MHA Conference Preview: Paper Abstracts for Juvenile Instructor Presenters

You’ve probably noticed a dearth of posts recently. I can only offer this as an excuse: end-of-semester busyness, recovering from the semester, vacationing, and….gearing up for MHA this weekend.

What follows are one-to-two paragraph abstracts of the MHA papers being presented by Juvenile Instructor contributors; as you’ll notice, for some reason they bunched all but one of us at the Friday 2pm slot (granted, three of us are on the same panel). It should also be noted that Chris Jones is responding to the session that Matt B. is a part of. There are numerous other bloggernacle celebrities taking part in the conference, enough so that it would make a list quite long.

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Keith Hamilton and “I Am Jane” in Salt Lake this June

Last night I had the pleasure of visiting with ?youthful? Saints from the Ludlow Ward in Western Massachusetts for their Sunday night lesson. The invited speaker was Mr. Keith Hamilton, a former trial lawyer and chairman of the Utah board of Pardons and Parole. Among Keith?s many claims to firsts is the fact that he was the first black person to graduate from BYU law school.

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Of Mormon Fundamentalism and Outlaw Country Music

Over at Religion in American History, I put up a post this morning as part of an ongoing series on “surprising or otherwise interesting primary sources.” I’m cross-posting it here for anyone interested:

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Book Review: Mark Lyman Staker, ‘Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations’

Staker, Mark Lyman. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith?s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009. xlii + 694 pp. Illustrations, maps, endnotes, appendix, bibliography, index, scripture index. Hardback: $34.95; ISBN 978-1-58958-113-5.

Reading through this 600-page text, one fact becomes crystal clear: Mark Staker has read, considered, and contextualized every document that has any relevancy to Mormonism?s Kirtland experience. Likely multiple times. He is not exaggerating when he writes that he ?tried to piece together as thoroughly as possible the events connected with significant Mormon sites in Ohio? (xiii)?and ?thoroughly? is nowhere near a strong enough word. His meticulous scholarship is a rare achievement in Mormon studies, and the broad range of sources listed in his (50 page) bibliography is a testament to the extent of his research. Though he rightly notes that this is not a ?comprehensive history of the Kirtland period? (xl) because it does not touch on all important aspects of the decade?especially religious and ecclesiastical developments of the mid 1830s?one can only imagine the depth and length a ?comprehensive history? in his hands would entail!

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Women in the Academy: Lisa Tait

Here is Lisa’s self-introduction: I did my B.A. and M.A. in English at BYU, and I’ve just completed my PhD in English at the University of Houston. As part of my program, I also completed a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies, and most of my work has been directly or indirectly concerned with feminist theory and women’s history. I’ve been in and out of the academy and the work force for the past twenty years while I’ve been raising kids, so those issues are very real to me. I think of myself as a cultural studies specialist (that’s cultural studies, lower case, not so much the high-theory political-criticism version; though I do think my sensibilities are quite Marxist). I’ve been participating in the Mormon History Association for several years, and I’m a member of the Mormon Women’s History Initiative team. I’ve been spending a lot of time giving papers at conferences for the past year. The one I did for the Society for the Study of American Women Writers was named a finalist in the best graduate student paper contest. It’s called “‘Suggestions’ to the Girls: Fiction and Monogamy in 1890s Mormondom.” My husband Mike is an HR Director for American Express. We moved from Houston to American Fork, Utah, three years ago–which greatly facilitated my dissertation research.

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Conference Announcement: “Mormon Engagement with the World Religions: Perspectives and Possibilities with the Abrahamic Religions,” June 11-12

Hot off the press. [or from my inbox]

Mormon Engagement with the World Religions: Perspectives and Possibilities with the Abrahamic Religions
The Mormon Chapter of the Foundation for Interreligious Diplomacy
Held at the University of Southern California
June 11-12

Spend an Evening With An Author: Mark Staker at Confetti Books, May 6

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of  Joseph Smith?s Ohio Revelations  by Mark L. Staker

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Women in the Academy: Joanna Brooks

Joanna Brooks is chair and associate professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University. Recently, Joanna co-organized the “Our Voices, Our Visions” Mormon women’s literary tour with Holly Welker and writes dynamic creative nonfiction in addition to publishing academically. She writes a regular column, “Ask Mormon Girl,” at Mormon Matters.

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Announcing Two New Blogs

Two new blogs launched yesterday (for all intents and purposes).

The first, Browsing The Stacks: A Mormon Book Collecting Blog, will be an exploration of rare and collectible Mormon books. At the JI we talk about books in terms of their historiographical value. At BTS, we’ll talk about books more in terms of collectibility (and thus, sometimes $$ value : ).

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A Review of the Claremont Mormon Studies Conference

Admin: Thanks to Jacob B. for this run-down of the recent Claremont Mormon Studies Conference.

This last Friday and Saturday (April 23-24, 2010) the Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association held our biennial student conference at Claremont Graduate University. This year’s theme: What is Mormon Studies?

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