At the Intersection of Race and Mormon Studies (feat. W. Paul Reeve)

How did early Mormons relate with African Americans and Native Americans in the 19th Century West? This is just one of the many questions tackled by the extensive research of W. Paul Reeve, the Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies at the University of Utah. In today's episode, Dr. Reeve discusses his academic journey from Western U.S. history to Mormon Studies, the University of Utah's programs in its Mormon Studies Initiative, and the expanding field of interdisciplinary research between Mormon Studies and racial, cultural, and sexual studies.

To learn more about Dr. Reeve's own research, watch his October 2023 lecture at the UVA workshop on "Mormonism in Africa and the African Diaspora" on his "A Century of Black Mormons" database. Dr. Reeve is the author of Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness (Oxford 2015). Additionally, you can find a copy of his most recent book, Let's Talk About Race and Priesthood on Amazon or Deseret Books. And don't miss his upcoming book, This Abominable Slavery: Race, Religion, and the Battle Over Human Bondage in Antebellum Utah, releasing later this year.

Chapters

• 0:02 Scholars and Saints Introduction
• 1:04 Dr. Reeve's Overview
• 2:06 Dr. Reeve's Introduction
• 4:14 Dr. Reeve's Academic Background
• 7:02 The Tense History of Mormon Studies
• 14:19 Grounding Mormon Studies in the Culture and History of the U.S. West
• 17:20 "Religion of a Different Color" and Race in Mormon Studies
• 24:24 The University of Utah's Mormon Studies Initiative
• 32:39 "A Century of Black Mormons" and the Cultural Repertoires of Mormon Studies
• 37:09 The Interdisciplinary and Plural Nature of Mormon Studies
• 43:26 Research for "This Abominable Slavery"
• 46:40 Episode Closing
• 47:06 Outro