Author: admin

The role you want to assign MSSA members is "contributor".
Posted on

Q: What has the LDS Church’s relationship with Native Americans and Central/South Americans been?

Q: Much has been written about Mormons’ attitudes toward African Americans, but I’m wondering what the LDS Church’s relationship with Native Americans and Central/South Americans has been. These people are generally considered to be Book of Mormon peoples–does that belief affect members’ perceptions of them and indigenous American Mormons’ perception of themselves? I find this to be an important question, as these peoples are becoming a greater share of the LDS membership.

A: Below are the responses from various members of the MSSA.  I think you’ll find them very helpful:

Armand Mauss rightly noted that he has, quite literally, written THE book on this:

In all immodesty, I would say that anyone interested in this topic would do well to start with Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of my All Abraham’s Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage (U. of Illinois Press, 2003). From there, one could check out the citations in those chapters to the various relevant articles in the bibliography of the book. These chapters are all about changing LDS perceptions and policies toward Lamanites, both in North America and in Latin America. Beyond that, there are books from both FARMS and Signature (on opposite sides ideologically) that get into this issue, and even some Dialogue articles.

Jan Shipps recommended that you speak with Quincy Newell in Religious Studies at the University of Wyoming, who responded as well and said that the best place to start would be with Armand Mauss’s book – so three experts believe All Abraham’s Children is the best place for you to start your investigations.

Another expert on this question, David Knowlton, offered the following suggestions:

On the native American issue I recommend Thomas Murphy’s dissertation at the University of Washington, anthropology. Jordan Haug presented on this topic at the SSSR in Louisville. He Has excellent material on this topic. On Latin America, Josue Sanchez has an excellent critical essay on the trope of Lamanites among Latin American Mormons. He is reachable through the ASPMS list. Eduardo Pagan has similarly written on the issue I believe. Orlando Rivera is another good source.

Now on what I see–btw I am in Bolivia at the moment immersed in this reality.  The idea that Bolivians are BofM peoples has a strong impact among members of the Church here, who take the notion literally. A local leader (archeologist) has written a popular book among Mormons building a relationship between the Bof M narrative and Bolivia’s archeology. His name is Hans Ralf Caspary. Just day before yesterday I was talking with a local leader about Cusco and he said that the water basins near Cusco were baptismal fonts, i.e. people locate their ideology in local archeological features. I find the politics and class basis of this kind of thinking intriguing at a time when the country has just implemented a new constitution which celebrates its indigenous past and contemporary reality. For me, much of the point of the BofM “indigenous” reality is that it gives people a claim on indigenous history and reality, while not having to carry any of the specific history or details of organic indian identities and ideologies.

The questioner, however, should contact Mexican Mormon scholars and ask them the question. I can provide addresses and names should they be interested.

Jessie Embry described some current research on this:

I am working on a manuscript I call Mormons and Navajos but I have a chapter on the Church’s relationship with Native Americans in general and a little on Central and South America. There is a belief among some scholars–myself included–that in many ways George P. Lee was right. The Church shifted its focus from the Native Americans as more people from Central and South America joined the Church and far extended the number of Native Americans joining the Church. A limited example is the shift from the Lamanite Generation at BYU which was Native American to start with to the Living Legends which includes not only Native Americans and Central and South America but also the South Pacific. That is just one example.

The oral histories that the Redd Center at BYU has done with Native Americans do see the belief that they are the Lamanites affects their perceptions of themselves. While we have interviewed Latino/a Americans, the Center (basically me) has not looked at views of Lamanites. Oops.

Scott Bosworth offered the following suggestions:

Here are some bibliographic entries on the Indian student placement program:

  • Allen, James B. “The Rise and Decline of the LDS Indian Student Placement Program, 1947-1996,” Mormons, Scripture, and the Ancient World: Studies in Honor of John L. Sorenson, ed. Davis Bitton (Provo: FARMS, 1998), 85-119.
  • Chadwick, Bruce A. Stan L. Albrecht and Howard M. Bahr, “Evaluation of an Indian Student Placement Program,” Social Casework 67/9 (1986): 515-24.
  • Chadwick, Bruce A. and Stan L. Albrecht, “Mormons and Indians: Beliefs, Policies, Programs and Practices,” in Contemporary Mormonism: Social Science Perspectives, ed. Tim B. Heaton and Lawrence A. Young (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994), 287-309.
  • Hangen, Tona. “A Place to Call Home: Studying the Indian Placement Program,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 30/1 (Spring 1997): 53-69.
  • Morgan, Brandon. “Educating the Lamanites: A Brief History of the LDS Indian Student Placement Program.” Journal of Mormon History. 35/5 (Fall 2009):191-217.

Benjamin Pykles offered some references as well:

A quick look through a bibliography I put together many years ago came up with the following items that may or may not be relevant to the question. These are approaching the question of Mormon-Native American relationships primarily from a historical perspective, not a contemporary one, but I thought I would share them nonetheless.

  • James, Rhett S. “150 Years of Mormon-Indian Relations,” Sidney B. Sperry Symposium 1980: 162-192.
  • Stucki, Larry R.  “Mormonism: the restorer or destroyer of the ‘true’ heritage of the American Indian?,” (paper presented at the 78th annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, 30 November 1979, Cincinnati, Ohio).
  • Whittaker, David J.  “Mormons and Native Americans: A Historical and Bibliographical Introduction,” Dialogue 1985 18(4): 33-64.

Gayle Lasater had another book recommendation:

While I am not an expert, the following book may be of some help if Mr. Adams has not already encountered it:

  • Farmer, Jared (2008). On Zion’s Mount: Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape. Harvard University Press.

Melvyn Hammarberg offered this recommendation:

One of my students did an article in the distant past: Beverly P. Smaby, “The Mormons and the Indians: Conflicting Ecological Systems in the Great Basin,” American Studies 16 (Spring 1975), 35-48, which might be one place to start.

Posted on

Call for Papers – Mormon Media Studies Symposium

Mormon Media Studies Symposium

Sponsored by BYU Department of Communications, BYU Broadcasting, and BYU Studies

In Conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of BYU Broadcasting

November 11 & 12, 2010
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
http://ce.byu.edu/cw/mmstudies

Conference Theme:
“Mormon Media Studies: Across Time, Space, and Disciplines”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members have been highly visible in the media in recent years, and also have been actively engaged in the production of media content. While circumstances and technologies have changed over time, the media always have been central to the Mormon experience, and to the interface of Mormonism with societies, institutions, and individuals. This first-ever interdisciplinary Mormon Media Studies Symposium will focus on the academic study of all aspects of Mormons and the media, in the present as well as the past. (The term “media” is used broadly to encompass print and electronic media, books, film, etc.)

Submission of Paper and Panel Proposals
Academics, practitioners, and students are invited to submit competitive papers or panel proposals about any aspect of Mormons and the media. Papers and panels may be broadly interdisciplinary; international perspectives are encouraged; all rigorous scholarly methodological frameworks and theories are welcome. Audio-visual presentations (with rigorous analysis) and short films are welcome. Papers recently presented or published elsewhere may be considered (provide full information). Submissions (which will be peer-reviewed) may be made in three categories: Full Papers; Presentation Papers; and Panels. Full papers should be approx. 6,000-8,000 words. They will be considered by BYU Studies for possible publication (if the author wishes). (They must be adapted for a 20-25 minute presentation.) Presentation papers should be approx. 3,000 words. They may be accepted to presentation, panel, or poster sessions. Panel proposals should be approx. 2-3 pages. They should include panel topic and relevance, and panel members’ names, titles, and contact information. For all submissions, include title and short abstract (100 words), author’s full name, title or student status, and contact information. Identifying information should appear only on the cover page.

Deadline: Papers and panel proposals must be submitted by June 30, 2010 in Word or PDF formats as an e-mail attachment to Dr. Sherry Baker at: sherry_baker@byu.edu.

PDF version of call for papers

Posted on

Joseph Smith Papers Job Opening

Historian/Documentary Editor, Joseph Smith Papers Project-0900581

Job Description
The Joseph Smith Papers Project is engaged in producing a comprehensive edition of Joseph Smith documents featuring complete and accurate transcripts with both textual and contextual annotation. The scope of the project includes Joseph Smith’s original correspondence, revelations, journals, historical writings, sermons, legal papers, and other documents.  Besides providing the most comprehensive record of early Latter-day Saint history they will also provide insight into the broader religious landscape of the early American republic.  The Joseph Smith Papers Project is ready to hire a historian/documentary editor with the appropriate academic training, research and writing skills to edit Joseph Smith’s papers.

• 30% Document analysis: bibliographical and physical description; provenance and custodial history; research regarding textual and documentary intention, production, transmission, and reception; composition of source notes and historical introductions.
• 30%–Routine annotation: research coordination with project chronologists, cartographers, and genealogists; research and writing for chronological, geographical, and biographical notes, as well as glossary entries, organizational charts, and other forms of routine annotation.
• 30%–Explanatory annotation: general research in the relevant sources available for the volume’s period; general research regarding the major issues recurring in the volume’s documents; research and writing of footnotes to clarify, explain, or illuminate passages that are unclear, challenging, or otherwise problematic.
• 5%–Teamwork: regular participation in volume team meetings to address historical issues, coordinate research efforts, and correlate editorial treatment; occasional participation in project committees to expand or refine project resources, confront and solve new editorial problems as they arise, develop the project website, or address other project needs.
• 5%–Professional development: keeping abreast of Joseph Smith biography and early Mormon history, attending and participating in selected academic conferences on an annual basis; serving occasionally in professional associations.

Qualifications
PhD or doctoral candidate in history, religious studies, or related discipline.  Understanding of antebellum American history and major social and political themes of the time.  Demonstration of excellent writing skills, typing proficiency and facility with current technical tools for data management and production.  As the highest professional standards of documentary editing are expected of the position, including a rigorous production schedule, the applicant must exhibit the ability to work in an academic environment that requires personal initiative and collaborative competence in all aspects of the project. Professional and personal integrity required to maintain the trust and confidence of professional colleagues, department supervisors, and archivists working in other public and private repositories. Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and worthy to hold a temple recommend.

Apply online to this position.

Posted on

MSSA visits BCC

Michael McBride arranged for a panel of MSSA members to answer questions on By Common Consent, one of the most widely read Mormon-oriented blogs.  You can see the first part of this discussion here.

Posted on

Mormon Media Studies Interest Group Listserve

MORMON MEDIA STUDIES INTEREST GROUP LISTSERVE:
INFORMATION AND INVITATION TO JOIN

The Mormon Media Studies Interest Group was formed 26 February 2009 by a group of faculty members in the Department of Communications at Brigham Young University. The group’s e-mail distribution list was launched 9 March 2009. It moved to a listserve format on 28 April 2009.

The group recognizes the centrality of the media to the Mormon experience, historically and in the present, and acknowledges the unique contribution that can be made to Mormon studies by focusing on media from a wide range of academic perspectives.

Specific objectives of the group include (but are not limited to) the following:

  1. to create a global community of scholars and professionals who have an interest in Mormon Media Studies, including: contemporary and historical media coverage and representation of Mormons and the LDS Church; Mormon media history; the intersection between media and Mormon culture; the embrace and use of media technologies by the LDS Church and its members; Mormon –produced messaging and public relations; the Mormon blogosphere, etc.;
  2. to facilitate communication among those who are interested in participating in an on-going conversation about Mormons and the media, and to share information and current events about this topic, including related academic research;
  3. to encourage scholarship in the field of Mormon Media Studies; to generate research questions; to facilitate collaboration among group members; and to identify outlets (refereed journals and conventions) for publication and presentation of scholarship relating to this topic.

The interest group is just in its beginning stages. As we find our way, we may expand beyond the listserve format to a blog or some other means of communication.
If you are interested in participating in this community of scholars, we welcome you. Also, if you know of others who might be interested, please invite them first to assess their interest. To be added to the list, newcomers should send an e-mail to Sherry Baker (sherry_baker@byu.edu) with an indication of name and e-mail contact information.