Last year, Kris W. and I hosted a Mormon Studies Publication Workshop at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.

The workshop helped to create a sense of community among young scholars from a variety of places and disciplines while providing helpful feedback for developing projects. We were especially glad to receive so many excellent submissions on race, gender, and sexuality and were grateful to the Danforth Center for hosting scholars from California to Massachussetts. You can read more about the meeting here.

This year we will host another workshop on June 6, 2018 as a pre-conference option at the Mormon History Association conference in Boise, Idaho. The workshop, “Beyond the New Mormon History: Trends and Methodologies,” will be held Thursday, June 6 from 9 AM-5 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 that is interested in Mormon Studies in any discipline may apply to participate in the workshop. Women and less represented groups are especially encouraged to apply and will receive preference in the selection process. The paper you propose to present must touch on Mormonism in some way (comparative studies are welcomed). Participants should be physically present in Boise to participate in the workshop.

In order to apply, please send the following application materials to joseph dot stuart at Utah dot edu or klwright at princeton dot edu:

• Name and Email
• CV
• A 200-250 word abstract of the paper you’d like to contribute to the workshop
• Where you’d like to publish your paper (anywhere from a blog to a book project with a university press)
• Confirmation that you will be in Boise

Anyone that does not submit each part of the application will not be considered for participation.

THE WORKSHOP:

This year, we will discuss current trends and possibilities in the fields of Mormon History and Mormon Studies, both methodologically and topically. Participants will need to read three short pieces in advance (there’s another recommended piece). We will read:

• Jan Shipps, “Richard Lyman Bushman, the Story of Joseph Smith and Mormonism, and the New Mormon History,” Journal of American History 94, no. 2 (September 2007): 498-521 (includes Richard Bushman’s response).
• Stephen C. Taysom, “Mormon Studies and Method: The Rigors of the Academic Study of Religion and the Maturity of Mormon Studies,” Mormon Studies Review 1 (2014): 89-95.
• [Recommended but not required] “What Will We Do Now that the New Mormon History is Old: A Roundtable,” Journal of Mormon History 35, no. 3 (Summer 2009): 190-233.

Then, after the provided lunch, the workshop’s accepted graduate students and early career faculty will discuss each participant’s paper as a group of four. Groups will be organized by topic or common methodological interest. Papers may be up to 10,000 words (including footnotes). Submissions could be anything from a seminar paper to a book chapter, but it is expected that a draft will either be completed or, at a minimum, ready to be discussed at length.  Each participant will be required to read several other papers and be prepared to discuss each of them in depth.

As a participant, you will also be responsible for introducing a colleague’s paper to the rest of the group. You will be responsible for summarizing the paper to the group and assessing the paper’s strengths and will then facilitate discussion of the paper for up to 25 minutes.

Applications are due on March 1, 2018 and notices of acceptance or rejection will be sent out on March 15, 2018. Accepted applicants must have a draft ready to be sent to other participants by May 23, 2018. Please help us spread the word by social media and word-of-mouth! Any questions should be directed to Kris or myself.