Jennifer Champoux is a scholar of Latter-day Saint visual art and a co-editor of Approaching the Tree: Interpreting 1 Nephi 8, forthcoming from the Neal A. Maxwell Institute. Her current projects include directing the Book of Mormon Art Catalog (a digital database launching soon) and writing a book on artist C. C. A. Christensen for the Introductions to Mormon Thought series published by the University of Illinois Press.
I write this from 40,000 feet over the Atlantic, returning home after the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities (MSH) conference at Pembroke College, Oxford. This year’s theme of “aesthetics” fostered a lively discussion about the meaning and function of art within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Among the presenters was Mark Wrathall, who, drawing on Nietzsche, postulated that the experience of true beauty (encompassing the lovely and agreeable as well as the challenging and painful) creates a new reality and teaches us to feel differently.[1] His remarks made me wonder, does Latter-day Saint religious art allow for true beauty understood this way? Can it initiate an emotional response that opens a space for discovery and revelation? Does it make us uncomfortable in a way that reorients us? Or does it sanitize our experience of discipleship and keep us at arm’s length from the messiness of life?
These are the kinds of questions asked in Gary Ettari’s new Mormonism, Empathy, and Aesthetics: Beholding the Body (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), which makes a significant contribution to the growing field of art scholarship in the Latter-day Saint tradition. Ettari is an associate professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. His fascinating book fruitfully draws from early Christian thinkers, Latter-day Saint rhetoric and scripture, and contemporary neurological and aesthetic theories to examine religious art.
The Utah State Historical Society and Utah Division of State History invite proposals for papers, sessions, panels, or multi-media presentations for the 70th annual history conference this fall. Scholars, researchers, educators, students, and members of the public are encouraged to submit proposals that explore the connection of water to our collective past and future.
Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Location: Provo Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, 101 West 100 North, Provo, Utah
The Book of Mormon Studies Association (BoMSA) is pleased to announce its sixth annual meeting, to be held in person on October 6–8, 2022, 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 plenary guests will be Ann Taves (University of California Santa Barbara) and David Holland (Harvard Divinity School).
Shields, Steven L. Divergent Paths of the Restoration: An Encyclopedia of the Smith–Rigdon Movement. 5thed. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2021. 1030 pp. Forward, bibliography, appendix, index. eBook: $9.99.
With an updated encyclopedia spanning 1,030 pages and around 500 entries, Steven L. Shields fifth edition of Divergent Paths of the Restoration: An Encyclopedia of the Smith–Rigdon Movement is a valuable scholarly resource. The book is too large for print, and publisher Signature Books is offering an affordable eBook-only version. While some may be tempted to skip the introductory pages, Shields lays out important principles for interpreting his book in a “Begin Here” section. Read it!Divergent Paths is not simply a book tracing how churches broke off from other churches. Shields uses the term “expression” as a neutral term for groups and/or individuals with unique perspectives about the Restoration and works to avoid taking sides.
On Thursday, June 2, 2022, the Fifth Annual Mormon Studies Publication Workshop will be held at Utah State University. You can read more about the 2017 meeting at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis here.
The workshop helped create a sense of community among young scholars from various institutions and disciplines while providing helpful feedback for developing projects. Workshopped papers from the past three years have become parts of books published by (or under contract with) Oxford University Press, University of Nebraska Press, and Routledge University Press; the Journal of Religion, the Journal of Mormon History, Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, completed dissertations, and other distinguished venues.
The workshop, “Frames: Scholarly Writing and Personal Introductions,” will be held Thursday, June 2 from 10:00 AM AM-3:30 PM. There will be no cost for the workshop beyond punctual arrival and rigorous intellectual engagement.
ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY
In a change from past years, anyone interested in Mormon Studies in any discipline may apply to participate in the workshop. Women, people of color, independent scholars, and other underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. Participants should be physically present in Logan, UT, to participate in the workshop.
To apply, please send the following application materials to joseph dot stuart at Utah dot edu and klwright at Princeton dot edu:
Name and Email
CV
A 100-150-word description of what your scholarly/academic work on Mormonism entails
Confirmation that you will be in Logan, UT
Anyone that does not submit each part of the application will not be considered for participation.
THE WORKSHOP:
This year, we will discuss the work and art of writing sharp introductions to scholarly work and framing one’s scholarship on Mormonism within larger academic fields. We will then examine introductions to scholarly articles and books to discuss what we might away from their examples and how to improve our own work.
After our morning discussion and the provided lunch, we will how to frame one’s scholarship in an elevator pitch and discuss the state of the field. There will be no peer review of writing this year.
Applications are due on April 20, 2022, and acceptance or rejection notices will be sent out by April 27, 2022. Please help us spread the word by social media and word-of-mouth!
From our friends at the Joseph Smith Papers Project:
UPDATE: We have extended the deadline for proposals to March 14, 2022. Notifications of acceptance will still be sent out on March 21. To commemorate the release of volumes 12, 13, and 14 of the Documents series, the Joseph Smith Papers Project will host the sixth annual Joseph Smith Papers Conference on September 9, 2022, in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the event that COVID-19 conditions prevent holding an in-person conference, digital options will be offered. The theme of the conference is “Texts and Contexts in Nauvoo.”
The Book of Mormon was vital to early Latter-day Saint religious life.[1] It also functioned as a sign to early converts that Joseph Smith was a prophet.[2] It fed the day-to-day lives of Saints who read its words, naved their children Lachonius, and borrowed bits and phrases from its passages in letters and sermons, but also served as proof to outsiders that Mormonism was true.
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis invites applications for one or more open rank, tenure track positions in American religion and politics. The search committee welcomes applications from scholars from a variety of fields and disciplines including, but not limited to, African and African-American Studies; Anthropology, Asian American Studies; Hispanic Studies; History; Islamic Studies; Jewish Studies; Law; Literature; Philosophy; Political Science; Religious Studies; Security Studies; Sociology; Theology; and Women/Gender/Sexuality Studies.
To apply, send a letter of application, along with a curriculum vitae, through Interfolio HERE. A list of three references should also be submitted, along with a scholarly writing sample. Nominations may be sent to the same address. The search committee will begin reviewing applications as early as March 15, 2022, and will continue doing so until the search is complete. For more information, see http://rap.wustl.edu/.
The Tanner Humanities Center will award a graduate fellowship in Mormon Studies for the 2022-2023 academic year. The fellowship encourages, in all facets, the scholarly explorations of any religious tradition which traces its roots to Joseph Smith Jr., its people, values, history, culture, and institutions. This fellowship is designed to enable doctoral students of unusual ability and achievement to engage in research and writing full time. Projects should focus on topics related to the history and/or culture of Mormonism. Eligible disciplines include: Communication, English, History, Languages, Law, Philosophy, and Political Science, among others.
Graduate students will have successfully passed their Ph.D. or qualifying exams, and completed all course work by the beginning of the fellowship period (August 2022).
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…”
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…”
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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…”
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