Have you been wondering where to go to find out what all is going on in Mormon Studies? Now you know:
MormonConferences.org, just launched today, keeps track of all the major public events in Mormon Studies and lists them all on one calendar, with multiple convenient viewing formats. Sure, a lot of these events get announced in a blog post here on T&S, or at least a sidebar link, or even get their own thread for comments during and after. But if you weren’t watching for a couple of days when that post went up, how would you know? Meeting such a clear need, and organized to do the job right, MormonConferences.org will be a key place to go, both for those looking for events, and those announcing events.
Events currently listed on MC range all the way from a discussion at the Salt Lake City Public Library on the Mountain Meadows Massacre (tomorrow!), to MHA, SMPT and the Sperry Symposium, to Sunstone and General Conference. LDS-oriented conferences at Harvard and Claremont appear along with events by SSSM, AMCAP, and the Maxwell Institute.
Kent White, the owner of the site, provides lists of organizations that regularly sponsor events, helpfully grouped into academic and more popular categories. You’ll also find calls for papers and links to related resources. You can even subscribe to be notified when new events are added. Wouldn’t it be great when you’re sending out a call for papers for it to go straight to all the Mormon scholars subscribed to the site?
Okay, an idea for a site like this did get kicked around quite a while ago among the T&S bloggers, but none of us had the grit to actually make it happen. Kent White has built a very nice site with the organization and the technology (with a little help from Google Calendar) to perform this service handsomely.
Go check it out, and if you know about (or are organizing) an event or call for papers that should be listed, tell Kent.
The original idea for MormonConferences.org was Ben\’s, which he shared with me when we were talking about updating the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology web site (which is now updated). Thanks so much for the plug Ben, I really hope to make this a great resource, and when this site makes millions you\’ll get your share!
Can’t wait to find conferences in my own area. Thanks for the information.
Wow, how cool! As a Mormon conference junkie, this is something that I will find useful.
It looks useful. Thanks.
Does Ben Huff live in Sugar Land, Texas?
Bob, no, he does not.
If you looked at the site last week, you might want to look again; Kent informs me that a number of interesting events have been added as the word has gotten out and people have notified him of events they’re involved with.
Kent, I hope you realized how much work you were getting yourself into! Thanks for doing this.
I just reworked the entire Academic Conferences side and improved the index. Thanks to Mark Ashurst-McGee for giving me his list of events where Mormon Studies topics are occassionally presented. As a result I found several presentations that I doubt anyone in Mormon Studies would have even noticed and which are taking place in various locations around the U.S. For example:
“Prevent Them from Taking Part Against Us”: James K. Polk, the Fear of Foreign Intervention in the Mexican War, and the Raising of the Mormon Battalion Rocky Mountain Interdisciplinary History Conference, University of Colorado
Indigenous or Immigrants? Settler Colonialism at Iosepa, Utah American Studies Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico
“The Mormon Experience in Illinois History” Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Conference, Springfield, Illinois
I’m grateful that I already have several dozens of subscribers and I look forward to getting updates from everyone. Thanks for appreciating this resource!
Thanks for the notice. I just posted one upcoming meeting I am aware of on the mormonconferences.org website. Here is a brief summary:
The Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies in the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate
University is pleased to sponsor a conference on: “Parallels and Convergences: Mormon Thought and Engineering Vision”
Location: Claremont Graduate University, 150 E. 10th Street, Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract deadline: 2008 November 1 (extended abstract)
Conference: 2009 March 7 (Saturday)
Website: http://www.mormonism-engineering.org/
7jOBtDieL7c5H