New Published Essay: A Wall Between Church and Academy

I must admit that I have a fascination with the development of the Mormon scholarship enterprise. In other words, the birth of the (sub)field known as Mormon studies. I’ve published a number of articles on the topic, and have blogged many more. As someone who was raised Mormon, was introduced to American history through a…

New Book Reviews: Laurel Ulrich’s HOUSE FULL OF FEMALES and John Bicknell’s AMERICA 1844

I’ve slacked a bit on my book reviews here on the blog—though I have a couple queued for the next two Wednesdays—but a couple more formal reviews have appeared in recent weeks that should make up for it. First, I had the great honor to review Laurel Ulrich’s A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and…

Thoreau’s Resistance

[Today is Thoreau’s 200th birthday. (Happy birthday, Henry!) As such, it was worth writing something about his work while relaxing on a beach in Hawaii. Also, make sure to check out the brand-new and exquisite biography by Laura Dassow Walls.] I recently completed a two-week-long NEH seminar on “Transcendentalism and Social Reform,” which took place…