Young Scholars in American Religion—Call for Applications
The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI announces a program for early career scholars in American Religion. Beginning in April 2009, a series of seminars devoted to the enhancement of teaching and research for younger scholars in American Religion will be offered in Indianapolis. The aims of all sessions of the program are to develop ideas and methods of instruction in a supportive workshop environment, stimulate scholarly research and writing, and create a community of scholars that will continue into the future.
Dates: Session I: April 2-5, 2009
Session II: October 15-18, 2009
Session III: April 15-18, 2010
Session IV: October 14-17, 2010
Session V: April 28-May 1, 2011
Seminar Leaders:
W. Clark Gilpin is the Margaret E. Burton Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Christianity and Theology in the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is a historian of Christianity who studies the cultural history of theology in England and America since the seventeenth century. Among his works is an intellectual biography of Roger Williams, the seventeenth-century advocate of religious liberty. A more recent book, A Preface to Theology, examines the history of American theological scholarship in terms of the theologian’s responsibilities to a three-fold public in the churches, the academic community, and civil society.
Tracy Fessenden is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Arizona State University, specializing in western religious traditions, religion and literature, and American religious and cultural history. Her recent work focuses on religion, race, gender, and sexuality in American cultural history, on the relationship between religion and the secular in American public life, and on questions of religion and violence. She is author, most recently, of Culture and Redemption: Religion, the Secular, and American Literature.
Eligibility: Scholars eligible to apply are those who have launched their careers within the last seven years and who are working in a subfield of the area of religion in North America, broadly understood. Ten scholars will be selected, with the understanding that they will commit to the program for all dates. Each participant will be expected to produce a course syllabus, with justification of teaching approach, and a publishable research article. All costs for transportation, lodging, and meals for the seminars will be covered, and there is no application fee.
To Apply: Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae with three letters of reference directly supporting their application to the program (do not send portfolios with generic reference letters) as well as a 500-word essay indicating 1) why they are interested in participating, and 2) their current and projected research and teaching interests. The deadline for applications is 15 October 2008. Essays, CVs, and letters of reference should be sent to:
Director
Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, IUPUI
Cavanaugh Hall 417
425 University Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140
“Mormons and American Life.” April 12, 2008, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., IUPUI Campus Center, Room CE405. Featured speakers: Jan Shipps, Professor Emerita of History and Religious Studies, IUPUI, and author of Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition and Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons; William Deverell, Professor of History, University of Southern California and Director, Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West; Kathleen Flake, Associate Professor of American Religious History, Vanderbilt University, and author of The Politics of Religious Identity: the Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle; J. Spencer Fluhman, Assistant Professor of Church History & Doctrine, Brigham Young University; Sarah Gordon, Professor of Law and History, University of Pennsylvania; and Kathryn Daynes, Associate Professor of History, Brigham Young University. (For brief descriptions of the sessions, please see this downloadable PDF file.) This conference is open to the public and there is no registration fee; however, please call 274-8409 or send an email to raac@iupui.edu to reserve a seat.
“Exporting the Soul of Dixie: Billy Graham and the Expansion of Southern Culture,” September 2008, date, place, and time TBA. Speaker: Grant Wacker. Dr. Wacker is President of the American Society of Church History and Professor of History of Christianity in America at Duke University. Contact: raac@iupui.edu.
Congratulations to the following individuals who have been selected to participate in the Young Scholars in American Religion Program 2007-2009:
Edward J. Blum, Department of History, San Diego State University; Darren Dochuk, Department of History, Purdue University; Katherine Carté Engel, Department of History, Texas A&M University; J. Spencer Fluhman, Department of Church History & Doctrine, Brigham Young University; Rebecca Goetz, Department of History, Rice University; Charles F. Irons, Department of History, Elon University; Kathryn Lofton, Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University; Randall J. Stephens, Department of History, Eastern Nazarene College; Matthew A. Sutton, Department of History, Oakland University; and Tisa J. Wenger, Department of Religious Studies, Arizona State University.
These ten scholars, with their senior faculty mentors, Amanda Porterfield (Florida State University) and Paul Harvey (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs), will gather for their first seminar weekend in Indianapolis October 18-21, 2007.