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Meeting Program Units

2016 Annual Meeting

San Antonio, TX

Meeting Begins11/19/2016
Meeting Ends11/22/2016

Call for Papers Opens: 12/16/2015
Call for Papers Closes: 3/1/2016

Requirements for Participation

Religious World of Late Antiquity


Program Unit Type: Section
Accepting Papers? Yes

Call For Papers: We seek proposals on the following three topics: (1) Notions and Practices of Language in Late Antiquity. We seek papers that explore – through specific, detailed examples – notions and practices of language in late antiquity. What makes language or speech religious or sacred? Do practices of language differ across different realms of thought and action (legal, magical, liturgical, political)? How do linguistic features demarcate particular identities or categories? (E.g., are there Jewish, Christian, divine, demonic, animal, angelic, human, female, male languages?) How did developments in language interact with other cultural developments of this period? (2) Race in Late Antiquity: The View from the East. For this session, cosponsored with AAR’s Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity Group, we seek papers that explore ideas about “race” in the traditions of the Sasanian and Roman East. Is “race” an appropriate and fruitful category for understanding elements of social practice and worldview in Eastern Late Antiquity? Does recent scholarship on “race” in Greco-Roman antiquity hold promise for illuminating corresponding dynamics further east? (3) Aramaic Magic Bowls: Language, Ritual, and Context. For this session, cosponsored with the SBL Aramaic Studies Section and the AAR Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity Group, we seek papers that address questions such as: How can language experts help clarify the nature of the practices associated with these artifacts? How can those who study the societies and subgroups that used such bowls help clarify the meaning of obscure Aramaic or Syriac terminology? How can the study of the cultures in which the bowls were produced shed light on their use, significance, and meaning? How can study of the bowls shed light on the usefulness of the categories of syncretism, hybridity, and bricolage? RWLA will also sponsor an invited session highlighting recent work on urban space and ritual in Late Antiquity.

Program Unit Chairs

Cynthia M. Baker
Ra'anan Boustan

Propose a Paper for this Program Unit

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For all other persons wanting to propose a paper, you must communicate directly with the chair of the program unit to which you want to propose. Chairs have the responsibility to make waiver requests, and their email addresses are available above. SBL provides membership and meeting registration waivers only for scholars who are outside the disciplines covered by the SBL program, specifically most aspects of archaeological, biblical, religious, and theological studies.

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