To celebrate its 50th anniversary, BYU Studies is holding a special symposium on Friday, March 12, and Saturday, March 13, in the beautiful Hinckley Alumni and Visitor’s Center at Brigham Young University.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, BYU Studies is holding a special symposium on Friday, March 12, and Saturday, March 13, in the beautiful Hinckley Alumni and Visitor’s Center at Brigham Young University. The theme, which captures the mission statement of BYU Studies, is drawn from D&C 88:78–79: “Of Things Both in Heaven and in the Earth.” The event is free and open to the public. A preliminary schedule is available at byustudies.byu.edu.BYU Studies is a quarterly journal that publishes articles from a Latter-day Saint perspective along with book reviews, personal essays, and poetry.
John W. Welch, editor-in -chief of BYU Studies, said, “Everyone who attends this celebration will be well rewarded. The speakers will cover a variety of topics, so there should be something for everyone.” According to Welch, those who come will have the chance to meet “other like-minded individuals who enjoy exploring a variety of topics” along with several BYU Studies authors.
In all, more than 50 presenters from various disciplines will present their topics. “The presenters come from several universities and specialize in disciplines as various as religion, history, law, humanities, classics, linguistics, psychology, nutrition, biology and medicine,” said Heather Seferovich, senior executive editor at BYU Studies.
Three plenary sessions, which all symposium participants can attend, and four blocks of concurrent sessions will be held from 9:00 am on Friday until 3:00 pm on Saturday. A poster session, scheduled for Friday afternoon, will highlight recent research from a variety of disciplines by both seasoned professors and younger scholars. People may come for single sessions or for the entire symposium.
The three plenary speakers are Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Van C. Gessel and George S. Tate. Holzapfel, Professor of Church History and Doctrine and publications director of the Religious Studies Center at BYU, will share new discoveries about Wilford Woodruff’s 1897 recorded testimony concerning Joseph Smith and the succession in the Church presidency. Gessel, Professor of Japanese and former Dean of the College of Humanities at BYU, will examine the challenges of introducing Christian vocabulary into non-Christian cultures. Tate, Professor of Humanities and Comparative Literature and former Dean of Undergraduate Education at BYU, will give a behind-the-scenes look at his work on the 1918 influenza pandemic and the 1918 revelation that became Doctrine and Covenants 138, recently published in BYU Studies and the Ensign.
Some of the topics of concurrent sessions will feature presentations on symbols and structures in scripture, sustaining life on planet Earth, sin and restoration, establishment of the Church, temples, women in Mormonism and Church education.
BYU Studies invites feedback on these presentations, as it will help the authors and editors refine the papers for possible publication.
“This symposium will help involve readers in the academic experience,” Welch said.
In addition to the symposium, a pair of exhibits have been introduced in conjunction with the 50th anniversary. These exhibits are from the Hugh Nibley and Clinton Larson collections were introduced at the Harold B. Lee Library. Larson was founding editor of BYU Studies, and Nibley was a frequent contributor to this journal.
To find out more about the symposium, visit byustudies.byu.edu.