU students decided to start a blog devoted to the academic study of Mormon history. Yup, that’s right. The Juvenile Instructor turns 5 today. We’ve added new bloggers (there’s 25 of us now! 25!), regretfully said goodbye to a couple of others, and grown and developed and (hopefully) improved during that time. I’ll offer my own belief that the JI is bigger and better and stronger than it’s ever been. And a lot of that has to do with you, our readers. Among the most regular comments I hear from people about the JI is how much they appreciate and enjoy the quality of conversation that goes on in the comments section, and I tend to agree. For those that have been with us since the beginning, thanks for sticking around. And for those who only recently found the blog, thanks for stopping by. We hope you’ll visit often.
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By CristineOctober 22, 2012
We thought that some of the New England branch of the JI community might be interested in this upcoming event at Brandeis University:
?The Faces of Eve: Varieties of Mormon Feminism?
A lecture by Janet Bennion, author of Polygamy in Primetime
Thursday, October 25, 2012, 7:00 to 9:00pm
Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Epstein Building, Brandeis University
515 South Street, Waltham MA 02454
Media portrayals of Mormon women have focused on the potential for oppression and abuse within both the mainline church and fundamentalists sects. Drawing on her 17 years of fieldwork among fundamentalist polygamous Mormons, Janet Bennion argues that some “sister wives” find fulfillment and even empowerment through their domestic arrangements. In this lecture, she will be joined by historian Laurel Ulrich to look beyond the official patriarchy and find the subtle feminisms Mormon women embody.
Janet Bennion is a professor of social sciences at Lyndon State College in Vermont. Her latest book, “Polygamy in Primetime: Media, Gender, and Politics in Mormon Fundamentalism”, was published in 2012 by the Brandeis Series on Gender, Culture, Religion, and Law, a collaboration between the HBI and the University Press of New England.
Free and open to the public.
Parking in Epstein Lot.
RSVP encouraged: hbi@brandeis.edu
By Tod R.October 19, 2012
"I like to call it the lunar mission of the Church." -Elder Steven E. Snow referring to the Joseph Smith Papers
After too much waiting, being swamped at work, and my own timidity, I’d like to share my notes from the recent blogger event the Church History Library hosted for the release of Histories Volume 2 of the Joseph Smith Papers.
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By David G.October 14, 2012
The Juvenile Instructor is pleased to announce a round table discussion of one of the most important works to appear on Mormon history in recent memory–John G. Turner‘s Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet. Turner’s biography, published by Harvard University Press, represents perhaps the apex of what I’ve called elsewhere a “Brigham Young Revival,” as historians have revisited the second Mormon prophet with renewed vigor after a long period of scholarly neglect. In the early twentieth century, historians found Brigham Young to be a far more interesting figure than Joseph Smith, since the former embodied scholars’ fascination with the frontier as the source of American culture and distinctiveness. Smith, by contrast, was usually cast as a womanizing deceiver who preyed upon credulous dupes, whose achievements paled in comparison to those of his successor. By the 1940s, however, scholars began to see Smith in a more positive light, producing several important studies and biographies, while the interest in Young waned. In the post-Civil Rights era, Young’s primary importance for historians lay in his racial policies and controversial theological teachings. Only Leonard Arrington published a major work on Young during this period, whose 1985 Brigham Young: American Moses reflected an earlier era of frontier historiography.
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By October 4, 2012
From our friends at the Church History Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
Purpose and Responsibilities
The Church History Department announces an opening for a historian/writer with an emphasis on women?s history within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Duties will include researching and writing, in collaboration with others, documentary and narrative histories on the experience of Latter-day Saint women.
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By RobinOctober 1, 2012
Archival research and the resulting discovered sources often provide the critical foundation for scholarly articles and books. There is something wonderful about stepping into the archives and having the past delivered to your table in Holinger boxes and non-acidic folders; not to mention that you often discover answers to questions you had not thought to ask.
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By Ben PSeptember 11, 2012
JI’s good friend Rachel Cope passed along the news that BYU’s Church History and Doctrine Department are looking for applicants. You can find all the information you need at this site. (Click on “Search Positions” on the left-hand side of the page, then on “Job Type” click on “Full Time” for “Job Category” click “Faculty.” You will then click on the opening for Church History and Doctrine. Note: do not choose the option labeled “Professional,” unless you want to apply for a teaching position that teaches 6-7 courses per semester, each with over 100 students. The other option has a smaller teaching load with larger research expectations.) Below is the most relevant information:
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By ChristopherSeptember 10, 2012
For our Utah readers, friend of JI and author of the recently-released Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet John Turner will be speaking about his book at locations along the Wasatch Front. If you’re around, be sure and make it a point to attend. Here’s the schedule:
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By August 30, 2012
THE FOURTH BIENNIAL FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE CONFERENCE
WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
WASHINGTON, D. C.
FEBRUARY 22?23, 2013
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