The SBL launched the International Cooperation Initiative (ICI) to foster biblical scholarship and to facilitate mutual cooperation among colleagues.
The ICI established nine objectives that were enumerated in the 2007 SBL Society Report . An Advisory Board consisting of scholars from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands is operating through a listserv managed through the University of Alberta.
After collecting survey responses from scholars around the world, the Advisory Board formulated recommendations for SBL action in each of the Society’s program areas (Membership, Publications, the Profession, and Congresses). The programs described below result from action on the recommendations.
You may wish to refer to articles previously published in the SBL Forum which served to precipitate this initiative:
Ehud Ben Zvi, The Future of the Society
Gerald West, The Future of the Society
Kent Harold Richards, The Future of SBL: Dialogue with Members
International Cooperation Initiative (ICI) Executive Board
Anyone interested in participating in the work of the ICI Executive Board should contact one of the following members of the ICI Executive Board: Ehud Ben Zvi (chair), Roxana Flammini, Louis Jonker, Monica Melancthon, or Leigh Andersen (SBL staff).
Questions and comments are also welcomed.
Open-Access Book Series
Ancient Near East Monographs is published in partnership with with the Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente, Universidad Católica Argentina (CEHAO/UCA). The focus of the series is on the ancient Near East, including ancient Israel and its literature, from the early Neolithic to the early Hellenistic eras. Titles are published in either Spanish or English.
For more information about this series, contact one of the Co-General Editors, Ehud Ben Zvi or Roxana Flammini,or the SBL Acquisitions Editor, Billie Jean Collins.
International Voices in Biblical Studies
Proposals and manuscripts for consideration by the editors of International Voices in Biblical Studies can now be entered into SBL’s online system. IVBS has been established to electronically publish scholarship from underresourced areas of the globe. Titles will be published in English and, when possible, in the primary language of the author. The works published in this series will generally be in the area of reception history and criticism and will not be limited to any particular biblical text or historical timeframe.
Click here to learn more or to submit your work.
ICI Liaison Network
In order to promote awareness of the resources and opportunities made available through the ICI to scholars, teachers, and students, we have recently asked SBL members living in qualifying countries to become official ICI liaisons. The ICI Task Force is building this new network in ICI-qualifying regions because it is thought to be the best way to publicize these opportunities and to share these resources with those who may need and benefit from them most.
The role of an official ICI Liaison is straightforward; it is to help promote awareness of the ICI and its benefits among students and colleagues in the liaison’s home institution, country, and/or wider region in whatever ways that will be most effective. This might include, for example, simply forwarding emailed ICI reports and documents, or locally posting similar information about ICI opportunities and resources for students, faculty, and administrators at the liaison’s home institution or at other institutions in their area. The ICI liaison may also serve as a local contact for those in his/her area who seek information about the ICI: to either help answer their questions, or to direct them to ICI Task Force members who can assist them. Over seventy people have answered this call and have volunteered their time to this endeavor. If you would like to participate, or if you have questions about being part of this initiative, please contact sblservices@sbl-site.org.
Teaching Collaboration/ Mentoring Program
SBL has established a system to facilitate scholarly exchange.
Scholars who are interested in and willing to (co)supervise and generally mentor students in institutions outside their home country or who would like to teach in another country when they have sabbaticals or travel time are included in one list.
Schools that are interested in these types of cooperative efforts are included in a separate list.
These lists provide individual scholars and schools the information needed to contact each other and make their own arrangements for scholarly exchange. The SBL is not responsible for any arrangements made by these parties. The SBL, as the host of this data, takes reasonable steps to protect the privacy of the individuals who offer their services through this system.
Calendar of Events
SBL encourages participation in scholarly conferences and workshops worldwide. Events sponsored by SBL as well as those independent of SBL are listed on the Calendar of Events for Biblical and Religious Studies. Please contact Tech Support to provide information related to your event so that it can be included on the calendar.
The ICI Projects listed below are intended to serve communities that may have limited access to resources. These projects are limited to countries listed here.
(If you are a citizen of a participating country but reside in a country that is not eligible, you will not be able to view these pages.)
When you link to the Online Books page, The ICI system identifies your IP address. If you are a visitor in a country whose Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is substantially lower than the average of the GDP per capita of the USA and European Union then the page will display the book selections that link to PDF files which can be downloaded at no charge.
Online Books
ICI provides free electronic access to many SBL publications to ICI participants. Our publishing partners, Brown Judaic Studies, Sheffield Phoenix Press, the Catholic Biblical Association of America, Gorgias Press, and Baylor University Press also participate in this program. Books from these publishers are listed alphabetically by author, along with SBL titles, on the Online Books page and can be identified by ICI participants through the book series listings.
Membership - Reduced Rates
Individuals who live in countries that qualify for the online books also qualify for reduced membership rates through ICI.
The rates offered to these individuals are US$15 for full members and US$10 for student members. The form with these rates can be found on our Online Books page.
As a Society, our mission is to “Foster Biblical Scholarship.” We believe that we embody this mission best when biblical scholars from around the globe are included in our conversation. Members from qualifying countries who can afford to pay our regular membership rates are encouraged to do so. In addition, members from any country are encouraged to sponsor the membership of others who cannot afford to join.
Subscriptions - Reduced Rates
Institutions located in countries that qualify for the online books also qualify for reduced subscription rates to the Journal of Biblical Literature and the Review of Biblical Literature. With these reduced rates, a print JBL subscription costs $35 plus shipping and a print RBL subscription costs $20 plus shipping.
Forms for these reduced rates and free access to recent JBL archives can be found on our Online Books page.