Call for papers

2nd Brazilian Mormon Studies Conference

The Brazilian Association for Mormon Studies
Annual Conference 2011

29 January 2011
São Paulo, Brazil

Call for Papers

“Mormon History from a Brazilian Perspective”

For most of Mormon history the Brazilian people were outsiders looking at
the major events of Mormon history rather than acting as participants. It
wasn’t until nearly 100 years after the publication of the Book of Mormon
that the first Mormon missionaries arrived in Brazil, and until nearly 150
years after the founding of Joseph Smith’s church that Mormonism had a
significant presence in Brazil. Similar situations are found throughout the
rest of Latin America. Even today, many in Latin America experience
Mormonism through news of events in the U.S.

The central theme to be addressed in this conference is how Brazilians and
others in Latin America have viewed the events of Mormon history and
reacted to those events. Topics on this theme might include:
o    Local reactions to the LDS Church’s revelation extending the
priesthood to all males
o    Early accounts of Mormonism in Latin American media
o    The effect of news accounts about Mormonism on visa policies
o    Views of Mormonism during the mid 20th Century in Latin America
o    etcetera

The Brazilian Association for Mormon Studies seeks papers and other
presentations on these and other subjects for the 2nd Brazilian Mormon
Studies Conference, to be held January 29, 2011 in São Paulo, Brazil. The
conference will be presented in Portuguese, Spanish and English, with
interpreting for those who do not speak the language of each presentation.

We invite those interested to submit proposals for scholarly papers, panel
discussions, and other scholarly presentations about any aspect of
Mormonism and Mormon culture. While this conference is academic in nature,
we encourage submissions from students, non-academics and amateurs who have
interesting and well-expressed presentations to make. We encourage those
with limited academic experience to make their proposals and submit their
papers well in advance so that we may offer assistance in making the
presentation of sufficient academic quality.

Submissions may be on any subject, as long as they involve Mormonism, its
history, people or institutions in a significant way. Fields of study might
include History, Philosophy and Theology, Sociology and Anthropology, and
all expressions of culture, including art, music, literature and film.
Because academic conferences like this are inaccessible and somewhat
unfamiliar to the majority of the audience for this conference, we will
accept submissions that have been presented or published elsewhere.

In addition to the academic presentations above, the conference is open to
a limited number of non-academic presentations, such as interviews,
personal essays, sermons, films, dramatic performances, literary readings,
debates, comic routines, art displays, musical performances and other
expressions of the Mormon experience for the non-academic portion of the
conference.

Submissions

Those who wish to present or organize a session for the conference should
submit an abstract of their proposal by August 1, 2010. Abstracts should be
approximately 1 page in length (approximately 250 words) and be accompanied
by a brief description of the author’s background or a résumé or curriculum
vitae. Notification of acceptance by the peer review committee will be sent
by September 1, 2010.

Complete versions of accepted papers must then be submitted by December 1,
2010 or the acceptance may be rescinded! Because we provide interpretation
of submitted papers, we must receive complete versions, so that
interpreters can prepare for the conference. Without this preparation,
presentations can take as much as three times longer than planned. Complete
papers should be suitable for a reading time of 25-30 minutes
(approximately 3,500 words).

Send submissions to the conference organizers at BMSC10 [at] gmail [dot] com

Hotel and travel information

We will provide information on the venue and accommodations available by
July 1, 2010, by email and through this website.