Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
To un-subscribe, click here
SBL e-Newsletter
November 1, 2011 e-newsletter

Eerdmans Celebrates 100 Years

Congratulations to Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in August. Eerdmans is also the diamond-level sponsor for the 2011 Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

Annual Meeting Updates

Name badges

If you registered for the Annual Meeting before Oct. 15, we have mailed your name badge. Please remember to bring this with you to the meeting. You will not need to stand in the Name Badge Reprint line if you bring your badge to San Francisco. You can just pick up a name badge holder, your tote bag, and your Program Book and enjoy the meeting.

Hotel reservations

We have sent all of our hotel reservation information to the conference hotels this week. You will soon be receiving a confirmation for your stay from your hotel. From now until the conference, if you need to make changes to your hotel reservation, please contact the hotel directly; SBL can no longer make changes. A list of hotel contact numbers will be posted on the Annual Meeting page of the SBL website (link).

Tours and Workshops

If you have reserved a tour or registered for an SBL workshop, you will soon receive an email with information on where to meet. Keep an eye on your in box!

Annual Meeting Session Highlights

Believers, Scholars, and Culture: Assessing the Impact of Two Centuries of Critical Biblical Scholarship (S18-306)
Friday, Nov 18, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

John Dominic Crossan, Bart Ehrman, Amy-Jill Levine, and N. T. Wright form the panel for this session, which you will not want to miss.

Blogger and Online Publication (S19-314)
Saturday, Nov 19, 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Participants will discuss social networking in the Academy, including such topics as how Twitter can improve contact between students and faculty; how the Internet social media sites can build a strong learning community, successful strategies for leveraging social media for scholarly purposes, and the challenges and opportunities of creating an online Geographic Information System (GIS) presenting archaeological and historical data. Academia.edu CEO, Dr. Richard Price, concludes the session with a brief history of the rapidly-growing social network for scholars and discusses the role Academia.edu plays in promoting scholarship and research today.

Romans through History and Cultures (S20-138a)
Sunday, Nov 20, 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Since 1998 at the AAR/SBL meeting in San Francisco, the SBL group "Romans Through History and Cultures" led by Cristina Grenholm (theology) and Daniel Patte (New Testament) took up the challenge to find a way for church historians, theologians, and biblical scholars to overcome the methodological splits that led them to ignore each other in their respective studies of Romans. From the work of the group emerged an interdisciplinary approach, Scriptural Criticism, which respects diverging interpretations by acknowledging that ANY interpretation of a text of Scripture necessarily involves three interpretive choices: an analytical choice, a hermeneutical/theological choice, and a contextual choice. In this session the ten volumes which resulted from this interdisciplinary work will be discussed and celebrated.

The Story of Jesus: Screening and Discussion
Sunday, Nov 20, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

The Story of Jesus, directed and produced for the BBC by acclaimed director David Batty, presents a unique lens for viewing the historical Jesus and the Christ of faith. Shot on location in the Holy Land, it combines dramatizations of the life of Jesus (filmed in Morocco) with interviews with nine Biblical scholars and various archaeologists. The film immediately received high praise for its balanced and fair presentation of the life of Jesus, achieved by interspersing drama and careful critical commentary by Jesus experts such as Tom Wright, Simon Gathercole, Helen Bond, and Joan Taylor from the U.K. and Obrey Hendricks, Greg Carey, James Strange, and Ben Witherington from the U.S. The film, which is split into three segments totaling just over two hours, is ideal for use in classes and elsewhere, especially for discussing the relationship between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith.

Hispanic Theological Initiative and Hispanic Summer Program Reception
Saturday, Nov 19, 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Hispanic Theological Initiative Celebrates its15th Anniversary - The Quinceañera/o Celebration will take place in the Continental Ballroom Salon 6-7 at the Hilton Union Square San Francisco and will include a Meet the Author reception, featuring the publishers and the works of their scholars and other HTI affiliates, a presentation program with remarks given by Dr. Otto Maduro, as well as a festive celebration.

Membership and Subscriptions

MEMBERSHIP: Optional Profile Winners: Every month, we randomly select two members from the pool of those who have filled out the Optional Profile for a free one-year membership. The October 2011 winners are:

S. Hedy Hung
Gary A. Staszak

As our privacy policy indicates, we will never divulge information from your profile to a third party. Thank you to all of you who have supplied this optional data. If you have not yet filled in the information (or you would like to update it), you may do so by logging into our website with your SBL Member number and going to the "my profile" tab, which will appear on the left hand side of the screen in the box where you logged in. While you are filling out the Optional Profile, please make sure all of your profile information is up to date!

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.

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.

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.

Jobs

See full job listings

Calendar

Click here for full calender



November 2011
11/4- 11/6 The Second National Gathering of The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education
University of Massachusetts, Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125
More information
11/11 Shakespeare & the Bible
a symposium on the 1611 bible at Rhodes College, Memphis TN. Invited speakers include Robert Alter, Brian Cummings, Hannibal Hamlin, and Naomi Tadmor.
More information
11/16- 11/19 ASOR Annual Meeting
The American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) will hold their Annual Meeting at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, CA
More information
11/17- 11/19

Adventist Society for Religious Studies
The 2011 meeting will convene in San Francisco, California. The theme for the meeting is: "Gates and Walls: Inclusivity and Exclusivity and the People of God." 
more information

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

Back to Top


Our mailing address is:
825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, Georgia, USA 30329

Our telephone:
404-727-3100

Copyright (C) 2011 / Society of Biblical Literature/ All rights reserved.