Joanna Brooks Explained

Joanna Brooks
Birth Date:	September 29, 1971
Birth Place:	Los Angeles, California
Occupation:	Author, professor, scholar
Nationality:	American
Alma Mater:	Brigham Young University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (PhD)
Subject:	Religious studies Transatlantic literature African American literature

Joanna Brooks (born September 29, 1971)^[1] is an American author and professor of English and comparative literature at San Diego State University.^[2] Brooks is currently the associate vice president of faculty advancement and professor of English and comparative literature.^[3] She is a frequent media commentator on faith in American life, particularly in relation to her own Mormonism.^{[4] [5] [6]} Politico named her one of 2011's "50 politicos to watch" for her Twitter feed, @askmormongirl.^[7]

Mormonism

Brooks writes extensively about Mormonism and Mormon feminism and is often quoted in the media related to issues regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Huffington Post writes, "Brooks specializes in explaining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to non-Mormons, and in presenting a different way to be Mormon to those steeped in its orthodoxy."^[8] She wrote a question-and-answer blog from 2010 to 2014^[9] called "Ask Mormon Girl" with the tagline "unorthodox answers from an imperfect source". She also wrote as a senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches from 2011 to 2014, frequently addressing Mormon issues.^{[10] [11]} In early 2012, she self-published a memoir called The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith, which was later picked up by Simon & Schuster and published by them in August 2012.^[12] Brooks was noted as one of "13 Religious Women to Watch in 2012".^[13]

Brooks sits on the board of directors for .^[14] Brooks is described as a feminist and liberal Mormon, in contrast to the predominantly conservative culture of Mormonism.^[15] In 2017 Brooks was among and ten co-authors publishing "Shoulder to the Wheel: Resources to Help Latter-day Saints Face Racism"^{[16] [17]}

Personal life

Brooks is married to David Kamper and has two daughters. She holds a bacherlor's degree from Brigham Young University and a PhD from UCLA. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[2]

Works

• "Face Zion Forward": First Writers of the Black Atlantic, 1785–1798 (Editor, with John Saillant). Northeastern, 2002.
• American Lazarus: Religion and the Rise of African-American and Native American Literatures (Author). Oxford, 2003. . Winner of the Modern Language Association William Sanders Scarborough Award.
• The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan: Literature and Leadership in Eighteenth-Century America (Editor). Oxford, 2006.
• Transatlantic Feminisms in the Age of Revolutions (Editor, with Lisa L. Moore and Caroline Wigginton). Oxford, 2012.
• The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith (Author). Free Press, 2012. . Winner of the Association for Mormon Letters memoir award.
• Why We Left: Untold Stories and Songs of America's First Immigrants (Author). Minnesota, 2013.
• Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings (Co-Editor). Oxford, 2015.
• . (By Alex Cooper, with Brooks). HarperOne, 2016.
• Mormonism and white supremacy: American religion and the problem of racial innocence. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-0-19-008176-8.

External links

• Official website
• Ask Mormon Girl blog
• San Diego State University faculty profile
• Articles at Religion Dispatches
• Profile at Mormon Scholars Testify
• Joanna Brooks papers at the University of Utah library

Notes and References

1. Book: Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings. Oxford University Press. 2016. 978-0-19-024803-1. Joanna Brooks. 227. 2015-08-19. Rachel Hunt Steenblik. Hannah Wheelwright.
2. Web site: 2012-02-13 . Crossing the plains and kicking up dirt, a new Mormon pioneer . https://archive.today/20120718214431/http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/05/crossing-the-plains-and-kicking-up-dirt-a-new-mormon-pioneer/ . dead . July 18, 2012 . CNN . Ravitz, Jessica . February 5, 2012.
3. News: Lauren Markoe . Joanna Brooks returns to previous position following unexpected removal last year . July 18, 2018 . . 2018-07-18.
4. News: Lauren Markoe . 10 minutes with ... Joanna Brooks . February 1, 2012 . . 2015-08-19.
5. Web site: Susan Leem . Joanna Brooks on the Need for Politicians to Find Their Moral Bearings . . 2015-08-19.
6. News: Guy Raz . 'Ask Mormon Girl' Discusses Mitt Romney's Candidacy . December 2, 2011 . . . 2015-08-19.
7. Web site: 2012-02-13 . 50 politicos to watch: Top tweeters . Politico.com . July 28, 2011.
8. Web site: 2012-02-13 . Joanna Brooks Discusses Mormonism, American Politics . Huffington Post . Markoe, Lauren . February 1, 2012.
9. Web site: Joanna Brooks . Welcome to the world of Ask Mormon Girl . April 21, 2015 . Ask Mormon Girl . 2015-08-19.
10. News: Daniel Burke . Mormon church lashes back at magazine over portrayal of prophet and profits . . July 13, 2012 . 2015-08-19.
11. Web site: Joanna Brooks . Media . joannabrooks.org . 2015-08-19.
12. Book: The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith . August 7, 2012 . August 18, 2012 . Simon & Schuster. 9781451699685 .
13. Web site: 2012-03-14 . 13 Religious Women to Watch in 2012 . Center for American Progress . Woodiwiss, Catherine . Farnellon, Emily . March 7, 2012.
14. Web site: Staff and Boards . dialoguejournal.com . Dialogue Foundation . 2015-08-19.
15. News: Randy Dotinga . The Liberal, Feminist, Gay-Friendly Mormon . August 19, 2011 . . 2015-08-19.
16. Web site: Commentary: Putting our shoulders to the wheel to end racism and white supremacy in Mormonism. Salt Lake Tribune. August 17, 2017.
17. Web site: Resources – Shoulder to the Wheel. shouldertothewheel.org. Danielle Dubrasky, Aimee Evans Hickman, Rebecca de Schweinitz, Joanna Brooks, Emily Clyde Curtis, Cynthia Bailey Lee, Benjamin Park, Emily Jensen, Miguel Barker-Valdez, & Rachel Mabey-Whipple.