By ChristopherJuly 25, 2011
This past Sunday, several of the prayers to open and close meetings in my ward included mention of United States soldiers. This, of course, was not something new. I?ve heard such particular mentions of the military in every ward I?ve ever attended, and it is especially common here in Virginia, where several members of the local congregation (and many, many more throughout the Newport News Stake) serve(d) in the armed forces. I don?t know why my mind focused on this otherwise routine supplication during yesterday?s service; perhaps it was the juxtaposition of one brother mentioning the armed forces as part of a longer list of individuals needing either God?s blessing or our thanks (they were mentioned right after the missionaries and right before the Pioneers), or perhaps I was struck by the particular language used (?please bless those fighting for our country?). Regardless, it got me thinking about the origin of the practice.
Continue Reading
By Ben PJuly 11, 2011
And the CHL’s empire expands….
_______________________________________________________
Job Title: Web Content Strategy Manager
Job Description: The Web Content Strategy Manager will hold a leadership position responsible for developing, planning and delivering all aspects of the written and visual content for the Church History Department website (history.lds.org). The website is a central hub for the various divisions of the Church History Department, including Collections, Preservation, Historic Sites, Publications, the Church History Library, and the Church History Museum. The Church History Department is seeking to aggressively expand its Internet presence through the development of new and unique historical content that will serve Church members and interested outsiders, including researchers and academics. The successful applicant will be deeply versed in Latter-day Saint Church history as well as website strategy and development, and also possess strong writing and analytical skills.
Continue Reading
By Steve FlemingJuly 7, 2011
In both my MHA and Bushman papers given recently, I cited Quinn’s point about JS’s Moroni visitation coming on the equinox. [1] After my Bushman presentation, an audience member cornered me to let me know that the date was Rosh Hashanah and asked me if I knew that (I did because another guy told me that after my MHA presentation).
My question is, why is Rosh Hashanah good and the equinox somehow bad? Why do we (by we I mean a common perception among church members) only want to have JS be influenced by the ancient world? Why is the ancient world good, but the nineteenth century is bad?
Continue Reading
By ChristopherJune 20, 2011
(Cross-posted at Religion in American History)
When the news feed on my facebook began to be flooded with links to the same page last week, I excitedly clicked over the the Washington Post On Faith Op-Ed by John Mark Reynolds, professor of Philosophy at Biola University. Reading the title, “Amos and Andy and the Book of Mormon,” I hopefully (but mistakenly) assumed that the article was evidence of Jared Farmer’s critique—that lurking beneath the portrayal of religion in the Book of Mormon musical was not-so-subtle racism in the show’s portrayal of Africans—starting to gain traction.
Continue Reading
By ChristopherJune 14, 2011
(cross-posted at Religion in American History)
Over at Religion Dispatches, Jared Farmer, professor of history at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and author of the excellent On Zion’s Mount: Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape, reviews the multiple Tony Award-winning broadway play, The Book of Mormon.
By all accounts, Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s satirical look at Mormon missionaries in Africa is funny. With very few
Continue Reading
By Ben PJune 13, 2011
CALL FOR PAPERS
Brigham Young University
Women?s Studies
Invites proposals for the conference:
WOMEN AND CREATIVITY
Conference date: November 3-5, 2011
Throughout history, women have strived to demonstrate their ability to create lasting literary or artistic works, to find new ways of expressing themselves, to better our world through valuable research and innovative thinking. This inter-disciplinary conference seeks to examine issues related broadly to women and creativity and to bring together faculty and advanced students interested in sharing research on women in the arts, literature and sciences. We invite proposals from literature, visual and performing arts, philosophy, religion, law, social studies, anthropology, sciences, and public health.
Possible themes:
- Literature by women authors
- Women artists, women in the arts
- The Muse
- Creativity transmitted by women
- Representations of women authors or artists in literature, visual arts, popular culture
- Women as promoters of scientific progress
- Women in modernity
- Women in education/pedagogy
- Women and nursing
- Social/Historical perspectives
We invite faculty interested in the conference to submit 300-word abstracts for individual papers on these subjects or other related themes. Advanced students should submit both a 100-word abstract, and an 8-10-page paper. Submissions should be sent by August 15, 2011 to womenscreativityconference@byu.edu.
Submissions should include: a) author(s), b) academic affiliation, c) email address, d) title of abstract, e) body of abstract, f) (for students) an 8-10 page paper. E-mails should include in the subject box: WSC Abstract Submission.
Each presenter will have 20 minutes for the presentation, followed by 10 minutes for discussions. Selected papers may be developed for publication in a themed hard copy volume.
By ChristopherJune 6, 2011
(cross-posted at Religion in American History)
Over at Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought‘s website, the editors have posted a discussion (moderated by Susanna Morrill, associate professor of religious studies at Lewis and Clark College) between noted historians and scholars of religion Richard Lyman Bushman and Robert Orsi. Bushman and Orsi reflect on the potential Orsi’s approach to “supernatural presence” and “abundant events” in modern Catholicism holds for scholars of Mormonism.
Continue Reading
By ChristopherMay 27, 2011
Below are this year’s Mormon History Association award winners. Juvenile Instructor bloggers are identified in blue.
__________________________
Continue Reading
By Jared TMay 27, 2011
I submitted the following abstract in response to MHA?s call for papers for the 2011 conference, underway as we speak. I was pleased to receive notice that my proposal had been accepted, but in the time between submission and acceptance, circumstances had changed. My family was now expecting a new arrival, due May 23, 2011 (he arrived a week early?welcome, Hyrum!). Since the due date was the very week of MHA, I declined acceptance, and I?m jealously following reports of those who are attending. Here is the abstract:
Continue Reading
By May 18, 2011
With the participation of a host of notable scholars (and including a number of JIers), this looks like it’s going to be an amazing event.
Continue Reading
Recent Comments
Mark Staker on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny was always generous in sharing her knowledge. She was not only an exceptional educator (who also taught her colleagues along the way), but she…”
Gary Bergera on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny's great. Thanks for posting this.”
Kathy Cardon on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I worked in the Church's Historical department when Jenny was in the Museum. I always enjoyed our interactions. Reading this article has been a real…”
Don Tate on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Very well done and richly deserved! I am most proud of Jenny and how far she has come with her life, her scholarship, and her…”
Ben P on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “My favorite former boss and respected current historian!”
Hannah J on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I really enjoyed this! Going to be thinking about playing the long game for a while. Thanks Amy and Jenny.”