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SBL e-Newsletter
November 14, 2011 e-newsletter
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Annual Meeting Updates

We are very excited to welcome SBL members to Annual Meetings 2011 San Francisco this week! If you have pre-registered for the meeting, you may pick up your tote bag and Program Book in the Moscone West building on Friday, Nov. 18, from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday through Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you plan to register onsite, you may also register for the conference in the Moscone West building. The Exhibit Hall opens at 8:30 on Saturday morning. Free Wi-Fi is available in the Exhibit Hall Food Court!

Late changes for the Annual Meeting program will be posted here and will be made in the online program and mobile app.

View the Program on your Mobile Device! The Annual Meeting app is available now in the App Store and Android Market—simply search for AM11AAR&SBL. We have posted answers to numerous questions as well as an introductory guide to the app on the Annual Meeting page,. You can also download Program Book PDFs to reference from your device. It is broken into three sections to facilitate download: Sessions and Indices; Exhibit Hall and Hotel maps; and Ads and Advertisers Index (large file).

Please note that a version updgrade occurred November 9. Android users who downloaded the app on or prior to this date should delete and re-download the app. No deletion or reinstallation is required for iOS app users; you will be prompted to download updates from the App Store app on the iOS device.

SBL Year-end Summaries

Please see two important reports on SBL's year in review and financial position.

2011 SBL Society Report

2010-2011 Audit Report

Student Advisory Board (SAB)News

After many months of discussions and hard work, the Society of Biblical Literature's Student Advisory Board (SAB) is excited to announce the first issue of a new, student-focused newsletter, Dialogos. You should expect the first full issue to arrive via e-mail in January of 2012. The mission of the newsletter is to create a collaborative dialogue between student members of SBL throughout the regions and internationally, as well as forging a stronger connection between all student members and the Society as a whole. The nature of graduate work is often solitary, so the newsletter is a way to bring different perspectives and viewpoints together to form an intentional community of emerging scholars.

In each quarterly issue you can expect to find updates on SBL policies, procedures, and initiatives that directly affect student members, features on "notable students" in the regions that celebrate the success of our membership, international student news, and helpful professional development articles that address the many challenges of graduate education at all of its stages.

Engaging the student community and encouraging participation and feedback is central to Dialogos' mission, and to the mission of SAB. If you have questions, ideas for articles, would like to nominate a "notable student" in your region, or have suggestions for potential features for upcoming issues, please email Teresa Calpino (Editor) at tcalpin@luc.edu. We have also included a brief introduction to SAB and its mandate and information on the upcoming SAB-sponsored student sessions at the Annual Meeting. We hope to see you at the Annual Meeting in San Francisco, especially at one of the SAB sessions and/or at the annual Student Member Reception!

Click here for more information about who SAB is and what it does.

Don't forget to attend some of the excellent sessions SAB has planned for this year's Annual Meeting.

Annual Meeting Book Sale

Almost all new, recent, and backlist SBL and Brown Judaic Studies titles are available to SBL members at a 30% discount during the Annual Meeting Fall Sale.

Download the order form, then mail or fax your order by December 15. If you prefer to order by phone or at the SBL Store, make sure to use the promo code FL2011 at checkout to receive your discount.

Annual Meeting Session Highlights

What Is the Future of Biblical Studies in Academia? Questions, Challenges, Visions (S20-248)
Sunday, Nov 20, 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

What it is that we, as scholars trained in the study of biblical texts, ought to be doing? This question seems to be inextricably tied into questions of the relationship of biblical studies to other intellectual trends within the academy and brings to the fore a certain amount of tension between the elucidation of material for contemporary faith communities and the non-confessional, academic study of the Bible and related texts. Join participants Tracy Lemos, Matthew Neujahr, Carol Newsom, Ronald Hendel, Dale Martin, Jacques Berlinerblau, Elizabeth Castelli, and Bart Ehrman, as they discuss the broad issues raised by the endeavor to study biblical texts within an expressly non-confessional framework.

From the Babylonian Exile through the Babylonian Talmud: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Ancient Judaism (S21-126)
Monday, Nov 21, 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Joint session with Pentateuch Section (SBL), Hellenistic Judaism Section (SBL), History and Literature of Rabbinic Judaism Section (SBL), Social History of Formative Christianity and Judaism Section (SBL), and Study of Judaism Section (AAR). The centuries between the time of the Babylonian Exile and the flourishing of rabbinic Judaism as embodied in the Babylonian Talmud were marked by wide-ranging religious transformations, literary developments, and social and cultural growth. The Journal of Ancient Judaism and the JAJ Supplement Series address this crucial period. Celebrating our first two years of publication we invite scholars in the field to discuss the concept of Ancient Judaism by asking for the distinctions and continuities between the Israel of Biblical times, Second Temple Judaism, and the Judaism that developed under the rabbis.

Biblical Studies and the Modern Invention of "Religion" (S19-308a)
Saturday, Nov 19, 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM

This is a joint session with the Bible and Cultural Studies Section (SBL), North American Association for the Study of Religion, and the Cultural History of the Study of Religion Group (AAR). Each member of the panel will analyze the mutual influence and interrelation of modern biblical studies and the academic study of "religion" more generally. How has the "biblical" been constituted as an object of analysis over time, and how has this shifting constitution implied, inferred, and affected modes of studying "religion"? As academic topics, what are the institutional, social, and intellectual webs of relations whereby "the biblical" and "the religious" have been inextricably linked, whether within the study of traditions imagined as inheritors of a biblical legacy or those counting as outsiders to it?

The Bible as Sacred and as Secular Literature (S20-344)
Sunday, Nov 20, 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Burton Mack will respond to presentations on the theme "How Secular Is the Historical-Critical Study of the Bible?" Presenters include Kenneth Atkinson, "The Historical-Critical Historical/Theological Enterprise: Why Are We Asking These Questions?"; Randall Reed, "Experiments in Secular Biblical Studies: Burton Mack as Pioneer"; Rebecca Raphael, "Historical Criticism and the Authority of History"; and Zeba Crook, "Secular Critical Translation of the New Testament."

The Power Turn in Translation Studies (S21-246a)
Monday, Nov 21, 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM

This session features a lecture by and conversation with a speaker sponsored by Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at the American Bible Society. Edwin Gentzler is a Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of the Translation Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "The Power Turn in Translation Studies" follows those scholars who have taken the cultural turn, arguing that translations involve more than just a linguistic transfer, but also mediate between and among various power groups within a culture. It also discusses the subsequent results of that interaction, i.e., how translations have societal repercussions. The paper draws upon ongoing research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst dealing with issues of translation and power, the findings of which are being published in a three-volume series: Translation and Power (UMass Press, 2002), Translation, Resistance, and Activism (UMass Press, 2010), and Translation and Revolution (forthcoming).

Membership and Subscriptions

Membership desk at the meeting? SUBSCRIPTIONS: The Journal of Biblical Literature is the flagship journal of the field. It is published quarterly and includes scholarly articles and critical notes by members of the Society. Essential reading for over a century, it is now available online and in print.

In order to receive the printed issue (130:4) of the Journal of Biblical Literature your subscription and payment must be received no later than November 15, 2011. The subscription form can be found at: http://sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/JournalSubscriptions.pdf .

You can print the form, fill it out and mail it with your payment or payment information to 825 Houston Mill Road, Suite 350 Atlanta , GA 30329. Or, you can fax it to 404-727-2419. If you prefer you can renew your subscription online by logging into the website at http://www.sbl-site.org/membership/joinnow.aspx and following the directions.

International Cooperation Initiative

The International Cooperation Initiative (ICI) will hold an open meeting on Saturday, November 19, at 2:00 pm in Pacific H—Marriott Marquis in San Francisco. Current ICI participants and those who are interested in knowing more about the program are invited to join the discussion. Questions? Contact Leigh Andersen.

Society Fund

We would like to extend a special thank you to our contributors and volunteers. Your support to the Society is vital to the success of our programs, annual and international meetings. If you have not made your 2011 donation to the Society Fund yet – click here to visit our website.

Jobs

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Calendar

Click here for full calender



November 2011
11/18- 11/22 SBL Annual Meeting,
The SBL Annual Meeting will be held in San Francisco, California.
More information
11/25 Call for Papers Deadline: Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World X: Tradition, Transmission, and Adaptation
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
When oral theory first entered classical studies, it concerned itself mostly with the transmission of narratives in verse, and one of its first concerns was the accuracy of this process. It is time to think about transmission in a wider context. Information traveled by a variety of mechanisms in antiquity. Texts, ideas, and practices were all transmitted through time and space. Sometimes both form and content were retained, but were placed in a new context; often both were profoundly transformed.

This iteration of the biennial conference on Orality and Literacy will consider the differences between oral and written transmissions, as well as their interactions. When knowledge crosses cultural and linguistic boundaries, does it matter whether it is transmitted orally or in writing? Are written texts always less fluid than oral performances? How should we think about the different kinds of writing as methods of transmitting information, from the wax tablet to the monumental inscription?

We are seeking contributions from classicists as well as scholars in ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies. Papers should be 25-30 minutes in length. There will be ample time for discussion.
The conference will include an excursion to Detroit and a session introducing Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) oral tradition, and an opportunity to visit the University of Michigan's renowned papyrus collection.

Those interested in presenting a paper should send a one-page abstract to Orality2012@umich.edu by November 25, 2011.
For further information, please email Ruth Scodel
December 2011
January 2012
1/5-1/8 Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting (LSA)
Hilton Portland and Executive Tower in Portland, Oregon
More information
1/5- 1/8 APA/AIA Annual Meeting
The American Philological Association and the Archaeological Institute of America will meet in Philadelphia, PA
More APA information
More AIA information
1/23 - 1/27 A program of ongoing training at the Pontifical Biblical Institute
The Pontifical Biblical Institute begins a program of ongoing training for researchers in, and teachers of, Sacred Scripture in Faculties of Theology and other institutions of learning.
More information
1/27 Deadline: Call for Papers
For the first annual conference of Hekhal: The Irish Society for the Study of the Ancient Near East
Hekhal is an academic association established by four graduates and postgraduates of Trinity College Dublin. The society's primary aim is to facilitate rigorous research in Ireland in the fields of Biblical Studies, Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Archaeology and Historiography, towards a more comprehensive understanding of the Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern worlds and their texts.

The conference title is "The Other Temples". The role of the temple cult is extremely important for Judaism despite Deuteronomic centralisation never being fully realised. As such, other Jewish temples may offer a fruitful area for discussing the development of Judaism in the Ancient Near East. We are therefore calling for papers dealing with temple ideology and its material culture in the context of temples other than the one in Jerusalem, whether those be real ones such as Elephantine, Leontopolis or Gerizim, or conceptual ones like the Qumran Yahad or the new Jerusalem in Revelation. The committee would hope to receive submissions on topics as diverse as diaspora Judaism, early Christianity, Qumran, early Samaritan studies, and any other historiographic and/or archaeological fields of research referencing these paradigms.

We invite abstracts of under 500 words to reach us by email no later than 27 January 2012. Late submissions will not be considered. Abstracts for presentation shall be selected by peer review. The committee intends to publish the proceedings within a peer-reviewed and edited volume. Contributors should therefore only submit abstracts for publishable, original work. Abstracts should be emailed to: hekhal.dublinia@gmail.com

More information on the Society
1/28 Deadline: Call for Papers
"Religion in Pieces" An Interdisciplinary Conference Sponsored by the Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University, April 27-29th, 2012

The quest to determine the contours and contents of ancient religion has always been a largely constructivist endeavor, subject to the exigencies of preservation. How do we, in our respective fields, approach the problem of fragmentary evidence? How do we construct such elusive categories as "belief" or "ritual" or "praxis" from an insufficient, scattered, or occasionally inscrutable base of primary source materials?

The Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions seeks papers for a conference to be held at Brown University, April 27-29th 2012, on the topic, "Religion in Pieces." In keeping with the society's broad interests in religions of the Mediterranean basin over the great chronological expanse from prehistory to late antiquity, we seek contributions from scholars in the fields of Classics, Ancient History, Religious Studies, Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Egyptology, and Art History. We are particularly interested in papers that present case studies in reconstructing religious practice from fragmentary evidence, or which problematize or lay out the methodological challenges inherent in constructing religion from a paucity of sources. Relevant subfields include (but are not limited to) papyrology, codicology, archaeology, and textual studies of fragmentary or poorly attested sources; especially welcome are transdisciplinary papers which synthesize a variety of textual, archaeological, and art historical and/or material culture sources.

We invite abstracts from 250-500 words, accompanied by a curriculum vitae, to socamr@gmail.com. Deadline for submission is midnight of January 28th, 2012. Participants will be contacted with an invitation to participate by the beginning of March, 2012.
February 2012
2/10- 2/12 The SBL Midwest Regional Meeting
Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL
More information
2/13- 2/14 Digital Humanities Workshop
The Program in Judaic Studies in collaboration with the Brown University Library's Center for Digital Scholarship is pleased to announce plans for a two-day workshop devoted to investigating the ways in which the digital humanities has or can change the study of religion in antiquity. The workshop will take place on February 13-14, 2012, at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

We invite proposals for papers and presentations that explore the intersection of ancient religion and the digital humanities. We are particularly interested in presentations of projects that have the potential to open up new questions and avenues of research. Can digital tools not only allow us to do our work faster and more thoroughly but also enable entirely new kinds of research? How might different digital data (e.g., textual, geographic, and material culture) be used together most productively? The workshop will concentrate primarily on research rather than directly on pedagogy or scholarly communication. One session will be devoted to "nuts and bolts" issues of funding and starting a digital project.

The focus of the workshop will be on the religions of West Asia and the Mediterranean basin through the early Islamic period. Proposals relating to other regions, however, will also be considered.

More and updated information 
March 2012
3/1 Deadline: Call for Papers
"Paul's Letter to the Galatians & Christian Theology", University of St Andrews' Fourth Triennial Scripture & Theology Conference St Andrews, Scotland. Conference date: 10-13 July
We invite proposals for short papers that relate Galatians to Christian theology and culture including: Galatians and Art; Christian Doctrine; Ethics; The History of Interpretation; Eschatology; Jewish and Christian Readings of Galatians. Abstracts of not more than 300 words should be sent to galatians@st-andrews.ac.uk.
See keynote speakers list under the conference July entry.
 More information >>>

3/2-3/4 SBL Southeastern Regional Meeting
Atlanta Marriott Century Center Atlanta, Georgia
More information
3/9- 3/11 SBL Southwestern Regional Meeting
Marriott Hotel, DFW Airport North, Irving, Texas
More information
3/15- 3/16 SBL Mid Atlantic Regional Meeting
Hyatt Regency New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
More information
3/16-3/19 Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society
Boston, Massachussetts, Omni Parker House Hotel
More information
3/18- 3/19 SBL Central States Regional Meeting
St. Louis Marriott West St. Louis, Missouri
More information
3/22-3/23 SBL Eastern Great Lakes Regional Meeting
Quality Inn & Suites, Richfield, Ohio
More information
3/23- 3/24 SBL Rocky Mnts - Great Plains Regional Meeting
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
More information
3/24-3/26 SBL Pacific Coast Regional Meeting
Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California
More information
April 2012
4/27 SBL New England Regional Meeting
Andover-Newton Theo. School, Newton Centre, MA
More information
4/30- 5/4 The 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
The conference will be held in Warsaw, Poland. It will be organised jointly by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw and Institute of Archaeology University of Warsaw.
More information
May 2012
5/2- 5/5 Creation, Conflict and Cosmos
A conference on Romans 5- 8 in celebration of Princeton Theological Seminary's Bicentennial
Presentations will be offered by an outstanding group of international scholars, including:

John M.G. Barclay, Durham University; Martinus C. de Boer, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Susan Grove Eastman, Duke University Divinity School; Neil Elliott, Fortress Press; Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary; J. Louis Martyn, Union Theological Seminary (emeritus); Ben Myers, Charles Sturt University School of Theology, Sydney; Stephen Westerholm, McMaster University; Philip G. Ziegler, King's College, University of Aberdeen

Short papers will be read in simultaneous sessions. To offer a paper, submit a 200-word abstract by September 1, 2011 to b.gaventa@ptsem.edu
More information.
5/3-5/6 Association of Ancient Historians (AAH)
The annual meeting in 2012 will be held May 3-6 and will be jointly hosted by Duke University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The primary organizers are Mary Boatwright (Duke) and Fred Naiden and Richard Talbert (UNC Chapel Hill). Seven paper sessions are planned. In addition to paper sessions, the meeting will include the traditional opening reception and Saturday banquet. Call for papers is now open. Details are posted as they become available on the 2012 AAH Meeting page.
5/11-5/13 SBL Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting
Concordia University in Portland, Oregon
More information
5/18- 5/19 Ephesus as a Religious Center under the Principate
In honor of Richard E. Oster on the occasion of his 65th birthday. The conference will be held on the campus of Harding School of Theology in Memphis, Tennessee
See facebook page for more information.

5/25- 5/27 The Other Temples
First Annual Conference of Hekhal: The Irish Society for the Study of the Ancient Near East

Hekhal is an academic association established by four graduates and postgraduates of Trinity College Dublin. The society's primary aim is to facilitate rigorous research in Ireland in the fields of Biblical Studies, Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Archaeology and Historiography, towards a more comprehensive understanding of the Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern worlds and their texts.

The role of the temple cult is extremely important for Judaism despite Deuteronomic centralisation never being fully realised. As such, other Jewish temples may offer a fruitful area for discussing the development of Judaism in the Ancient Near East. We are therefore calling for papers dealing with temple ideology and its material culture in the context of temples other than the one in Jerusalem, whether those be real ones such as Elephantine, Leontopolis or Gerizim, or conceptual ones like the Qumran Yahad or the new Jerusalem in Revelation. The committee would hope to receive submissions on topics as diverse as diaspora Judaism, early Christianity, Qumran, early Samaritan studies, and any other historiographic and/or archaeological fields of research referencing these paradigms.

More information on the society and the conference.

5/28- 5/31 Prophecy and Politics in Ancient Israel and in Ancient Cultures
The Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa is holding an international conference to examine the biblical prophets and prophecy in ancient cultures in general—within the geographical compass of Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Levant—from the beginnings of writing until the first century CE. The focus will be on the attitudes of ancient writers and readers to political-historical events.
A one day excursion is planned: In the footsteps of Elijah, Elisha and the necromancer of En-Dor.
More information will be forthcoming.
5/31 – 6/3 Conference on "The Christian Moses"
The Catholic University of America's Center for the Study of Early Christianity will host a conference in Washington DC on the topic of the "Christian Moses." Speakers will investigate how early Christians (to the seventh century CE) used traditions associated with Moses, along with significant Jewish traditions and early Islamic references to Moses. The conference will have a single-session format to encourage maximum interaction among all participants: speakers, local and visiting scholars, and graduate students. Call for Papers Deadline is December 31, 2011
More information

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