Syllabi – Mormon Studies

David J. Howlett, “Mormonisms”

REL 288, Smith College 2024

David Knowlton, “Anthropology of Mormonism”

ANTH 3460, Utah Valley University 2023

Taylor Petrey, “Mormonism and the Critical Study of American Religion”

RELG 490, Kalamazoo College 2021

Kathleen Flake and Carolyn Howarter, “Mormonism and American Culture”

RELC 2215, University of Virginia 2020

Kathryn Lofton and John Durham Peters, “Mormonism”

RLST 333, Yale University 2020

David W. Scott, “Mormon Cultural Studies”

COMM 3780, Utah Valley University 2019

Mormon Studies: A Retrospective with Richard Bushman

Professor Emeritus Richard L. Bushman shares his thoughts on the history and direction of Mormon Studies.

Patrick Mason, “The Book of Mormon”

REL 365, Claremont Graduate University 2019

Christopher Jones, “Missions and Missionaries in American History”

HIST 390R, Brigham Young University 2018

Paul Reeve, “Mormonism and the American Experience”

CTIHB 323, University of Utah 2017

Peter Thuesen, “Mormonism and American Culture”

R397 and A303 Indiana University School of Liberal Arts 2017

Robert Rees, “Sacred Scriptures of the Latter-Day Saints”

HRHS 3960, Graduate Theological Union 2017

Recent Noteworthy Texts

Below is an annually modified list of significant titles related to Mormon Studies published in the past five years.

Classroom Favorites

The following texts are popular in current Mormon Studies syllabi.

Paths to Mormon Studies

The increasingly vast net of Mormon Studies covers many disciplines. What draws a historian, a philosopher, or a literary theorist to the academic study…

Classic Texts

Books in this category precede the last fifteen years, and stand the test of time as Mormon Studies “classics.”

Questions and Answers

We’ll be expanding this resource soon! In the meantime, here is some reading to get you started.

What are the Mormon scriptures?
Kathleen…

What Questions does Mormonism Illuminate?

How can a study of Mormonism inform your particular discipline? What questions does Mormonism call upon us to ask, that may enrich our broader…

So You Want to Do Mormon Studies?

What do the experts uniformly say about getting started in Mormon Studies? Be comparative. Be broad. Build your context.

Introductory Texts

Digitized Sources

Scholarly Journals

Encyclopedias and Reference Works

Daniel H. Ludlow et al., eds., The Encyclopedia of Mormonism: The History, Scripture, Doctrine, and Procedure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (New York: Macmillan, 1992).

Daniel H. Ludlow et al., eds., The Encyclopedia of Mormonism: The History, Scripture, Doctrine, and Procedure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day…

Terryl L. Givens & Reid L. Neilson, eds., The Columbia Sourcebook of Mormons in the United States (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014).

Potential Research Topics

It’s an exciting time to be in Mormon Studies, with both abundant research questions and many untouched research materials. Below are some of the…

A Religious Studies Approach

How does a religious studies approach differ from a theological or a historical one? Are there dangers inherent in a religious studies approach when…

Mormon Studies Discoveries

Four scholars share the most delightful or surprising discoveries they have made as they’ve researched Mormonism.

What To Do With Joseph Smith?

What is a scholarly approach to Joseph Smith? How do historians and others engaged in Mormon Studies balance the importance of his personal intentions…

The New Mormon Studies Centers

What is the potential of the new Mormon Studies centers appearing around the country? These seasoned scholars express their hopes for the future of…

Non-Mormons Doing Mormon Studies

How do scholars without a personal background in the LDS church navigate the waters of insider/ousiderness in Mormon Studies? How can outsiderness be an…

Recent Academic Articles

Brian Birch, “The Intellectual Life of Mormonism”

PHIL 2010, University of Utah 2016

Jonathan Stone, “Mormon Rhetorics”

Writing 5905, University of Utah 2016

Kathryn Lofton, “Sexuality and Religion”

RLST 111/AMST 111/HIST 122/WGSS 111, Yale University 2016

Taylor Petrey, “Gender, Sexuality, and Mormonism”

HDS 2119, Harvard Divinity School 2016

Patrick Mason, “Approaches to Mormonism”

REL 466, Claremont Graduate University 2016

Spencer Fluhman, “Mormonism in Transition,1880-1930”

REL 479, Claremont Graduate University 2015

Brian Birch, “Mormon Theology and the Christian Tradition”

PHIL 3620, Utah Valley University, 2015

Patrick Mason, “Gendering Mormonism”

REL 452, Claremont Graduate University 2014

Patrick Mason, “The Mormon Theological Tradition”

REL 435, Claremont Graduate University 2014

Robert Rees, “Mormonism: Emergence of a New World Religion”

HRHS 1850, Graduate Theological Union 2012

Robert Rees, “Mormonism: How an American Faith Became a New World Religion”

Religious Studies 190, Graduate Theological Union