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. You can also find us on Facebook. EMSA sponsors an annual academic conference and the International Journal of Mormon Studies.
EMSA Conference 2013
“Great Men and Mormonism”
Friday, 13th December 2013 (evening)
Saturday, 14th December 2013 (day)
BYU London Centre, 27 Palace Court, London, W2 4LP
Contact: ronan@byu.edu
Paper proposal deadline: 1 September 2013
Thomas Carlyle wrote that ”the history of the world is but the biography of great men.” Papers are invited to explore Mormonism’s intersection with history’s “great men,” Mormonism’s own great men, and Mormon Studies’ interest in great men (as opposed to common men — is Mormon Studies biased this way?). We mean, of course, to include “great women” in this discussion. Therein lies, perhaps, another bias to explore.
The conference will begin with a keynote speaker on Friday evening and a full day’s worth of papers on Saturday.
Delegates will need to organise their own accommodation, etc.
Draft EMSA Constitution
Constitution of the European Mormon Studies Association
Article 1: Name
The name of the organization shall be the European Mormon Studies Association (hereafter ‘EMSA’, or ‘the Association’).
Article 2: Purpose
EMSA is an independent scholarly organisation that supports the academic study of the Mormon experience in Europe and Mormonism in general by Europeans. EMSA shall maintain absolute institutional neutrality.
Article 3: Executive Board
A. The Executive Board (hereafter ‘Board’) shall, until 31/12/2013, consist of three members: Ronan James Head, Kim Östman, and David M. Morris.
B. Elections for members of the Board shall be held at the 2013 EMSA conference and every two years thereafter. Members shall be elected by a plurality of ballots from the voting membership of the Association. In the event that all three members are replaced in one election, one member shall be co-opted to serve for an additional year to ensure continuity in the governance of the Association.
C. Nominations shall be solicited prior to and at the annual conference. Voting shall take place at the conference.
D. At least two of the three members of the Board must reside in Europe.
E. Final authority for the direction of the Association’s activities resides in the Executive Board.
F. The Executive Board each shall meet as often as necessary to conduct their business. Business called to a vote must carry a majority of all three Board members in order to be enacted.
G. As vacancies may occur in the Executive Board, the Board may appoint temporary replacements, in consultation with the other Board members. Temporary replacements shall serve until the a replacement can be elected.
Article 4: Membership
A. All who affirm the stated purpose of the Association are eligible for membership.
B. Membership can be held in two forms: voting and non-voting. Voting members pay an annual fee to be decided by the Executive Board and receive a copy of IJMS; non-voting members subscribe to the Association email list and do not pay a fee. Members of the Board are automatically considered to be members.
C. A member of the Association may be removed from membership by the Executive Board if the Board finds that (i) the member’s participation in Association activities is substantially out of keeping with the Association’s stated purpose, and (ii) the member does not respond favourably to reasonable and timely correction. Readmission to membership of one who has been removed in this manner shall require the approval of the Executive Board.
Article 5: Meetings
The Association shall meet annually in Europe at a time and place to be selected by the Executive Board. Along with papers presented and any other activities, there shall be a business session involving the voting membership of the Association. The Board may assign members of EMSA to be Conference Coordinators.
Article 6: Journal
The Association shall publish a Journal, to be circulated to the members of the Association and other interested parties. The name of this Journal shall be The International Journal of Mormon Studies (IJMS). The Journal shall serve the purpose of the Association and shall be published in accord with standards of academic publishing. The editor shall be David Morris; should he wish to discontinue his time as editor, he shall nominate a new editor.
Article 7: Funds
Association Funds shall be kept in a UK bank account and shall be subject to oversight from the Board.
International Mormonism Bibliography
A fantastic resource has been compiled by Kent Larsen in which he lists all of the works on international Mormonism published in 2011. Have a look!
No EMSA conference 2012
There will be no EMSA conference in 2012. We will be announcing the 2013 conference shortly.
We recommend EMSA members consider the following conference:
Registration
You can register for the conference by sending an email to kim.ostman@abo.fi with your name and affiliation (if any).
Preliminary Programme
We are pleased to announce the preliminary program for the EMSA conference to be held at Durham University, England, on 4-5 August 2011. Click here for information on travel, accommodation, and the papers to be given.
Please register by leaving your name and affiliation (if any) in the comments box below or send an email to kim.ostman@abo.fi.
Thursday, 4 August
10:00 – 11:00 Invited Session
Prof. Robert Hayward, Durham University, England
The Name “Israel” and the Prayer of Joseph
11:15 – 12:15 LDS History in Durham
Ronald E. Bartholomew, Brigham Young University, USA
Fred E. Woods, Brigham Young University, USA
Origins and Development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in County Durham,
1843–1913
12:15 – 14:00 Lunch (included in meal package)
14:00 – 16:00 Historical Viewpoints
Steve Carter, Henderson State University, USA
Practicing an American Religion in the Third Reich: The Case of the Mormon Church
Michael W. Homer, Utah State Historical Society, USA
The LDS Thesis Concerning the Relationship between Mormon and Masonic Rituals
Dan Belnap, Brigham Young University, USA
“And Those Who Receive You Not”: Ritual (Dis)continuity in the Rite of the Dusting of Feet
Amanda Hendrix-Komoto, University of Michigan, USA
Strange Spiritual Operations and the Contest over Ritual in Early Mormonism
16:15 – 17:15 Keynote Session
Prof. Walter E.A. van Beek, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
Awkward Symbols: Mormonism and its Rituals
Evening program Conference dinner (included in meal package)
Friday, 5 August
10:00 – 12:00 Doctrinal Viewpoints
Christian Euvrard, LDS Church Educational System, France
The Doctrine of Baptism for the Dead According to 1 Corinthians 15:29 and 1 Peter 3:18-22 and 1
Peter 4:6 in Contrast with the Interpretation of Mainstream Christian Theology
Adam Powell, Durham University, England
The Species Debate: God and Humanity in Irenaeus and the Latter-day Saints
Aaron Reeves, University of Essex, England
Embodied Authority: Priesthood Ordination and the Laws of the Mortal Body
James D. Holt, University of Chester, England
The Holy Ghost in LDS Ritual Experience: Preparation for Exaltation
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch (included in meal package)
14:00 – 15:30 From Ancient to Modern Times
Douglas J. Davies, Durham University, England
Emotions, Ritual Practice and Spirituality-Creation
Ingrid Sherlock-Taselaar, SOAS, University of London, England
Mormonism and Ritual: Examples of the Survival of a Doctrine and the Demise of the Attendant
Ritual
Ronan James Head, Brigham Young University, USA/England
Feasts and Feasting: From Ancient Egypt to the Ward Party
15:30 Closing of the Conference
EMSA Conference 2011
The European Mormon Studies Association
Annual Conference
Durham University, England
4–5 August 2011
Keynote speaker: Prof. Walter E.A. van Beek
Tilburg University, The Netherlands
Invited plenary speaker: Prof. Robert Hayward
Durham University, England
Call for Papers
“Mormonism and Ritual”
Partial financial support provided by the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, Brigham Young University.
Mormonism is traditionally thought of as “low church,” having informal church services and modes of prayer. On the other hand, Mormonism is replete with ritual when it comes to temple service and other priesthood functions. This duality and breadth provides rich opportunities for probing the relationship between Mormonism and ritual in multiple scholarly domains.
Papers are invited on topics including but not limited to: What significance does ritual play in Mormon life? How does Mormonism compare to other Christian and non-Christian faith traditions in terms of ritual? How is Mormon theology manifested in the faith’s ritual? How has the place of ritual in Mormonism varied historically?
Those wishing to present a paper at the conference are requested to send a 200-word abstract to kim.ostman@abo.fi by 1 May 2011. If accepted, a notification will be given by 15 May 2011. It is expected that final papers will be approximately 3,000–3,500 words, being delivered in a time of 20–25 minutes each. A question and answer period will be available following each paper.
Meals and a block of rooms for accommodation are available at St Chad’s College, Durham University. Please make a reservation directly to St. Chad’s by 15 July at the latest using the university’s form.
Please register for the conference directly by leaving your name and affiliation in the comments box below or send an email to kim.ostman@abo.fi. A conference fee of £10 will be charged at the venue.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Dr. Kim Östman
Conference Coordinator / 2011, European Mormon Studies Association
E-mail: kim.ostman@abo.fi
Web: http://www.euromormonstudies.com
