Trying, once again, to encourage papers from women

Over the now fairly long course of my involvement in Mormon studies and apologetics, I’ve often lamented the fact that virtually all of those involved in the field have been men.  When I was chairman of the board of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), I tried, unsuccessfully, to recruit more women and to find at least one who would serve on our board.

I wasn’t interested in fulfilling some quota or simply being politically correct, although I did want to protect FARMS against the sort of distracting and dismissive criticisms that are inevitable if an organization is, or can be made to seem, male-only.  I certainly wasn’t interested in tokenism.

I genuinely felt that women’s contributions would be valuable and helpful in unique ways.  Obviously, males and females aren’t separate species and their experiences, concerns, and abilities overlap.  Nonetheless, though, woman can and often do bring a different and refreshing perspective.  They generate insights from a slightly different vantage point.

Because of my (and others’) failure to recruit more women as writers and leaders, FARMS was (and, by some critics, still is) occasionally denounced as sexist and, from time to time — three days ago, for example, in one quite nasty online display — those who contributed to it are derided as the “FARMS boys.”  (A few of my more fevered detractors, of course, have taken to branding me a “misogynist.”  They’re not much interested in fairness or nuance.)

Anyway, as president and chairman of the Interpreter Foundation, I’m still trying to involve more women.  And this is a major instrument for that attempt:

The Ruth M. Stephens Article Prize

I encourage women to consider submitting an article to Interpreter in time to be considered for this prize.  Perhaps you’ve already written a paper that would be appropriate.  Perhaps you have an idea that you’ve been wanting to develop further.  But there’s still time to get something ready, I think, even if you only begin to think about it now.  If nothing else, could you possibly bring this prize to the attention of any women that you think might be interested?

I would personally appreciate it very much, and Interpreter would be the better for it.

Thank you.

Posted from Mesa, Arizona