Call for Applicants: Third annual Mormon Theology Seminar (June 2016)

11.02.2015 | The Maxwell Institute

The Third Annual Summer Seminar on Mormon Theology “A Preparatory Redemption: Reading Alma 12–13” Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California June 1–June 15, 2016

Sponsored by the Mormon Theology Seminar in partnership with The Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies and The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The 2016 Mormon Theology Seminar for graduate students and faculty will be devoted to reading Alma 12–13. It will be hosted by Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, from June 1 through June 15, 2016. Travel arrangements, housing, and a $1,000 stipend will be provided for admitted participants. The seminar will be led by Adam Miller and Joseph Spencer, directors of the Mormon Theology Seminar, with assistance from Brian Hauglid, director of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.

About the Seminar

This third annual summer seminar will again adapt the Mormon Theology Seminar’s practice of facilitating intense, exploratory, interdisciplinary, and collaborative readings of Mormon scripture for a live two-week format. (See here to read about experiences of past participants.) During the first week, seminar participants will meet daily to work word by word through the text of Alma 12:19–13:20, developing theologically rich readings of the text from a variety of disciplinary perspectives (philosophical, historical, literary, anthropological, rhetorical, political, archaeological, sociological, etc.). During the second week participants will workshop conference papers and create a joint-report based on the previous week’s collaboration. The seminar culminates in a one-day public conference on June 15, 2016. The conference proceedings will then be gathered and edited for publication.

How To Apply

The seminar welcomes applications from a wide variety of academic disciplines, cultural backgrounds, and geographic locations. Graduate students, junior scholars, and scholars based outside the U.S. are especially encouraged to apply, though applications from senior and independent scholars are also welcome. Applications should be submitted by January 15, 2016. Notifications will be sent by February 15, 2016. Application materials should include (1) a full curriculum vitae, (2) a 200 word statement regarding the applicant’s interest in the seminar, and (3) a 500-750 word essay that demonstrates the applicants ability to offer a close, creative, and theologically substantial reading of Alma 13:1. Questions and application materials should be directed to maxwell_institute@byu.edu. See here for more information about the Mormon Theology Seminar. A PDF of the call for applications is available here.