Glass Box Podcast

We examine the fascinating era of the 1970s feminist Mormon history studies. We focus on the central figure of Claudia Bushman and her push to build a non-existent world within Mormon studies. A group of east-coast women scholars began publishing controversial history in the form of Mormon Sisters and the resulting Exponent II quarterly journal. The official church historian, Leonard J. Arrington, encouraged and assisted where he could, but the General Authorities, especially Ezra Taft Benson, Mark E. Petersen, and Boyd K. Packer, couldn’t handle the prospect of women scholars publishing in academic journals about Mormon women’s issues. The retaliation, blacklisting, and PR fights quickly followed Claudia Bushman, Marueen Ursenbach Beecher, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich as they worked to advance the burgeoning field. After that we review the movie/book Hidden Figures and discuss the new White House Press Secretary!   Links: Interview w/Claudia Bushman https://rsc.byu.edu/conversations-mormon-historians/claudia-