Bible, Myth, and Myth Theory

Call For Papers: The ‘Bible, Myth, and Myth Theory’ unit will have two sessions in 2015. We welcome proposals for an open session on the use of myth and myth theory in biblical studies, both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, including their Greco-Roman and ancient Near Eastern contexts. We are especially open to papers that foreground comparative and/or interdisciplinary research, and to papers that employ non-philological methodologies (archaeology, art-history, etc.). Our second session will be a joint session with the unit on 'Ancient Fiction and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative.' This session will be a panel focusing on the scholarship of Dennis MacDonald, specifically its relevance for myth theory, the category of myth within biblical studies, and critical comparative studies that situate the Bible's engagement with mythical traditions within a broader ancient Mediterranean cultural milieu. This panel will include invited and open-call papers. We welcome papers on any topic relevant to the intersection of MacDonald's work with myth or myth theory. For instance, how does MacDonald’s often controversial analyses of discrete literary relationships between New Testament and Greco-Roman literary works provide a starting point for understanding the role of myth in ancient Mediterranean literary production; or for understanding how myths evolve as they travel from one cultural tradition to another; or for analyzing literary uses of myth within cultural competition; or for understanding the complex relationship of myth, religion, and literature in the ancient Mediterranean world?

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