Posted on 02/07/2004 2:25:34 PM PST by yonif
A professor claims there is a lack of scholarly attention to Mormon history within the University of Utah history department, the Salt Lake Tribune reported in a copyright story Friday.
Teachers recognize no "intellectual or cultural merit in Mormonism," claimed university religious historian Colleen McDannell. She said a perfect example of the bias is the recent rejection of a controversial Mormon studies scholar for a history position.
In a Feb. 3 letter to administrators, McDannell said her colleagues' refusal to hire D. Michael Quinn, a Yale-educated author and excommunicated Mormon, is "blatant discrimination."
"The absence on this campus of scholarly attention to Mormon history, theology and practice is profound," said McDannell, who served on the search committee.
University historian Robert Goldberg, one of eight professors on the search committee, said the department is "clean" of any discrimination.
"Not one of the votes against Michael had anything to do with denigrating Mormon history or the Mormon church," he said. "In my mind, it was just the opposite."
Goldberg said he and the five others who voted against hiring Quinn are not looking for a Mormon apologist. But they don't want an avowed critic, either.
Jim Clayton, a senior historian in the department, said the school has no mandate to teach Mormon history.
"It presents all kinds of difficulties. Who could teach it without criticism from either side?" Clayton said. "Mormons who want the church's perspective can take a class at the LDS Institute across the street."
History Department Chairman Eric Hinderaker said he was shocked by McDannell's "astonishingly egregious breach of confidentiality" of closed-door personnel discussions.
The latest controversy is complicated by Quinn's biography.
Quinn, one of six candidates considered for an open position, believes in Mormonism's divine origins. Scholars praise his groundbreaking research on early Mormons and their ties to the occult.
Church officials were less impressed; Quinn's books got him fired from Brigham Young University and kicked out of the church.
McDannell said Quinn's rejection by the University of Utah was tantamount to saying he's a bad historian. "The word would be out: The Mormon church was right," McDannell said.
Quinn told the Tribune there has been a "historical pattern of hostility toward Mormonism" at the university, but he did not detect any during his campus interview.
The dispute comes at a volatile time for the university. The school is battling the LDS-dominated Legislature over funding and guns on campus.
A federal appeals court this week revived a lawsuit alleging anti-Mormon discrimination in the theater department.
Former acting student Christina Axson-Flynn, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, claimed the university violated her freedoms of speech and religion four years ago after she refused to recite lines that contained the F-word or took "the Lord's name in vain."
Axson-Flynn said it was clear she would be asked to leave the university's acting program for not reciting the lines she believed violated her religious teachings.
The Quinn dispute also highlights an ongoing dilemma for Utah's public colleges and universities: how to promote free inquiry and academic freedom without disparaging or advocating the LDS church, which is uniquely tied to Utah history.
That is a problem in Utah. Both national senators have always been Mormons, and so have the Representatives. In Utah, it's the easiest way to go. Try moving into small town Utah and see how fast your Jewish tail is proselyted.
Do be mindful that you post in the presence of Mormon freepers. I know you don't mean ill, but there are more elegant ways of saying "whacked-out". Just for your consideration. . . :)
9 posted on 02/07/2004 5:38:54 PM CST by explodingspleen
Somebody named 'explodingspleen' is worrying about elegance?:)
Well, not in general, but there is a great preponderance of Mormons at my school who tend to be conservatives (for the most part, the only conservatives) who I would, as opportunities permit, direct to this site, and so I stake an interest in keeping things friendly.
Besides, is there not something pristine and inspiring about the thought of a spleen spontaneously rupturing in a great fountain of bodily fluids?
Please, never submit a tape to "America's Funniest Home Videos".:)
Unhhhh, could it be because "Mormon history" is a farce? Nahhhhh, couldn't be that.
It depends on the context. :p
| D. Michael Quinn, a Yale-educated author and excommunicated Mormon
I know they don't teach common sense at Yale, but the guy is supposed to have that by the time he gets there. You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger and you don't piss off the Mormons to the point that they excommunicate you, and then expect to be welcome in Utah. Sane people are just supposed to know these things. |
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I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for a guy who gets excommunicated by the Mormon Church and then applies for a job at the University of Utah. He did that just to poke them in the eyes.