Says Kevin. Okay, there I go misrepresenting someone again. What he actually says, in his helpful post of tips for the SBL rookie, is this:
8.) If someone seems to “blow you off” don’t be offended. Countless times I have been talking to someone when another person approaches and our conversation ends abruptly. Bear in mind that for many, SBL is the only time for reconnecting with friends and the more years you attend SBL the more friends you will have. In your first year you have no commitments and probably won’t have many friends. By the time you are a veteran every second of SBL will probably be booked with committees, meetings, etc. so it can be hard to make time to connect with your many friends and colleagues.
This is a good reality check. I actually did have lots of friends at SBL–people I knew from seminary, from my church, and people I ran into from my undergraduate days. It made me feel quite important that I had so many people to interact with. But this was when AAR and SBL held their meetings together and I have a lot of AAR friends. I inevitably went my own way, though, to sessions and to browse temptation island the book exhibition.
Kevin talks about going to receptions. My first year at SBL, a certain prominent New Testament professor had told me to meet him at his school’s reception. I had contacted him ahead of time to ask about a possible meeting. I went to the reception and saw all the people there, but my hope of chatting with this holy grail of professors was blocked off by about a hundred fawning students. I was not the only one with this idea.
In my nervousness, I actually paced outside the reception hall trying to look like I had something to do, glaring in at the cloud of witnesses surrounding this grand scholar, waiting for an opening. Several times, I told myself to give up and go back to the room, but then the guy on the other shoulder said I would feel dumb if I gave up. Eventually, I mustered up the courage to wade through the crowd and await a moment of conversation. Then I got my chance and, after blabbering some incomprehensible nonsense to begin the conversation, I actually had a substantive moment of discussion with him.
Most meetings are not so daunting, though they do often produce mixed results. Another time, again while I was still a master’s student, a friend of mine at a top Ph.D. program took me under her wing and sought to introduce me to her own prominent professors at her school’s reception. The first one, a highly esteemed scholar of early Christianity, walked up to the reception with a look on her face showing eagerness for some relaxed fun with her colleagues. When my friend greeted the professor and began introducing me, this great scholar seemed at first quite pleased and was smiling. It didn’t last. When she heard the words, “he’s a prospective student . . .,” she scoffed, let out an “oh please!” sort of laugh and kept walking. A good example of Kevin’s point.
On the other hand, that same friend introduced me to another very well known scholar at that same reception and he took me aside, sat down, and had a very candid chat for about ten minutes. Thankfully, that was the note that I ended on that night.
Actually, if you are a prospective student, you should advertise your status. While it may be a downer for the esteemed scholar looking for a good time, many people love to talk to prospective students. It is a perfect conversation opener. Everybody likes to give advice, so let people know your intentions for graduate work and listen to whatever they’d like to tell you. It will give you some wisdom and help you make connections at the same time. Make sure you’re ready for the question, “Where do you want to study?”
If you’re interested in another “blow off” story of mine, check out this interaction from my first SBL meeting with a sales person at the book exhibition. I still resent that interaction a wee bit, but you have to take it all in stride and enjoy yourself nonetheless.
Pat,
You should have named the publisher. People’s discriminatory practices should be highlighted, don’t you think.
Incidentally, one of my first experiences as a student visitor to a conference was writing my name in a book early on (to reserve the copy), only to find at the end of the conference that a distinguished Theology professor had written his name on the next page. This was interesting because his junior colleague had *seen* me put my name in there and tried to remonstrate with him about it. But he wouldn’t budge; the book was his. The publisher, God bless him, leaned over to me and said quietly, “Don’t worry. He does that a lot. We’ll post you a copy at the same price.” I was, as we might say over here, gob-smacked. What a tight-fisted git!
I’d like to say I’ve bad-mouthed him ever since, but I haven’t really thought about it much, except to marvel occasionally at some people’s willingness to throw their credibility away so cheaply. It remains my dominant image of the guy, right or wrong. And when I heard him give a paper on ethics a few years later, I couldn’t help but think he was just a cheap hypocritical tosser. Perhaps you should look forward to the day when this publishing house wants your manuscipt, and you can tell them to…forget it.
Damn, why has an image of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman just popped into my head.
Great post, Pat. And appalling too. I must admit that I am feeling a little guilty because I have said to several people that I would enjoy chatting to them at the Duke reception this year, and I have done the same thing for the last four years. The difficulty is that there really is so little time to meet people at the SBL; I like to encourage people to come over to Durham to spend some quality time here instead. I am tempted to blog it.
That’s a terrible story too, John!
@Mark – Don’t think I won’t hunt you down at the reception! Ha!
Thanks for that story, John. These sorts of stories help put things in perspective.
I can only hope that I “clean up” as well as Julia Roberts. So, wait, does that make my Fuller Seminary years the time of my prostitution?
Thanks, Mark. I would love to see a blog from you about it. Conventional wisdom tells you that prospective students should find a way to connect with professors at SBL. But the truth is that scholars are all very busy at SBL connecting with our own friends and colleagues, not to mention doing presentations and attending others’ presentations.
SBL might be a place to make a brief connection with a potential advisor, but that connection should probably be fostered in other ways. Brief meetups at SBL can’t compete with the value of stopping by the actual school campus and sitting in the professor’s office.