2021
ASDAH Newsletter
The Newsletter of The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians
Posted January 20, 2021
Editor: Sabrina Riley; President: Amy Rosenthal
Posted January 20, 2021
Editor: Sabrina Riley; President: Amy Rosenthal
From the ASDAH President’s Desk
Amy Robok Rosenthal
You have probably seen the memes and social media posts that say: I’d like to cancel my subscription to 2021. I’ve had the 7-day trial. Not interested.
Indeed, from many vantage points, 2021 is looking remarkably like 2020. On our campus, study tours and research trips have been cancelled, faculty serve in-person and remote students, and meetings are conducted virtually. Our communities continue to experience prejudice, injustice, and violence informed by ideologies and rhetoric that occupy the national stage on a daily basis.
But while we continue to navigate the immediate demands of our current reality, we are also trying to anticipate what is next. As historians, we know that a world changed forever by COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and political turmoil will not look like the past. So, although I resonate with the statement above in many ways, I also have to believe that the challenges we continue to face and the lessons we learn will help us to be better educators, scholars, advocates, and colleagues.
Indeed, from many vantage points, 2021 is looking remarkably like 2020. On our campus, study tours and research trips have been cancelled, faculty serve in-person and remote students, and meetings are conducted virtually. Our communities continue to experience prejudice, injustice, and violence informed by ideologies and rhetoric that occupy the national stage on a daily basis.
But while we continue to navigate the immediate demands of our current reality, we are also trying to anticipate what is next. As historians, we know that a world changed forever by COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and political turmoil will not look like the past. So, although I resonate with the statement above in many ways, I also have to believe that the challenges we continue to face and the lessons we learn will help us to be better educators, scholars, advocates, and colleagues.
The Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists Launched Online
Dragoslava Santrac
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a rich history and lots of stories to tell, most of which have been unknown to us until now. The Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (ESDA) online released July 1, 2020, shares the many stories of the Adventist Church. It is accessible for free at https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/. A product of over five years of planning and processing, directed by and based at the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, the ESDA is the best attempt to date to establish an authoritative online source of Adventist history, current events, church initiatives, and theological topics from every corner of the world.
With over 2,500 current articles, 5,000 photographs, and a growing collection of videos contributed by a diverse team of writers and editors from every division of the Adventist Church, this database will eventually swell to over 7,000 articles tracing Adventist history, missions, theological issues, projects, programs, and biographies. Input given by pastors, administrators, evangelists, and scholars makes this a shared work of global importance, valuable for every Adventist and for those with questions and interests outside of our faith community.
You can meet some ESDA editors and authors in the 30-minute ESDA video podcasts. The ESDA podcasts explore the history of the Adventist Church and share inspiring stories from around the globe. Check the ESDA podcasts at the Adventist Church’s official YouTube channel or at
https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/videos?pid=PL-k2Gb-DBYo_LOrS0obIEGcCOTQgdvGa#top
The ESDA still needs writers. We thank the ASDAH members who contributed to the ESDA as authors, peer-reviewers, and copyeditors. To contribute to the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, please contact the ESDA main office at
[email protected]
with your article idea. To view the list of unfinished articles, the ESDA team is currently working on, please check this link:
https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/unfinished-articles
With over 2,500 current articles, 5,000 photographs, and a growing collection of videos contributed by a diverse team of writers and editors from every division of the Adventist Church, this database will eventually swell to over 7,000 articles tracing Adventist history, missions, theological issues, projects, programs, and biographies. Input given by pastors, administrators, evangelists, and scholars makes this a shared work of global importance, valuable for every Adventist and for those with questions and interests outside of our faith community.
You can meet some ESDA editors and authors in the 30-minute ESDA video podcasts. The ESDA podcasts explore the history of the Adventist Church and share inspiring stories from around the globe. Check the ESDA podcasts at the Adventist Church’s official YouTube channel or at
https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/videos?pid=PL-k2Gb-DBYo_LOrS0obIEGcCOTQgdvGa#top
The ESDA still needs writers. We thank the ASDAH members who contributed to the ESDA as authors, peer-reviewers, and copyeditors. To contribute to the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, please contact the ESDA main office at
[email protected]
with your article idea. To view the list of unfinished articles, the ESDA team is currently working on, please check this link:
https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/unfinished-articles
Announcements
Informal Zoom Meeting
Let's take advantage of our technologies to bond together as scholars and teachers and Christian intellectuals in the midst of the isolation we may be feeling in our current work situations. Lisa Diller and a few others are considering an informal zoom meeting just to share what we are reading and teaching during these momentous times. Maybe we can crowd source some of our difficulties with each other and crib off each other's reading notes or teaching ideas. Look out for an email suggesting a couple of times when we could join together for an hour or two and hold each other up. —Lisa Clark Diller
ASDAH Conference 2022
When we gathered in Keene in the summer of 2019, we had no idea that it would feel so audacious to be planning for ASDAH 2022. However, I think I will step out in faith and say we are tentatively planning for April 7-10, 2022, as our official triennial event here at Southern Adventist University. We will follow up with more information via email and our social media. I pray it is possible to see as many of you as we can. —Lisa Clark Diller
Institutional News
Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University
In August, the Center for Adventist Research moved approximately 30,000 pounds from Atlantic Union College’s Heritage Room and other AUC campus locations. This was the culmination of a lengthy deliberation that included the Atlantic Union Conference considering opening its own museum; however, logistics and expense precluded a regional museum. Merlin Burt, Jim Nix, Tim Poirier, and Markus Kutzschbach assisted the Atlantic Union Conference in determining the best way to preserve material significant to Adventist history. Some material found a new home within the Atlantic Union Conference. Significant artifacts were relocated to the Ellen G. White Estate in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Adventist Heritage Ministries sites. The Center for Adventist Research received the bulk of the collection, including books, artifacts, tracts, periodicals, and Atlantic Union College’s administrative records. The Center for Adventist Research will maintain these materials in a way that preserves their connection to Atlantic Union College. When items are added to the James White Library catalog or the Adventist Digital Library, their connection to Atlantic Union College will be noted. —adapted from Andrews University’s Focus (Fall 2020), pg. 25-26.
La Sierra University
Alicia Gutierrez-Romine has been assistant professor of history at La Sierra University since 2017.
River Plate Adventist University
Our University Press (Editorial UAP) has translated into English two important books regarding the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America. The first is Foundational Missionaries of South American Adventism which presents the biographies of the most important Adventist pioneers in South America. It was written by Daniel Plenc, Silvia Scholtus, Eugenio Di Dionisio, and Sergio Becerra. It is available on Amazon.com.
The second, Women in Leadership in the Beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America, is devoted to the life and work of the most important women pioneers of the Adventist Church in South America. It was written by Silvia Scholtus, recently retired director of the Center of Adventist History at Universidad Adventista del Plata. It is available on Amazon.com. Both books were previously published in Spanish. The University Press wanted to make the history of the Adventist Church in South America available to non -Spanish speakers. Silvia Scholtus has retired as the director of the Centro de Historia Adventista at Universidad Adventista del Plata. Her position is yet to be filled. She has headed the center since 2017. Previously she was secretary of the Ellen White Estate Branch Office at the Universidad Adventista del Plata. |
Southern Adventist University
Lisa Clark Diller organized an online version of the Southern Conference on British Studies in November, published a chapter in Faith and History: A Devotional (Baylor, 2020), taught a women’s history class for the first time, and joined a Writing Support Group organized by the Newberry Library which has been very helpful in moving some articles down the pipeline. She’s excited about her students’ contributions to the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Along with Kevin Burton, she collaborated with local historians to work on alternative locations for a bust erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Chattanooga on the courthouse lawn.
Michael Weismeyer attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression; attended the Western History Association and the History of Education Society, and developed an online US history class to accompany our in-person curriculum to the Black Lives Matter events this summer by appearing on podcasts as well as on zoom events to present information on Adventists, abolition, and political action.
Mark Peach developed a new course on North American environmental history, continued collaborating with the National Honors Society and their Partners in the Park program for connecting honors students with the National Parks, and mentored honors projects for Southern Scholars.
As a department, we’ve been collaborating with our library to think about how to present some sensitive collections that include bills of sale for human beings from the 1830s. We wanted to take this time to help our public—the campus, our church, the local community— think about how to deal with difficult history and how to mourn honestly about pain in the past, but then how our faith can give us hope for the future.
Michael Weismeyer attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression; attended the Western History Association and the History of Education Society, and developed an online US history class to accompany our in-person curriculum to the Black Lives Matter events this summer by appearing on podcasts as well as on zoom events to present information on Adventists, abolition, and political action.
Mark Peach developed a new course on North American environmental history, continued collaborating with the National Honors Society and their Partners in the Park program for connecting honors students with the National Parks, and mentored honors projects for Southern Scholars.
As a department, we’ve been collaborating with our library to think about how to present some sensitive collections that include bills of sale for human beings from the 1830s. We wanted to take this time to help our public—the campus, our church, the local community— think about how to deal with difficult history and how to mourn honestly about pain in the past, but then how our faith can give us hope for the future.
Union College
Last spring Union College restructured, eliminating four teaching positions. Then the novel coronavirus crisis came and we went to online classes for the rest of the semester. In the midst of the restructure, I [Edward Allen] was asked to take on some new responsibilities. I became one of three academic deans, responsible not only for the religion program but also the music program, redesigning and relaunching a new honors-type program, directing the leadership program, and overseeing the library. As a result, my teaching load was reduced to two courses per semester. The three deans were supposed to oversee a college, but so far, we have not named any of the "colleges." I joked that my college should be the College of Inspiration! I am kept quite busy by all of this and don't have nearly the time I wish I had to devote to my own study and research. I did complete a chapter on the beginnings of seventh-day Sabbath observance among Adventists for the Handbook of Seventh-day Adventists to be published by Oxford University Press. I have also agreed to help edit a new book on the Sabbath that will contain both theological and historical chapters based on presentations at both the Society of Biblical Literature and the Adventist Society for Religious Studies.
Ben Tyner has become the program director for the History/International Relations programs where he works with Christopher Banks.
Ben Tyner has become the program director for the History/International Relations programs where he works with Christopher Banks.
Walla Walla University
There have not been many changes or developments in the department of history and philosophy at Walla Walla University this past year. Like our colleagues at other institutions, we have been navigating teaching during a pandemic, classrooms with both in-person and online students, quarantines, and virtual academic conferences. Our department faculty remains the same. Dr. Timothy Golden teaches philosophy and legal studies, Dr. Terrie Aamodt teaches American history, Dr. Hilary Dickerson teaches American history, Dr. Monique Vincent teaches world and ancient history, and Dr. Greg Dodds teaches European and religious history.
People News
William Logan: I have a book under contract! The working title of the manuscript is “A Technological
History of Cold-war India, 1947-1969: Autarky and Foreign Aid,” and it will be published by Palgrave MacMillan in the series Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology. I’m not sure when it will actually get to press, but my deadline for the manuscript is April 15. The book is about how the government of India tried to develop and modernize the country after winning independence from Britain. I look at various projects for “indigenizing” (or Indianizing) technology that originated outside of India, and how in some cases it worked and not in others. I did my research for this project in India and the United States (as the USA was a major donor of development aid to India during the Cold War). My research included archival work as well as visiting dams, bridges, and other pieces of infrastructure built during the early-independence period of India.
Brian Strayer remains an active author and speaker in retirement. He is currently putting the finishing touches on the 340-page book, Our USA We’ll Ever Love Thee: The Centennial History of Union Springs Academy, 1921-2021, due to be published in fall of 2021. Recent presentations and papers include:
Erika Weidemann graduated in May 2020 with a PhD in history. She currently holds a postdoctoral fellowship at Texas A&M University. She is the Defense and POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Historian in Residence. The DPAA is an agency of the Department of Defense whose mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for missing service members. In addition to conducting research for the DPAA, she teaches a writing-intensive course for history majors at Texas A&M that incorporates her public history work. In 2020, she published a chapter in European Mennonites and the Holocaust (University of Toronto Press) entitled "Identity and Survival: The Post-World War II Immigration of Chortitza Mennonites." She was also selected to research and write a twentieth anniversary history for the Huffines Institute at Texas A&M titled Huffines Institute: The History. Lastly, she began serving on the Germans from Russia Heritage Society’s Heritage Review editorial review board.
History of Cold-war India, 1947-1969: Autarky and Foreign Aid,” and it will be published by Palgrave MacMillan in the series Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology. I’m not sure when it will actually get to press, but my deadline for the manuscript is April 15. The book is about how the government of India tried to develop and modernize the country after winning independence from Britain. I look at various projects for “indigenizing” (or Indianizing) technology that originated outside of India, and how in some cases it worked and not in others. I did my research for this project in India and the United States (as the USA was a major donor of development aid to India during the Cold War). My research included archival work as well as visiting dams, bridges, and other pieces of infrastructure built during the early-independence period of India.
Brian Strayer remains an active author and speaker in retirement. He is currently putting the finishing touches on the 340-page book, Our USA We’ll Ever Love Thee: The Centennial History of Union Springs Academy, 1921-2021, due to be published in fall of 2021. Recent presentations and papers include:
- “Stephen N. Haskell: Evangelist, Missionary, and Editor,” four-part series presented at the Anderson, Indiana SDA Church, July, August, November 2019 and July 2020
- “Ellet J. Waggoner: From Physician of Good News to Agent of Division,” four-part series presented at the Holland, Michigan SDA Church, September, October, November, December 2019
- “The Triumph and Tragedy of Elder Nathan Fuller,” presentation at Anderson, Indiana SDA Church, August 15, 2020
- “Advent Waymarks in Jackson, Michigan,” Part 20 (2010-2019), final part in series on history of Jackson, Michigan SDA Church, 1849-2019, given on November 23, 2019 (entire series is on Jackson SDA Church website)
Erika Weidemann graduated in May 2020 with a PhD in history. She currently holds a postdoctoral fellowship at Texas A&M University. She is the Defense and POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Historian in Residence. The DPAA is an agency of the Department of Defense whose mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for missing service members. In addition to conducting research for the DPAA, she teaches a writing-intensive course for history majors at Texas A&M that incorporates her public history work. In 2020, she published a chapter in European Mennonites and the Holocaust (University of Toronto Press) entitled "Identity and Survival: The Post-World War II Immigration of Chortitza Mennonites." She was also selected to research and write a twentieth anniversary history for the Huffines Institute at Texas A&M titled Huffines Institute: The History. Lastly, she began serving on the Germans from Russia Heritage Society’s Heritage Review editorial review board.
McAdams Grant Scholarship and Application
All scholars of Adventist history are invited to submit applications for research funding through the McAdams grant, which is intended to fund significant projects in Millerite and Adventist history that will result in publication. Scholars holding a Ph.D. in history (or related field) or who have demonstrated competence in the field of Adventist history are eligible to apply. Grants are not intended to aid research for completion of doctoral work, although funding may be available for scholars who are revising completed dissertations for publication. Grants will ordinarily be in the range of $3,000 to $10,000. Follow-up grants for large projects may be available.
Applicants should complete the application form (included here but also found at the ASDAH website, under Research Funding, which asks for a short description of the project. If a project is judged to be promising, the committee will ask for a fuller statement (1,200-2,000 words), including a proposed budget. Application letters should be sent to:
Steve Jones
Department of History
Southwestern Adventist University
100 W. Hillcrest, Keene, TX, 76059.
Deadlines for consideration in 2021 are April 1 and November 1. A selection committee (Steve Jones, Terrie Aamodt, Eric Anderson, and Jonathan Butler) will review applications and make recommendations.
The grant application form is below:
Applicants should complete the application form (included here but also found at the ASDAH website, under Research Funding, which asks for a short description of the project. If a project is judged to be promising, the committee will ask for a fuller statement (1,200-2,000 words), including a proposed budget. Application letters should be sent to:
Steve Jones
Department of History
Southwestern Adventist University
100 W. Hillcrest, Keene, TX, 76059.
Deadlines for consideration in 2021 are April 1 and November 1. A selection committee (Steve Jones, Terrie Aamodt, Eric Anderson, and Jonathan Butler) will review applications and make recommendations.
The grant application form is below:
McAdams Research Grant Application
Name__________________________
Institutional Affiliation____________________
Project Title_________________________________________________
(Please attach a 1200-1500 description of your project, its significance for Adventist history, the nature of your research, a time frame for the completion of your project, and how the grant will be used)
Amount Requested:
Estimated Breakdown of Expenses:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Will this grant be in addition to institutional funding you will receive for this project? ___________________________________________________________________
Other comments about the project you may wish to add:
Signature: _____________________
Date: _____________________