Mormon Studies Unit
The Mormon Studies Unit welcomes papers and/or panels on a variety of themes and topics relating to the Mormon tradition, broadly defined. The proposals should analyze the material in terms of the academic study of religion.
- A Co-Sponsorship with New Religious Movements. We welcome papers that address the creation of Mormon NRMs and the relationship between Mormon traditions and other NRMs. We are especially interested in papers that explore the construction of gender, sexuality, and childhood.
- Mormonism and Religio-Racial Identity. Papers may consider historical and contemporary global issues about religion and race. We welcome papers that explore the construction of, challenges to, and deconstruction of racial categories.
- Streaming Mormonism. Ever since the “Mormon Moment” of 2011, the presence of Mormon traditions in the media and on social media has been blossoming. Papers may engage questions of media identities and discourse, especially around online streaming platforms.
Open Call: Other papers or panels dealing with aspects of Mormonism not mentioned in the previous call will also be considered. Papers may be selected for their relevance to themes which emerge among other submissions.
This Unit will examine the range of topics, disciplines, and methodologies that can be brought into dialogue with Mormonism as studied in an academic environment. It is interested in exploring strategies for teaching about Mormonism, both as the main focus of a class or as a unit within a survey course. It seeks to identify the best resources available for teaching and understanding the tradition and provide encouragement for scholars to fill gaps in what is currently available. The Unit encourages significant comparative studies and interdisciplinary cross-fertilization and hopes to explore intersections between Mormonism and ethics, theology, philosophy, ecclesiology, missiology, spirituality, arts and literature, sociology, scripture, and liberation studies.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sara Patterson, Hanover College | patterson@hanover.edu | - | View |
| Jana Riess | riess.jana@gmail.com | - | View |
| Steering Member | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Park | benjamin.e.park@gmail.com | - | View |
| Esiteli Hafoka | ehafoka@stanford.edu | - | View |
| Max Mueller | max.mueller@unl.edu | - | View |
| Taylor Petrey | tpetrey@kzoo.edu | - | View |