By Ben PFebruary 5, 2013
Over at The Junto Blog, there is a solid discussion on cover letters and CVs. (Go join the discussion!) Lots of good suggestions about how to prepare oneself for the captivity of the academic job market, which is good because there are a lot of obstacles to hurdle. Beyond the philosophical issues of how to present yourself, there are also lots of technical minutia that seem trivial but maintain a significant role in how you are presented to hiring committees.
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By Edje JeterFebruary 3, 2013
A few weeks ago Julie M. Smith discussed 1 Corinthians 14:35 in ?Should Women Pray in Public?? at Times and Seasons. Amelia Carling, the first full-time, female missionary in the Southwestern States Mission, referred to this verse in her diary entry for 1901 Dec 03 [1]:
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By Ben PFebruary 1, 2013
Thanks to our great contributors and fabulous online community, Juvenile Instructor is stronger than ever. To perpetuate the “Era of Good Feelings,” we are thrilled to welcome two new permabloggers: Saskia and Natalie R.
Both have guest-blogged with us before, and have been active in the comments. For a refresher, here is how the introduce themselves.
Saskia:
Saskia Tielens earned her BA and MA in American studies from Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. She is in her second year as a PhD student in Dortmund, Germany, and is writing her dissertation on the ritualization of Mormon history as well as teaching various courses in the American studies department there. Most recently, she was a participant in this year?s summer seminar on Mormon culture, led by Richard Bushman. Saskia particularly enjoys coming at Mormon studies as a non-Mormon, and considers the concept of funeral potatoes to have enriched her life.
Natalie R.:
I am a doctoral candidate in American history at Michigan State University. Prior to my time at MSU, I received my B.A. and M.A. in women?s history from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. My dissertation examines the disjunctures between how Mormon leaders and young women envisioned ideas of a ?Mormon girlhood? from 1869 to 1930. I analyze how the LDS leadership and influential church members created and presented their own ideas of an appropriate childhood and adolescence through church organizations and publications. Though many young women upheld these ideals, I argue that they used private writing, such as correspondences and daily journals, as a space to question, challenge, and often accept the leadership?s shifting attitudes toward women?s place and participation within the church. I am also interested in how Mormon conceptions of childhood and adolescence fit into more mainstream conversations about age and lifespan during the turn of the twentieth-century. After finishing a six-month research stint in Salt Lake City and Provo, I am finally starting to write my dissertation. I eagerly look forward to contributing to the Juvenile Instructor.
Please join me in welcoming these great additions to the JI community.
By AmandaJanuary 29, 2013
Veda Hale, “‘Swell Suffering’: A Biography of Maurine Whipple” http://www.amazon.com/Swell-Suffering-Biography-Maurine-Whipple/dp/1589581245
Note: There is swearing in the first two paragraphs of this review. I tried to edit it out, but doing so changed the meaning of the sentences it was in. If swearing bothers you, skip the first two paragraphs. Readers should also check out Blair Hodge’s review of “Swelling Suffering” at Faith Promoting Rumor: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithpromotingrumor/2011/05/im-pitching-the-whipple-biography-with-all-my-might/
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By Edje JeterJanuary 27, 2013
Male missionary in the Southwestern States Mission in the early 1900s proselyted ?without purse or scrip? (WOPOS). [1] If they could not persuade someone to board them for the night, they ?slept with Uncle Sam? [2]; if they could not persuade someone to give them food, they went hungry. WOPOS was taught as both doctrine and policy.
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By Ben PJanuary 26, 2013
From our good friends at BYU and the Church History Department. You can follow up-to-date changes at the conference’s website.
______________________________
Approaching Antiquity:
Joseph Smith?s Study of the Ancient World
CHURCH HISTORY SYMPOSIUM
March 7-8, 2013
Jointly Sponsored by
The Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University
The Church History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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By Ben PJanuary 22, 2013
January means a lot of things. For me, it means biting cold and a desire to never leave the house.
But it also means new stuff from the Mormon History Association, which is a bit better news than the weather. First, the new issue of Journal of Mormon History was released. (Amazingly, with no letters to the editor!) You can find the full table of contents here. Articles include an examination of John D. Lee’s trial, a fascinating look at Mormon redress petitions in Nauvoo by new JSP editor Brent Rogers, and an article by myself and fellow JIer Rob Jenson on what a particular debate in 1846 between a Strangite and Brighamite tells us about the succession crisis. There are also, as always, a good mix of book reviews to keep you up to date on developments in the field. If you don’t already, make sure to subscribe to the journal, especially now that you can have immediate electronic access to new issues.
MHA also uploaded their January newsletter (pdf here). Here are a few of the highlights:
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By Edje JeterJanuary 20, 2013
Some missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission noted the passing of birthdays and the anniversary of their leaving home. [1] If there is any pattern in this small sample, it is that missionaries in their forties were somewhat more likely than their younger colleagues to note birthdays.
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By Edje JeterJanuary 13, 2013
Male, travelling missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission trimmed or removed facial hair as part of weekly grooming and hygiene routines. Moustaches were relatively common but Van Dykes and full beards much less so. In the diaries I detect no ?freighting? of facial hair with cultural or religious significance beyond middle-class respectability.
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By AmandaJanuary 10, 2013
Queen Liliuokalani as a young woman
In 1899, a young Mormon woman named Hannah Kaaepa traveled to Washington, D.C., as a delegate to National Council of Women?s Congress. She had been invited by May Wright Sewall to speak about the rights of Hawaiian women and the recent overthrow of the Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani. While in Washington, she was feted by Hawaiian Queen who threw her a dinner party and invited the women who had accompanied the young Kaaepa to Washington. As a result, Emmeline B. Wells, Susa Young Gates, and Lucy B. Young
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