Religious Competition in Late Antiquity

Call For Papers: For the 2020 Annual Meeting, the Religious Competition in Late Antiquity program unit will host four sessions: (1) Our first session will be an invited panel, co-sponsored by the Religious World in Late Antiquity program unit, on “The Future of Late Antiquity.” This session will explore questions such as: “What do you want to see in the future from members of our field?” and “What interests you right now, a method, text, theoretical model, that you think has lasting purchase?” (2) The second session is co-sponsored with the Society of Ancient Mediterranean Religions (SAMR). For this session, we invite papers on the theme “Jesus meets Asklepios: Healing and Medicine in Ancient Mediterranean Religions.” Details can be found in SAMR's Call for Papers on the SBL site. (3) The third is an invited session on “Ecclesiastical Histories as Competitive Texts.” (4) For the fourth session, we invite proposals on the theme “Markets and Prophets: Religious Competition and Market Models.” This session focuses on the use of markets in discourse on religion in late antiquity. Possible topics include the use of markets and commerce as metaphors in late antique texts about religion; the use of the economic marketplace as a primary model in modern analysis of religious competition; the use of money in religious discourse; the role of religious sites or practices in local economies; among others. Proposals should highlight methodological and theoretical engagement with the session’s theme.

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