Sara M. Patterson (Ph.D Claremont Graduate University) is Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Hanover College where she teaches courses in religion in the U.S., the intersections of race/ ethnicity and religion, and gender studies. In her research, Dr. Patterson explores understandings of sacred space in the American West. Her work, “Middle of Nowhere: Religion, Art, and Pop Culture at Salvation Mountain” (2015), explores a piece of outsider religious artwork in the southern Californian desert. Her current project examines the intersections of historical memory and sacred space along the Mormon trail.