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.