Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities

Donald Benson Memorial Lecture

on Literature, Science, and the Arts

This annual lecture honors Donald Benson, a former ISU English professor, who had a long-term interest in the relationships among the three intellectual disciplines of literature, science and the arts.

Dr. Ann Taves will present two public events: a morning workshop and an evening lecture.

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Extra-Ordinary Experiences and the Emergence of New Visionary Movements: Mormonism & the Golden Plates

Wednesday, March 27, 2013
8:00 pm
Benton Auditorium, Scheman Building

Professor Taves is the V. Cordano Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and is the author of numerous books and articles on American religious culture, sociological movements, and cultural history. Dr. Taves lectures widely on new religious movements.

Dr. Taves will examine the role of extra-ordinary experiences in the early stages of well-documented social and religious movements in American culture such as Mormonism. Although these varied movements take on different social forms, this talk looks at how founding figures, such as Joseph Smith, and their collaborators attribute their experiences to "extra-ordinary" sources. Using Joseph Smith, Mormonism, and the Golden Plates as a case study, Professor Taves argues one can better understand, amongst a myriad of issues, the material objects and artifacts that facilitate the creation of the "revelator" and the "revelation" in modern American culture.

Opening Remarks:

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Academic Writing & Documenting American Religious Culture

Workshop

Wednesday, March 27, 2013
10:30am - 12:00 noon
302 Catt Hall

Moderator: Prof. Michael Bailey (History)

Dr. Ann Taves will present a workshop on her research and writing methodologies.

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All Events Sponsored by:

Donald Benson Memorial Lecture on Literature, Science, and the Arts

Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities (CEAH)

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

The F. Miller Fund:

This lecture was made possible in part by the generosity of F. Wendell Miller, who left his entire estate jointly to Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. Mr. Miller, who died in 1995 at age 97, was born in Altoona, Illinois, grew up in Rockwell City, graduated from Grinnell College and Harvard Law School and practiced law in Des Moines and Chicago before returning to Rockwell City to manage his family's farm holdings and to practice law. His will helped to establish the F. Wendell Miller Trust, the annual earnings on which, in part, helped to support this activity.