Fun at UVU this Week
The UVU Religious Studies Program presents the
Tenth Annual Mormon Studies Conference
Outmigration
and the
Mormon Quest for Education
November 5th – 6th, 2009
Library Lecture Hall
Utah Valley University
In 2009, the PEW Forum’s “Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.” determined that Mormons are “significantly more likely than the population overall” to seek a college education. Since Joseph Smith created the School of the Prophets in Kirtland, Ohio, the Church has called members to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”
In the twentieth century, a significant force in Mormon outmigration from Utah was the quest for opportunities in higher education. As Latter-day Saints enrolled in universities such as the University of Chicago, Harvard, Stanford, NYU, and George Washington University, they helped to reshape Mormon culture in these communities. Their professional pursuits in business, law, politics, and academia also contributed to the changing perceptions of Mormons by outsiders.
This two-day conference will reflect on the experience of these migrants as they sought to develop themselves and advance the cause of Mormonism through their studies at prestigious colleges and universities. A variety of outmigrants, their biographers, and Mormon studies scholars will join together to discuss this phenomenon and its connection to broader questions in the Mormon quest for education. Pertinent questions for discussion include: How has Mormon society been affected and reshaped by outmigration? In what ways have these migrants contributed to social institutions in the United States? What challenges are present as Mormons pursue secular education while maintaining their status as a “peculiar people”?
The conference is a joint effort between UVU’s Religious Studies Program and Marian and Wesley Johnson, whose research included over six hundred interviews in twenty-one cities across the county.
Thursday, November 5
UVU Library Lecture Hall
Opening Remarks
Brian Birch, UVU
8:30 – 9:45
Wesley Johnson
Marian Johnson
(Outmigration Project)
10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
Keynote Address
Greta Peterson
Chase Peterson
11:30 – 12:45 p.m.
TBA
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.
Armand Mauss
2:30 – 3:45
Michael Quinn (J. Reuben Clark)
Robert Fletcher (Harvey Fletcher)
Friday, November 6
UVU Library Lecture Hall
Welcome
Boyd J. Petersen, UVU
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Ned Hill
Jack Wheatley
10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
Keynote Address
Jan Shipps
11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
Mark Cannon
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Brownbag Panel Discussion
Secular Knowledge and Religious Faith
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
John Carmack
(Perpetual Education Fund)
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Boyd Petersen
(Hugh Nibley)
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