Call for Applicants: Center for Communal Studies Prizes and Grant

2023-2024 Graduate Research Fellowship in Mormon Studies (University of Utah)

THE DEADLINE FOR THE 2023-24 MORMON STUDIES FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION IS MARCH 1, 2023. LINK TO APPLICATION HERE

The first of its kind in the nation, the Tanner Humanities Center’s Mormon Studies fellowship provides a doctoral student funds to spend a year researching the history, beliefs, and culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members, or any religious group that traces its roots to Joseph Smith Jr. This fellowship is open to all dissertation level students of the Mormon Experience from any university in the United States or from around the world. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to: Theology, History, Sociology, Economics, Literature, Philosophy, and Political Science.

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Book Talk: Imperial Zions

Friends: be sure to check out this conversation between Amanda Hendrix-Komoto and Andrés Reséndez!

Here’s the direct registration link for Zoom: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nL7dqV69TCq7jMtkeo68UQ

MHA Article Awards due February 15, 2023

Friends and colleagues, the time has come to submit articles for Mormon History Association awards! Here are this year’s categories:

• Jan Shipps Best Article Award
  • Awarded to the published article or essay that best exemplifies the legacy of one of MHA’s most important founders, scholars, and leaders. Overall quality is a crucial consideration, as well as an author’s use of interdisciplinary tools, interpretive innovation, and/or incorporation of distinct Mormon traditions.
• Journal of Mormon History Best Article Award
  • Determined by JMH editors; you do not need to submit for this award
• Best article on Mormon women’s history
  • Awarded for an outstanding article on the experiences of Mormon women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Sponsored by the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team (MWHIT), an independent group of scholars from around the United States who encourage research, writing, and publications on Mormon women’s history.
• Best International Article Award
  • Awarded for the best international Mormon history article (in print or online journals) in honor of Andrew Jenson (pictured), Assistant LDS Church Historian, for his outstanding contribution to documenting nearly every LDS congregation around the world.

Jenny Reeder chairs the Article Awards Committee is chaired by Jenny Reeder. Authors and readers are invited to submit, by email, articles for the committees’ consideration: jennyreeder1@gmail.com. 

Self-submissions are encouraged, as are all other forms of award submissions.

You can also submit for book awards, and learn about MHA’s other awards, HERE.

Job Ad: Women’s Historian at the Church History Library

JOB DESCRIPTION

This job is to assist the Church History Department in its purpose to help God’s Children make and keep sacred covenants by researching and writing for Church history publications, sometimes as a project lead. Under limited supervision, this individual acts as a primary contributor to Church history publications, researching, writing, annotating, and editing content regarding Latter-day Saint history. Reports to managing historian or senior managing historian.

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JOB: JWHA Journal Editor

Position Summary:

The Editor of the John Whitmer Historical Association will manage the accession, review, acceptance/rejection, revision, and editing of professional articles, book reviews, and letters to prepare for submission to the production director for each biannual issue.

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CFP: GLOBAL MORMON STUDIES 2023 CONFERENCE, ONLINE ONLY

“This prison . . . . of a crooked, broken, scattered, and imperfect language”

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Forthcoming Books in Mormon History/Studies 2023

Start saving your pennies now; this promises to be a banner year!

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2022 in Review: Article and Book Highlights

This is my third year(!) doing this recap and I decided to limit listing five for each category. There are many more worthy of consideration. This list is reflective of my own interests and I want folks to add more publications in the comments.

Also, I’ll tell you who I think is going to win MHA awards if you Venmo me enough an Austin SLAB (IYKYK). Topics and works are in alphabetical order and are not an indication of rank.

Global Mormonism

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Review: *Restorations: Scholars in Dialogue from Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints* (BYU Religious Studies Center, 2022)

Magen Edvalson is an independent historian associated with the Oral History Project for the Community of Christ. She holds a masters degree in Folklore from Utah State University and a BFA in Theatre from the University of Utah. Her research interests include comparative folklore within the Restoration, theatre as performative ritual, and apotheosis in folklore. She currently resides in Oregon with her spouse. Thanks for reviewing, Magen!

The 1960s and 70s for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ) might best be summed up as a time of historical excitement. This era brought about a fervor amongst academics from both camps as they recognized the value of self-reflection through historical and sociological lenses. This would have a profound impact on theology and structure, further dividing them, but it would also bring them closer together. The Mormon History Association was founded in 1965 primarily by LDS scholars, while the John Whitmer Historical Association was founded in 1972 by RLDS scholars. Both of these institutions have employed the talents of academics from across the Restoration as much as possible, initiating a decades-long conversation between their parent churches that continues to bear fruit.

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