Boarding School Stories
In response to the 2021 creation of the United States Federal Indian Boarding School Truth Initiative, this group seeks to bring together scholars and community members who are working toward localized visions and practices of reconciliation that are grounded in the gathering and telling of Indigenous boarding school stories.
Cognition and Literature
This group aims to leverage insights from neuroscience, psychology, and management to deepen our understanding of how cognitive processes influence and are influenced by literary and artistic expression. This initiative is aligned with BYU’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning and research, fostering an environment where diverse academic perspectives can synergistically advance knowledge and understanding.
Editing and Publishing
The Editing and Publishing Research Group includes scholars from across the United States who are involved in editing, publishing, writing, and linguistics research. The group is currently focused on establishing BYU’s Faculty Publishing Service (FPS) as a site that can generate data for research projects.
Foreign Language Housing
The intention of this research group is to study and improve the quality of learning and mental wellbeing of language students participating in the Language Immersion Student Residence (LISR) program at Brigham Young University.
Greek and Latin Translation Working Group
This group helps interested faculty and students maintain their skills in ancient Greek and Latin. We translate a Latin text each fall semester and a Greek text each winter semester. The texts that we will work on as a group will be chosen collectively and ideally will arise out of a faculty member’s research project, who also wants the opportunity to discuss the text in its original language, and who perhaps would like to have assistance in the translation process.
Humor
The Humor Research Group meets several times per semester to 1) study and discuss humor scholarship and practices and 2) workshop group members’ humor-related research.
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
MARS (Medieval and Renaissance Studies) members come to us from across several disciplines and colleges to share our interest with the historic period from the end of antiquity (roughly ca. 500) down to the development of the early modern world (roughly up through the seventeenth century).
Metaethics in the Mountains
Contemporary philosophy, just as in ancient times, requires the agora. Despite the fact that so much of philosophy is solo-authored, it is always done best when it is the product of lively philosophical conversation and debate. The work of this group is focused on morality and metaphysics.
Provo Walks Lab
The Provo Walks Lab proposes to turn the focus of faculty expertise towards the immediate community surrounding Brigham Young University through the creation of a series of themed guided walks based in and around the city of Provo, Utah. By creating this lab, we invite faculty to consider a project-based learning approach to publicly engaged scholarship. In other words, we invite faculty to create a research-based guided walks, possibly with the assistance of students, centered on a specific theme and located in Provo. The goal of creating this collection of walks is to provide a resource that can educate students at BYU and residents of Provo about the rich, complex, and diverse history and culture of Provo and its landscapes (human, urban, natural, etc.).
Religious Studies in Modern Europe
In addition to the study the history of the Church in Europe, the Religious Studies in Europe Research Group also focuses on how the idea of Mormonism was used and adapted around the globe to explore the way members of the LDS Church are depicted and thought of in a non-American context.
Romantic and Victorian
Romantic and Victorian is a faculty research group that meets several times per year to discuss: 1)British literature of the “long Romantic” and Victorian periods (1750-1900) 2)Transnational Romanticism 3)Romantic and Victorian aesthetics theory, and philosophy. Most semesters the group gathers once to discuss the research of a group member and once to workshop with a visiting scholar.
Spirituality and Imagination
The purpose of this group is to convene scholars whose work purports to break down the barriers between “spiritual” and “material” realities, and between theology and humanities disciplines.
Theology and Humanities
This group looks to take up, in a more extensive and reflective way, theological works of broad impact across multiple fields – literary studies, philosophy, theory, culture and gender studies, and more.
Translation Studies
In the age of globalization, Translation Studies has emerged to meet the dramatically increased need not only for the practical translation and interpretation of texts and documents, but for transcultural and transnational understanding and communication.
Women’s Studies Teaching and Research (WSTAR)
The Women’s Studies Teaching and Research Group helps to further its members’ training in contemporary theories and practices related to women’s studies. We schedule events and activities that involve presentations and workshops conducted by eminent scholars in the field of women’s studies as well as by members of the group. We also sponsor visiting lectures and conduct workshops for work-in-progress by members of the group.