Item Detail
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31283
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0
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1
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English
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Editing Arrington
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Journal of Mormon History
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2020
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46
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2
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Illinois
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University of Illinois Press
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123-134
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"In the 1990s, editor Lavina Fielding Anderson started a section in the Journal of Mormon History that she called Encounter. She asked an author of a biography and/or an edited collection of papers to explain what she described as the “Encounter.” As she wrote in her explanatory letter: “The focus is not on the life and achievements of the subject but the struggle to understand that person's mind. Usually, but not always, it's a broadening and enriching experience for the biographer, who learns more about himself or herself in the process.” She offered some possible questions: “Did you like the subject? Trust him/her? Respect him/her? Find parts of his/her life mystifying and even distasteful? What was the dynamic between your personal and professional values system and the personality that became apparent to you as you studied your subject? What did that kind of encounter teach you, and what reflections do you have about the value of such an encounter, not only for the readers of your book, but also for readers of history in general?”