The European Mormon Studies Association (EMSA) is an independent scholarly organisation that supports the academic study of Mormonism in Europe. If you would like to receive occasional updates or have announcements you would like to share, you can join EMSA by clicking here. For other enquiries, please send us an email. We are particularly keen on keeping our bibliography up-to-date. EMSA also sponsors an annual academic conference.

EMSA Conference: Programme

Date July 2, 2007 David

European Mormon Studies Association Conference 2007, University of Worcester, England

‘Periphery and Centre: European Mormons and their Relationship with North America, 1837-2007′

 

Thursday 2 August 2007

9:00-10:00 Registration and Welcome

10:00-12:00 Session 1 (Session chair: David M. Morris, University of Chichester)

- Introduction to Conference and European Mormon Studies Association (David M. Morris, University of Chichester)

- A Finnish Mormon Temple or ‘America in Karakallio’? The Activation of a Stereotype at an Encounter of Cultures (Kim B. Östman, Åbo Akademi University

- Mormonism and the British Northwest: Tracing the Roots of Mormonism (Stephen J. Fleming, University of California at Santa Barbara)

- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Isle of Man: A Brief Study of a Peripheral Area and its Relationship to the Main Body of the Church (Martin E. Holden, Independent Scholar)

14:00-16:00 Session 2 (Session chair: Kim B. Östman, Åbo Akademi University)

– An LDS Soundworld for the Twenty-First Century: A Thesis Revisited (Warrick N. Kear, Church Education System)

- Making Adjustments: Babel, Bees, and the Book of Mormon
(Ronan James Head, Johns Hopkins University)

- Identifying Jesus in Mormonism (Douglas Davies, University of Durham)

- Mormons in an ‘Exceptional’ Europe: LDS and the Secularisation Paradigm (Walter E. A. van Beek, African Studies Centre, Leiden)

17.00 Dinner

19.00 Session 3 Keynote Address (Session chair: David M. Morris, University of Chichester)

- Armand L. Mauss, Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies Emeritus, Washington State University, and former editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

***

Friday 3 August 2007

9:00-10:00 EMSA Board Business Meeting

10:00-12:00 Session 4 (Session chair: Ronan James Head, Johns Hopkins University)

- The Rhetoric of the Gathering and Zion: Consistency Through Change 1831-1920 (David M. Morris, University of Chichester)

- The Place of Liverpool in the Mormon Gathering (Fred E. Woods, Brigham Young University)

- The Patterns of Missionary Work and Emigration in Nineteenth Century Buckinghamshire, England (Ronald Bartholomew, Brigham Young University)

- Patriotism and Resistance, Brotherhood and Bombs: The Experience of the German Saints and World War II (Steven Carter, Henderson State University)

14:00-16:00 Session 5 Round Table Discussion (Session chair: Ronan James Head, Johns Hopkins University)

- European Mormonism and the Future of Mormon Studies in Europe: Armand L. Mauss, Douglas Davies, Walter E. A. van Beek

Close of conference and announcements (Kim B. Östman, Åbo Akademi University)

***

Saturday 4 August 2007

10:00-15:00 Gadfield Elm Chapel and Church History Tour

- Presentations at Gadfield Elm relating to the history and restoration of the building, and the musical culture of the United Brethren. Visit to Benbow Pond and the Malvern Hills. BBQ lunch.

***

Registration

Participants are invited to register for the conference by following this link. Advance registration costs 10 GBP (5 GBP for students).

Arrival and Accommodation

Local airports to Worcester include Birmingham, Coventry, and, to a lesser extent, East Midlands. The budget airlines who fly there are BMI Baby, Thomson (TUI), and Ryanair respectively. Most major carriers fly to Birmingham (BHX). London Heathrow has good bus links to virtually everywhere and Worcester is well-connected to the trains. An excellent budget airlines’ sources is www.skyscanner.net.

For accommodation, visit:
http://www.visitworcester.co.uk/sleep/guesthouses.asp
and:
http://www.worc.ac.uk/about/facilityhire/3402.html

Please let the conference organisers know if you need any help making arrangements. We will be providing help and advice at the conference regarding food, transport to and from the venue, etc.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
David M. Morris, University of Chichester
Conference Coordinator, European Mormon Studies Association
Ph: +44 (0)790 337 4685 Fax: +44 (0)870 132 8807
Email: davidmmorris at euromormonstudies dot com

EMSA Conference: First Circular

Date March 26, 2007 Ronan

The inaugural conference of the European Mormon Studies Association (EMSA) will be held at the University of Worcester, England on 2-4 August 2007. The conference theme is, “Periphery and Centre: European Mormons and their Relationship with North America, 1837-2007.” Papers are invited that represent a wide range of research topics relating to the experience of Mormonism within Europe and of Mormon Europeans. (Europeans researching any aspect of Mormonism are also welcome.) Please send an abstract to David Morris by 15 April 2007.

The keynote address will be offered by Armand L. Mauss, Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies Emeritus, Washington State University, and former editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Confirmed participants include Fred E. Woods, Brigham Young University; Douglas Davies, University of Durham; Walter van Beek, Utrecht University.

Registration

Participants are invited to register for the conference by following this link. Advance registration costs 10 GBP (5 GBP for students).

Arrival and Accommodation

Local airports to Worcester include Birmingham, Coventry, and, to a lesser extent, East Midlands. The budget airlines who fly there are BMI Baby, Thomson (TUI), and Ryanair respectively. Most major carriers fly to Birmingham (BHX). London Heathrow has good bus links to virtually everywhere and Worcester is well-connected to the trains. An excellent budget airlines’ sources is www.skyscanner.net.

For accommodation, visit:
http://www.visitworcester.co.uk/sleep/guesthouses.asp
and:
http://www.worc.ac.uk/about/facilityhire/3402.html

Please let the conference organisers know if you need any help making arrangements.

Programme

Thursday 2 August

9-10 Registration and Welcome

10-12 Session 1

2-4 Session 2

7-9 Keynote Address

Friday 3 August

9-10 Business Meeting

10-12 Session 3

2-4 Session 4

Saturday 4 August

10-3 Church history tour (Benbow Farm, Gadfield Elm, Malvern Hills)

6-8 Dinner

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
David M. Morris, University of Chichester
Conference Coordinator, European Mormon Studies Association
Ph: +44 (0)790 337 4685 Fax: +44 (0)870 132 8807
Email: davidmmorris at euromormonstudies dot com

EMSA Summer Conference: Call For Papers

Date February 21, 2007 Ronan

The European Mormon Studies Association (EMSA)

Inaugural Conference

University of Worcester, England

2-4 August 2007

Keynote address: Armand L. Mauss, Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies Emeritus, Washington State University; Former Editor, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Call for Papers

“Periphery and Centre: European Mormons and their Relationship with North America, 1837-2007″

While scholars have historically emphasised the experience of Mormonism within the United States, there is a rich legacy of Mormonism within Europe, beginning with the arrival of the first Mormon missionaries one hundred and seventy years ago in 1837. European Mormons in this Mormon periphery have had a changing relationship with the American centre, from the 19th century when emigration to the centre was encouraged, to the 20th century when emigration was no longer church policy. What are the stories of those 19th century Mormons who stayed behind? How have European Mormons viewed the United States through the years? What is the current relationship between Mormonism in Europe and its American centre?

Papers are invited that represent a wide range of research topics relating to the experience of Mormonism within Europe. We are happy to welcome scholarly papers that come from different fields of study: historical, theological, literary, sociological, anthropological, and political.

Please send an abstract to David Morris by 15 April 2007. It is expected that final papers will be approximately 3,500–4,000 words, being delivered in a time of 20-30 minutes each. A question and answer session will be available following each paper. Notification of acceptance will be given by 1 May 2007. Session chairs may request a draft paper in order to offer a response. It is anticipated that conference proceedings will be published.

Conference attendees will be charged 15 GBP (10 GBP students), with a five pounds reduction available to those who register in advance (details to follow).

Worcester is a beautiful cathedral town in the heart of England, 10 miles away from the Malvern Hills and the Mormon historical sites of Benbow’s Farm and the newly-restored Gadfield Elm chapel. A history tour will be offered as part of the conference. Details on transport to Worcester and accommodation in the city are available at the Worcester tourist information centre.

Download, print, and share the conference poster and call for papers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
David M. Morris, University of Chichester
Conference Coordinator, European Mormon Studies Association
Ph: +44 (0)790 337 4685 Fax: +44 (0)870 132 8807
Email: davidmmorris at euromormonstudies dot com

Review: Phillips, “Rethinking Expansion”

Date October 21, 2006 Ronan

The Mormon weblog, By Common Consent, has posted a brief review/description of Rick Phillips, “Rethinking the International Expansion of Mormonism,” Nova Religio 10(1):52-68, August 2006.

Review: Aird, “Without Purse or Scrip”

Date October 20, 2006 Ronan

EMSA intends to offer brief reviews of recent publications. Below is a review of Polly Aird, “Without Purse or Scrip in Scotland,” Dialogue: a Journal of Mormon Thought 39(2):46-69, Summer 2006. (Available for free download.)

Read more… »