The Pacific Coast is in My Hands
You have been warned! I learned today that I have been selected to be the new Pacific Coast Regional Representative for the Student Advisory Group (SAG) for the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). As I understand it, I now serve as a kind of imperator of the entire pacific coast, and all of its inhabitants serve at the mercy of my every whim.
Kidding aside, I am very enthusiastic about this opportunity. I look forward to serving as a member of SAG and interacting with student members of my region. According to the description of the position, I am “charged with providing professional development and networking opportunities at the regional level.” That is a challenging and important charge, particularly in this economy. I am honored by the trust the current SAG members have placed in me.
As it turns out, I see that bibliobloggers have at least one other Regional Rep in our midst with Michael Halcomb. See Michael’s post about it. Update: Brandon Wason is on board too! He will be the Regional Rep for the Southeastern region. Michael is the rep for the Eastern Great Lakes region. Talk about a Biblioblogger/SBL affiliation!
Breastfeeding and the Bible at SBL
Breasts are not a typical conversation topic for biblical scholars, at least not in my experience. But they do tend to be a common conversation piece in my household. My wife, among other things, is a Certified Lactation Educator and is very passionate about breastfeeding. If the topic interests you, you may find her blog on the subject quite helpful: The Milk Mama.
Our interests rarely align very well, but I notice that there is a presentation at SBL right up both our alleys:
Gale A. Yee, Episcopal Divinity School, ‘Take this Child and Suckle it for Me’: Wet Nurses and Resistance in Ancient Israel
Exodus 1–2 is a story of three marginalized groups: slaves, midwives, and wet nurses. The first two groups come readily to mind when considering Exodus 1–2. Slaves are prominent, of course, because the chapter deals with the Egyptian pharaoh who, when threatened by the increasing numbers of Hebrew immigrants, set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. Midwives also are on the forefront of the story, because Exodus 1 is a marvelous narrative about the resistance of two midwives named Shiphrah and Puah against pharaoh’s genocidal decree against newborn Hebrew males. However, the social conditions of wet nurses as a marginalized group do not figure immediately in our collective consciousness when considering Exodus 1–2 or the biblical text as a whole. Through the clever deception by Moses’ sister, Miriam, Moses was able to be breastfed by his own mother. The resistance and deception which pushes back against oppression and genocide in this story ironically reveals that wet nurses generally do not get to nurse their own children. What then were the real conditions of wetnurses in antiquity? Through a socio-historical analysis, this paper will examine the story about an Egyptian pharaoh’s daughter and her Hebrew slave wet nurse, to discover the power relations and dynamics in which an empire exploits enslaved foreign women for the products of their bodies. It will then discuss how the Exodus 1-2 is an example of resistance literature in its subversion of the usual social expectations for wetnurses in antiquity.
Sounds intriguing! The paper is being delivered on Sunday in the 4pm-6:30pm slot for a session of the “Social Sciences and the Interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures” group.
To the SBL Rookie: You Have No Friends
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.
Audio Recordings of SBL Sessions?
Is it a violation of trust to post digital recordings of SBL sessions online? I’m just wondering. Occasionally, some blogger will post mp3 files of some interesting session(s) on their blog for all to listen. I love having that access and have used it in the past myself. The thought occurred to me because I was thinking of how many sessions I would love to go to, but I can’t be in ten places at once. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had audio recordings of every session at SBL?” I thought to myself. But then, wait. What if I make some terribly embarrassing boo boo while giving a presentation or answering questions? Do I really want that immortalized on the all-knowing internets? Am I giving up any claim to privacy by giving a public presentation?
I think it may be the latter, but what do you think? Should there be some sort of ettiquette here? You must ask someone for a copy of their paper if it is in writing, so should you also ask a person if they mind if you publish their presentation in audio format online?
If I didn’t have this conundrum, I’d say, “SBL! You should go for this!! Record all sessions! Damn the costs.”
Update: Read Chris Heard’s excellent reply regarding intellectual property and copyright on this issue. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of that in the first place. Probably a good thing to keep in mind! Especially for what will certainly be the extensive coverage of my own presentation.
Bad News for Mennonites
I just received this email from the Coordinator of the Anabaptist-Mennonite Scholars Network:
Please note that there will be no Mennonite Scholars and Friends Forum or Reception at this year’s AAR and SBL meetings, because we were unable to make the necessary arrangements for hosting and sponsorship. The intent is to resume annual meetings in 2010.
The Mennonite Scholars and Friends Forum and Reception are often the highlight of the conference for me, or at least in the top five highlights. I’m bummed to get this news, but I will look forward to next year!
Update: We got a correction that the reception will go on! Good, I look forward to some Menno-schmoozing.
The Mennonite Scholars and Friends Reception will occur at SBL in New Orleans, hosted by Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary / Institute of Mennonite Studies:Friday, November 20, 7:00-8:30 pmGallier A, Sheraton New Orleans
Affiliate This!
The fuss over our recently obtained SBL affiliate status seems a little bloated to me. I understand the concerns that people have raised, but I don’t understand why anyone would so fervently cry out regarding these concerns . . . at least most of them. From what I have read of the negative reactions thus far, there is really only one truly negative outcome of this affiliate status (see below).
I think it is worth putting this whole thing in perspective.
The main point here, as I understand it, is that bibliobloggers have sanction to set up program units and gatherings at the conference. Like I mentioned elsewhere, if you don’t like the idea of a biblioblogging program unit, then don’t participate. Personally, I would appreciate hearing papers regarding how blogging affected one’s research on a particular topic. It’s a kind of methodological consideration. If you decided to blog portions of an article you later published, were you assisted by any conversation that sparked with other bloggers/commenters? That sort of thing.
It does not seem to me that [as one commenter on Chris Heard's blog put it] Jim is the SBL blog czar. He just got things started. I don’t see how his role with SBL makes any more difference now that the highly qualified steering committee has been established.
Now for the one genuine negative that I see. Bob Cargill said in his post, “affiliation lends legitimacy to the vehicle of blogging.” This can be a problem when it comes to the average student surfing the web looking for legitimate material. Sure, the affiliation and the resulting badge do not mean that the SBL agrees with or officially endorses all content on any blog that is in this affiliation. But say some student is smart enough to use the custom search of biblioblogs to look for material on a given topic. They find some crazy theory by someone way out on the fringes of accepted scholarship (like Brandon, for example 
) and assume that it’s acceptable fact because of this affiliation (good thing Brandon won’t put the badge on his blog!).
Sure, we can warn our students, but that’s not always going to work. And there are plenty of educators out there who wouldn’t have the faintest idea what a “biblioblog” is or why it is affiliated with SBL. The fact is, legitimacy cuts both ways. It’s good for bloggers, but it’s bad in that some blogs just don’t produce reliable information. And it’s difficult to get the nuanced meaning of legitimacy to hit-and-run paper-writers.
I propose that SBL host a page containing not only an announcement of the affiliation, but also some explanation of what that affiliation means. Then require blogs with the badges to link to that explanation. Particularly a disclaimer stating that the views expressed on any given blog are not officially endorsed by the SBL. Read at your own risk!
See what others are saying by checking out Daniel’s link index of the conversation.
Pat's Picks for SBL 2009
It certainly isn’t wise to fill up every waking moment of your SBL experience with presentation sessions. You need to leave room for book perusal and just general random conversations out and about. That said, what I like to do is decide what the most important sessions are for me personally and have those all ready to go. When the time is right, I decide whether I want to stand around and chat, drool over books, or make my way to the best looking session.
What I’m looking for in a session usually depends either on the topics I am currently researching, people presenting on things I’m not necessarily interested in but I want to support them, and sessions that look like they’ll have exciting discussions. I also like to look out for sessions on practical realities of academia, particularly those organized by the SBL Student Advisory Group. Lots of good career advice for young scholars. I went to a session during my first annual meeting on the nuts and bolts of various Ph.D. programs. I was gearing up for doctoral applications at the time and it was tremendously helpful!
My current interests for sessions are apocalyptic thought, mission, sectarianism, Gospel of Matthew, Letter of James, and any social issues that look interesting. I may be taking a seminar on Eusebius later in the year, so a session on that might be good.
That said, if I decide to go to a session during a particular time slot, here are my own personal picks:
Friday Night: This isn’t listed in the program book yet, but Friday night always includes the Mennonite Scholars and Friends Reception. It’s hard to pass up that Menno schmoozing.
Saturday Morning: Again, this isn’t listed, but the Mennonite Scholars and Friends session traditionally happens in the Saturday morning slot and it has consistently been one of my favorite sessions of the entire conference. Last year the topic was “Teaching Bible: Setting, Method, Agenda,” and I had to miss it. You can catch some of what happened last year in the most recent newsletter of the Anabaptist-Mennonite Scholars Network. Runners-up to this would include the discussion on “The Wrath of God in Paul” (21-124), a panel discussion (including Ra’anan Boustan) on “The Inspired Production and Interpretation of Literary Texts in Antiquity” (21-125), and a practical conversation on “Engaging Liberal Arts Students in Biblical Studies” (21-133).
Saturday Early Afternoon: In this slot, I have competition between my UCLA colleague, Sue Russell’s presentation as a part of “A Retrospective on Mary Douglas. Legacy and Impact on Biblical Studies.” (21-233) and the panel discussion of Greg Carey‘s book, Sinners: Jesus and His Earliest Followers (with an outstanding panel!) (21-207). The discussion on “Careers Outside the Classroom” (21-208), which includes my friend Chris Spinks as a panelist, looks quite worthy as well.
Saturday Late Afternoon: To quote the great Balki Bartokomous, “Well, toss my greens and call me Caesar!” This one is a tough choice! I think this slot calls for bullet points:
- We’ve got the Bible software shoot-out (21-313) with demonstrations from Logos, Bible Works, and Accordance.
- Then there’s the mouth-watering topic, “After the First Urban Christians: The Social Scientific Study of Pauline Christianity Twenty Five Years Later” (21-329), including David Horrell, Wayne Meeks, and Stephen Friesen on the panel.
- If I want to go to a session on James, one of the best looking ones is in this slot, on “James and Q” (21-331), which includes John S. Kloppenborg as a respondent.
- And if I want to go to a session on apocalyptic thought, one of the most promising is in this time slot, as the Rhetoric and the New Testament group hosts the theme, “Rhetorical Approaches to Apocalyptic Discourse” (21-333), discussing books by Edith M. Humphrey and David A. deSilva. Greg Carey is presiding over this one and he may just get me to show up at two of his sessions in a row.
- For those interested in theological interpretation, though, you won’t want to miss the (probably standing room only) session with Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Richard B. Hays, and Michael J. Gorman on “Romans as Christian Theology” (21-336).
- Whew!
Saturday Evening: I always want to see the presidential address, but never do. A guy’s gotta eat, you know. So, I’ll probably go to dinner with friends and perhaps show up at one or two receptions after that.
Sunday Morning: This slot includes a Eusebius session with Bart Ehrman (22-117), an interesting looking session on meals and Christian identity (22-130), and a discussion on “Rome and Religion” including Warren Carter (22-141). But I think I might just go to the session on “Publishing in Journals” (22-136) hosted by the Student Advisory Group including Ehud Ben Zvi and James C. VanderKam as panelists, and then head over to a paper (22-129) by Duke student, Tommy Givens, on a topic similar to my own Tuesday presentation.
Sunday Early Afternoon: There are two people in this slot that demand my attention more than any of the various topics: Tom Yoder Neufeld’s presentation on John Howard Yoder (his father-in-law) (22-240) and Ra’anan Boustan’s presentation on the Maccabean Martyrs in rabbinic narrative (22-245). While I wish I could stay for the whole session on John Howard Yoder, I would probably see Tom’s presentation and then head over to Ra’anan’s because the timing works out.
Sunday Late Afternoon: For me, this slot is a competition between another one of those intriguing sessions on meals, with Phil Harland presiding and one of my favorite scholars–David Balch–presenting (22-333), and one of those bound-to-be-star-studded, wall-to-wall-standing highlights: the book review of John Meier’s fourth book in the A Marginal Jew series (22-324). The session on Meier’s book probably wins, but I may sit this slot out. Wherever I am, the biblioblogger dinner starts at 6pm, so I’ll have to miss the end of any session.
Sunday Evening: I’ll probably be pooped at this point, but I don’t know. This slot includes a session that people will probably be talking about for a long time: “New Testament Theology: Status and Prospects” (22-403). Panelists include Jimmy Dunn, Udo Schnelle, Frank Matera, and Don Carson. Pheme Perkins is presiding. I’m sure bloggers will be abuzz. Maybe we’ll walk over together from our dinner. Too bad Dunn goes on first, because 7pm might be cutting it too close to finish eating with 49 other bloggers and head over. After that, though, there will surely be plenty of receptions to crash 
Monday Morning: Potential highlights for me in this slot include a session (23-108) focused on economy and culture in Galilee, including presentations from Douglas E. Oakman and Sean Freyne. Elsewhere (23-109), David Balch is presenting on Revelation 12. The program group for which I am presenting on Tuesday, Construction of Christian Identities, has a session (23-116) in this slot, including a paper by new blogger J. Brian Tucker and another from Nicholas Perrin. Kevin Scull is a panelist for “Things I Wish I Knew about Doing a Ph.D.” I’d like to support him, but getting to know other folks in my program group may take priority.
Monday Early Afternoon: The marquee session in this slot is with the Cross, Resurrection, and Diversity in Earliest Christianity group (23-214), including Adela Yarbro Collins, Joel Marcus, James D. G. Dunn, and Karen L. King. A few of my favorite scholars right there. That has to be good. Though, it would be tough to pass up the session (23-238) of the Social Scientific Criticism of the New Testament group over which my advisor, Scott Bartchy, is presiding. Also, Douglas Campbell’s book, The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul, is being reviewed by a panel (23-233). Tough choices!
Monday Late Afternoon: Bob Cargill is giving his big presentation on Golb (23-308). There are also sessions for Construction of Christian Identities (23-309) and Social Scientific Criticism of the New Testament (23-337) that would be worth a visit. And a session on “Student Learning Outcomes in the Liberal Arts” (23-339) put on by the Wabash Center if I’m feeling pedagogical.
Tuesday Morning: Well, I have no choice here! I will be presenting my own paper with the Construction of Christian Identities group (24-109). See my previous post about the folks I’m presenting with. But who am I competing with for attention? I am going first at 9am, as is John Anderson, Kenneth Schenck, and Nijay Gupta. Other bibliobloggers in this general slot include Stephen Carlson and James Crossley, who is presenting on “NT Wrong and the Bibliobloggers“. Joel Willits is presiding over a session including Craig Keener and Ben Witherington. There is also a panel session reviewing Hans Dieter Betz’s Galatians commentary 30 years later, including Udo Schnelle, Helmut Koester, Richard N. Longenecker, Margaret M. Mitchell, and Hans Dieter Betz himself. Ouch. Not only is it Tuesday morning, but I also have some steep competition for attention grabbing.
So, it looks like those will be my top choices for each slot thus far, though that may change by November I suppose. Now, I just have to budget some time for sleep and fun with friends
UCLA Presenters, Panelists, and Presiders at SBL 2009
My exploration of the SBL program book begins as I try to find all the UCLA folks who are contributing in SBL sessions this year. We have SBL participants from several nooks of the school, including the Department of History (S. Scott Bartchy, Ra’anan Boustan, Jacob Latham, A. Sue Russell, Kevin Scull, and me), the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (William Schniedewind, Carol Bakhos, Ra’anan Boustan, Jeremy Smoak, Matthew Suriano, Ryan N. Roberts, and M. Caleb Isaac) the Center for Digital Humanities (Robert Cargill), and the Department of Linguistics (H. Craig Melchert). Fourteen in all, from what I can see.
A contender for UCLA’s MVP for SBL 2009 has to be Bob Cargill (Instructional Technology Coordinator for the Center for Digital Humanities) who is not only presenting on a hot topic (that whole Raphael Golb fiasco) but is also having his book discussed by a panel.
Update: I have noticed that the online program book times are still on the move, so if you see discrepensies, that’s why. Do not use this as an authoritative list for time slots!
Saturday, November 21st
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
- Assyriology and the Bible [Theme: Round City Roundtable: The Kuttamuwa Stela in Perspective] – H. Craig Melchert [Department of Linguistics and Indepartmental Program in Indo-European Studies], panel discussion member – listed 4th of 6
- Pseudepigrapha [Theme: The Inspired Production and Interpretation of Literary Texts in Antiquity] – Ra’anan Boustan [Department of History and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], panel discussion member – 7th of 7 panel members (10 mins each, prior to break and 70 min discussion)
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
- Social Scientific Criticism of the New Testament [Theme: A Retrospective on Mary Douglas. Legacy and Impact on Biblical Studies.] – A. Sue Russell [Department of History and on faculty at Biola University], “The Development of Douglas’ Grid/Group as an Analytical Tool and its Application to 1st Century Judaism” (30 min) – 1st of 3.
4:00 PM to 5:45 PM
- Hebrew Bible, History, and Archaeology – Jeremy Smoak [Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], “Northwest Semitic Amuletic Inscriptions and the Background of Yahweh as Guardian and Protector in the Biblical Literature” (20 min) – 2nd of 4; Also in this session is Matthew Suriano [recent NELC alumnus and currently an adjunct professor for UCLA], “The Politics of Dead Kings: Royal Ancestors and Dynastic Succession in the Book of Kings and the Eshmunazor Sarcophagus” (4th of 4) and an honorable mention in this same session goes to recent NELC alumnus, Roger Nam, “Feasting at the King’s Table: The Political Economy of the Samaria Ostraca” – 3rd of 4.
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
- Biblical Lands and Peoples in Archaeology and Text [Theme: Solomonic Cities] – William M. Schniedewind [Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], “Excavating the Text of 1 Kings 9: In Search of ‘the Gates of Solomon’” (25 min) – 4th of 4 (prior to discussion and respondents)
Sunday, November 22nd
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
- Joint Session with Computer Assisted Research & Hebrew Bible, History, and Archaeology [Review of Robert Cargill’s book The Qumran Digital Model: An Argument for Archaeological Reconstruction in Virtual Reality (Gorgias 2009), specifically of the author’s conclusion that Qumran was originally established as a Hasmonean fortress that was reoccupied by a sectarian Jewish group and Cargill’s methodology for using virtual reality and other technologies to aid archaeology.] – Robert R. Cargill [Center for Digital Humanities], panel discussion member – 5th of 5 panel members (20 mins each, prior to discussion) [It looks like Cargill is also scheduled for another panel discussion at the same time!]
- Midrash – Jason Mokhtarian [Iranian Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], “Midrashic Depictions of Persia” (25 min) – 4th of 4
- Violence and Representations of Violence among Jews and Christians [Theme: The Story of the Maccabean Martyrs and its Nachleben] – Ra’anan Boustan [Department of History and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], “Maccabean Martyrs, Rabbinic Narrative, and the Making of a Post-sacrificial Judaism” (25 min) – 3rd of 4
4:00 PM to 5:45 PM
- Hebrew Bible, History, and Archaeology [Theme: Archaeology and Biblical Literature] – Jeremy Smoak [Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], presiding
Monday, November 23rd
9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
- Things I Wish I Knew about Doing a Ph.D. [Hosted by the SBL Student Advisory Group] – Kevin Scull [Department of History], panel discussion member – 4th of 4 panel members
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
- Biblical Lands and Peoples in Archaeology and Text [Theme: Imaging Gods in Greco-Roman Antiquity (#1)] – Jacob A. Latham [Department of History], “Imagining the Gods in the pompa circensis” (30 min) – 5th of 5
- History and Literature of Early Rabbinic Judaism – Carol Bakhos [Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], presiding
- Ugaritic Studies and Northwest Semitic Epigraphy – Ryan N. Roberts [Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], “Repetition, Reduction, and Rereading in the Kirta Epic” (30 min) – 3rd of 5; [Same session]: M. Caleb Isaac [Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures?], “An Unrecognized Prophetic Text from Horvat Uza” (30 min) – 5th of 5
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
- Social Scientific Criticism of the New Testament [Theme: The Social Sciences and Paul - Patron-broker relationships, insights from social-psychology, and the conceptual tools central to enthnomedical anthropology will be applied to various passages from 2 Corinthians. In addition, the power/potency of Paul’s written word among nonliterate people will be assessed, and the claim that early Christians were sectarians will be reevaluated.] – S. Scott Bartchy [Department of History], presiding
- Hebrew Bible, History, and Archaeology [Theme: Archaeology and Historical Geography] – Matthew Suriano [recent NELC alumnus and currently an adjunct professor for UCLA], presiding
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
- Computer Assisted Research – Robert R. Cargill [Center for Digital Humanities], “Scholars Behaving Badly: ‘Charles Gadda,’ Raphael Golb, and the Campaign of Anonymity on the Internet to Promote Norman Golb and Smear His Rivals” (30 min) – 1st of 5
- History of Interpretation [Theme: Book Review: Bernard Levinson, Legal Revision and Religious Renewal in Ancient Israel (Cambridge, 2008)] – Carol Bakhos [Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures], presiding
Tuesday, November 24th
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
- Construction of Christian Identities – Patrick George McCullough [Department of History], “The Agents of Jesus Meet ‘All the Nations’: Adapting Jesus’ Cultic Reform for the Eschaton” (25 min) – 1st of 4
Update: I have added Sue Russell above, who listed her affiliation under Biola University. I will keep adding if I discover more!
Further Update: I have borrowed some ideas from Brandon’s formatting in his “Emory Participants at SBL 2009“, including links to abstracts and a clearer break-down of time segments. See also Stephen Carlson’s “Dukies at SBL 2009“.
Oh, SBL Program Book, How I Love Thee
It has been a torrid affair between the SBL Online Program Book and me. We had a fling back in April, but within 24 hours, she up and disappeared on me. I have been sitting by the phone waiting for her call ever since. At last, she has come back to me and we can have all the summer fun I’ve always dreamed of . . . Summer lovin’ had me a blast, summer lovin’ happened so fast! I met a schedule, crazy for me . . .
Us biblioblogging types love that online program book. As soon as it hits cyberspace, we just gobble it up as fast as can be. Perhaps we’re a little obsessive, but hey, we’re talking about the highlight of the year, right? Daniel and Tonya have begun a list of bibliobloggers who are presenting at SBL, lest the world think we’re a bunch of wannabes. The list is quite impressive, and I’m happy to make it on there this year.
I’m a bit bummed to learn that I’ve been slotted for Tuesday morning. I was holding out hope for a Monday time slot, but knew that Tuesday was a possibility. My session doesn’t look any different than when it was temporarily posted back in April. I think we have a good bunch and I’ve even had a chance to interact with Lori Baron, one of my fellow presenters, a little bit. In the coming week or so, I’ll be perusing the program book and ranking my top options (or, “toptions,” if you will) of the scheduled presentations.
SBL Program Book and bibliobloggers . . . together again. Summer days driftin’ away, to uh-oh those summer nights . . .
Guessing My Time Slot
My session at SBL is scheduled to conclude with the program unit’s business meeting. That gives me a hint of when I may be presenting. For the past several years, the session with the business meeting for Construction of Christian Identities has occurred on the Monday afternoon of the conference, either from 1:00pm-3:30pm or from 4:00pm-6:30pm.
I’m not expecting a “primetime” spot on Saturday or Sunday, but I would be happy if it is on Monday rather than Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning seems to be the lame duck slot of the conference–most everybody has left or is busy leaving. I’m afraid some of my friends wouldn’t be able to make it. This year the program unit has more sessions than in the past, so Tuesday morning may be a possibility. But I’m still holding out hope for Monday at the latest.
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Elsewhere . . .- Blog titles beginning with "A" to "Z" on your reader Mark Goodacre
- Of making many books there is no end Chris Brady
- Free Online: The Liddell-Scott Jones Lexicon S and C
- Does Higher Criticism Attempt to “Destroy the Bible”? II agathos
- Steven J. Friesen and the Identity of Satan’s Throne in Pergamum alan
- Does Higher Criticism Attempt to “Destroy the Bible”? agathos
- Bloomsbury buys Continuum Mark Goodacre
- Imperial America Peter J. Leithart
- C.F.D. Moule on the Birth of the New Testament d. miller
- Responding to Kostenberger (with comparisons to Marshall) Jeremiah
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