Bible, Myth, and Myth Theory

Call For Papers: Welcoming submissions for two thematic and one open session. 1)Myth in Ancient Mediterranean Religion: What role did myth or discrete myths play in specifically religious contexts in the ancient Mediterranean world? How might the Bible and other Ancient Near Eastern literatures inform our understanding of the role of myth in Greco-Roman religions, and vice versa? In what sense, if any, can mythological literature from the Greco-Roman and Ancient Near Eastern world be considered scriptural? This session is especially open to papers that foreground comparative and/or interdisciplinary research, including to those that employ non-philological methodologies (archaeology, art-history, etc.). 2)For a session on “Utopian Myth-Making and Social Formation,” we invite proposals that analyze how religious and philosophical communities imagine their Utopias and ideal communities. How did various religious communities generate utopian myths, competing for “correct” interpretations and contesting alternatives? How were such utopian ideals applied in actual communities? We aim to include papers that cover a range of methodologies and critical theories: textual and literary criticisms, philology, archaeology, art history, social and anthropological theories, and cognitive science. This session is co-sponsored by the Religious Competition in Late Antiquity and the Bible, Myth, and Myth Theory units. 3)Open call: We welcome proposals on myth and myth theory in both HB and NT biblical studies, including Greco-Roman and ANE contexts. We encourage participants from diverse specializations—including ANE literature and Greco-Roman religions—and a range of methodologies: textual and literary criticism, archeology, anthropology, etc.

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