Author: bhodges

Title: Making Sense in Religious Studies: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing
Authors: Margot Northey, Bradford A. Anderson, Joel N. Lohr
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Genre: Religion/Research
Year: 2011
Pages: 240
Binding: Paperback
ISBN13: 9780195439526
Price: $19.95

Had I never hopped into post-secondary education, this book would give me a good sense of the practical things I was missing out on. The operative word in the title Making Sense in Religious Studies is “in,” rather than “of.” Like the other volumes in Oxford University Press’s “Making Sense” series, this book is more pedagogical than theoretical. In addition to being concise and inexpensive, each book in the series provides students with “clear, concise, and readable guidelines” which are narrow enough to capture the essence of a particular focus of study, but broad enough to improve a student’s general academic performance (vii). This volume covers “subject-specific” and “big-picture” aspects of undergraduate education in religious studies (vii). Continue reading “Review: Northey, et. al., “Making Sense in Religious Studies: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing””

Teaching Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies is a collection of essays from sixteen faculty members trying to formulate better approaches for undergraduate research in Religious Studies. I’m pretty sure it is the first book which tackles the idea of directed undergrad research specifically in the field of religious studies. Interestingly, they drew on earlier efforts to design useful undergraduate research programs, specifically the “apprenticeship model of education” first defined  in the field of chemistry (3). But Religious Studies isn’t a hard science, so there’s plenty of room for disagreement about how an apprenticeship model should work.

The main objective, according to the authors, is to help certain undergrads conduct a specific inquiry or investigation which makes “an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline” (6). Needless to say, they had difficulty defining exactly what might constitute such a contribution! Part II of the book examines a few ways undergraduates might contribute by exploring archival material, doing fieldwork (ethnography, etc.) and working with texts.

But Part I is what really caught my attention. Continue reading ““Train up a child in the way s/he should go”: a book on undergrad research in religious studies”

June 27, 1844 marked the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. Artist Andrew Knaupp’s depictions of this event are my favorite, though you won’t see them in official church publications. For instance, here’s one of Joseph firing his weapon:

Andrew also includes youtube video commentary of his pieces:

 

I’ve written elsewhere about complaints regarding the historical accuracy of church art. I appreciate Knaupp’s attention to detail, and his somewhat unique style. I also thought Seth Adam Smith did a nice job on the video about this paintings, so I highlight it here. See Ardis’s careful response to another of Smith’s videos here.

See Knaupp’s entire painting series on the martyrdom here. In case you’re wondering, this one’s my favorite:

Praise to the man!

I can’t remember if this clip made the bloggernacle rounds back when it first hit the web, but in case you missed it, here’s a local traffic reporter in Utah reporting under the influence of cold medication:

FM100 Holiest Traffic Report

This post isn’t a direct response to Chris’s or Enoch’s posts, but I want to touch on some of the same issues which I’ve been mulling over for the past year or so. Especially the label “TBM.” Joanna Brooks used it in her recent RD column:

“Romney is what many Mormons call a TBM–or “true-believing Mormon”—an orthodox believer and devout practitioner of the faith.”¹

Contrary to Brooks, I don’t know that “many Mormons” would use that label at all. I suspect that not one in ten Mormons, active or otherwise, have even heard of it. I’m personally not a fan of it, and this manifesto is an attempt to explain why.

And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they had marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites…yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads (Alma 3:4, 13).

Come on, folks. Don’t make me crack out The Sneetches!
Continue reading “Manifesto Against “TBM””

From NPR:

[Yesterday] the Library of Congress and Sony Music Entertainment announced the launch of what’s being billed as “the largest collection of historical recordings ever made publicly available online.”

The new website provides access to more than 10-thousand historical recordings for free on a streaming-only basis – no downloads. It covers the first quarter of the twentieth century and includes music, poetry, political speeches and other spoken word recordings. Right now, it only includes recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company, which Sony controls.

I first started in on the negro spirituals, but decided to give “mormon” a try. It takes us to a song by Evan Stephens called “Let the Mountains Shout for Joy.” It was recorded Sept. 17, 1923 in Camden, New Jersey. The recording is not the Tabernacle Choir, however, it is a mixed quarter including Elsie Baker. The notes from the Library of Congress listing say:

Evan Stephens was the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Disc label notes: “Words from the scripture — Evan Stephens. Favorite Latter-Day Saints anthem as sung in Tabernacle, Salt Lake City. Authorized version.”

This is interesting, it seems there was a recording made of this same song featuring the entire choir in early September 1920 in Salt Lake. This recording was made in September 1923 in Jersey on a different label, which explains why it is in the collection and the former recordings are not.

The other song is “O My Father.” The disc label says “Favorite Latter-Day Saints anthem as sung in Tabernacle, Salt Lake City. Authorized version.” The lead vocal is a baritone.

 

Check out Ardis’s post on Stephens for some additional information on these recordings.

I’ve only had the time to hear the first song, “Hello,” which has been streaming online for a few weeks now. Yesterday NPR put a full cast recording up on their site with a warning:

Advisory: Language on this recording may not be appropriate for all listeners.

Interested in your reactions to the songs.