SBL
Interviews is a series of 20 minute conversations with Bible scholars who work
in diverse areas of biblical studies, archaeology, classics, and ancient Near
Eastern studies. These interviews delve into the fascinating work of SBL
members and give the listener a front-row seat to some of the most current
thinking and creative research in the field of biblical studies.
In
November 2009, we spoke with Ramsay MacMullen, an Emeritus Professor of History
at Yale University. He is the author of
The Second Church: Popular
Christianity A.D. 200-400 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009).
In this interview, Prof. MacMullen shares his rich knowledge of early Christian
worship and practices in both ecclesial and popular locales.
Order a copy of his book here.
Listen to the MacMullen interview online:
In
November 2009, we spoke with Professor April DeConick, the Isla Carroll and
Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies at Rice University. The
discussion centered around her research and insights on Gnosticism and Gnostic
literature.
DeConick is a historian of early Jewish and Christian thought. She is the
author of several books, among them:
Holy Misogyny: Why Sex and Gender in
the Early Church Still Matter (Continuum 2011) and
The Thirteenth
Apostle: What the Gospel of Judas Really Says (Continuum 2007). She has
several blogs that can be found at:
http://www.aprildeconick.com/
Listen to the DeConick interview online:
In November 2009, we spoke with Professor Dale Martin, the Woolsey Professor of Religious Studies at Yale University. The discussion centered around his research and insights on Paul and Pauline literature.
Martin specializes in New Testament and Christian Origins, including attention to social and cultural history of the Greco-Roman world. His books include: Slavery as Salvation: The Metaphor of Slavery in Pauline Christianity; The Corinthian Body; and Pedagogy of the Bible: an Analysis and Proposal. He currently is working on issues in biblical interpretation, social history and religion in the Greco-Roman world, and sexual ethics. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Listen to the Martin interview online:
"What Does a Bible Scholar Do?" Series
At the Society of Biblical Literature’s 2008 Annual Meeting, we recorded interviews with five SBL members around the theme of “What does a Bible scholar do?”
Most of you already know what a Bible scholar does, but these conversations capture the diversity in the profession and the habits of mind that go with the territory. They give voice to the important work, methods, ideas and ideals of our members. Enjoy, and tell us what you think.
E-mail
Moira Bucciarelli - Public Initiatives Coordinator, if you have comments or suggestions.
Feature Interview
Shawna Dolansky received her Ph.D. in History from UC San Diego, and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Northeastern University. She is the author of Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives on the Relationship between Magic and Religion (Eisenbrauns 2008). In her diverse research on magic, goddesses, gender, comparative literature, mythology and cultural studies, she approaches anthropological issues from a literary-historical perspective.
We thank Professor Dolansky for her time and generosity in granting this interview. (20.34 min.)
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Podcast Archive
Brigitte Kahlreceived the Th.D. (1983) and the Dr.Sc.Theol. (1986) from Humboldt University in Berlin. She is an ordained minister of the Protestant Church of Berlin-Brandenburg. As a Professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary and an Associate Professor at the Columbia Religion Department, a major focus of her work has been examining the relationship between New Testament and Empire. During her last sabbatical, Dr. Kahl worked on a book (Galatians Re-imagined) that reconsiders Paul’s letter to the Galatians within a Roman imperial context.
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John T. Strong is
Associate Professor of Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Missouri State University (Springfield, Missouri). He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Biblical Studies and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology. He specializes in the prophetic literature, publishing mainly on topics relating to the book of Ezekiel
Carol Bakhos is an Associate Professor of Late Antique Judaism and Jewish Studies at UCLA. She earned her Ph.D.at Jewish Theological Seminary in 2000 and her MTS from Harvard in 1992.
Professor Bakhos was awarded a Mellon Grant for the 2006-07 academic year to study Qur'anic scriptural interpretation at Princeton, where she was a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Near Eastern Studies.
Her current research is focused on Late Antique rabbinic compilations; Medieval Jewish and Islamic scriptural interpretation.
Listen to the Bokhos interview online:
Download the Bakhos interview here
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Lawrence H. Schiffman is Chair of New York University’s Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and is the Ethel and Irvin A. Edelman Professor in Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University (NYU). He is a specialist in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Judaism in Late Antiquity, the history of Jewish law, and Talmudic literature.
Listen to the Schiffman interview online (21 min.):
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