March 12 , 2010

The David Noel Freedman Award for Excellence and Creativity in Hebrew Bible Scholarship

The David Noel Freedman Award for Excellence and Creativity in Hebrew Bible Scholarship is open for submissions.

Register now for the International Meeting in Tartu, Estonia. The meeting, happening 25-29 July 2010 at the University of Tartu, is being held in conjunction with the European Association of Biblical Studies.

More information about the meeting is located on the SBL International Meeting webpage. There you will find helpful information on travel and currency, a complete guide to numerous tours, and exhibitor and advertiser information.

The Opening Session for the 2010 IM (5:00 – 6:30 pm Sunday, July 25) will highlight the role of small nations such as Estonia in a rapidly changing global academic environment, share the peculiarities of the Estonian religious landscape, and present summaries of relevant scholars such as Uku Masing and Arthur Vööbus.

 

As a member organization of the National Humanities Alliance, SBL has represented its membership at the annual Humanities Advocacy Day for a number of years. The 2010 Humanities Advocacy Day occurred March 8-9 in Washington DC; it gathered those interested in humanities policy and advocacy, including higher education leaders, college and university faculty, teachers, students, museum professionals, librarians, and independent scholars.

 

New CAW Website
On the Coalition on the Academic Workforce website, you will find information and resources on contingent faculty in the U.S. Contingent faculty are those employed in part- or full-time, non- tenure-track positions that often lack adequate pay and benefits, access to professional support, and support for scholarship and keeping current in the field.

Inside Higher Ed
Principles for 'One Faculty'

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Coalition Seeks Better Conditions for Those Off the Tenure Track

 

Regional News

The Society of Biblical Literature has issued a statement about the requirement that it formulate new policies and procedures regarding the administration of regions. Read the statement here

 

2010 Regional Meetings still to come

Southwestern Region	March 12-14	Dallas, TX
Pacific Coast Region	March 13-15	Tempe, AZ
Central States Region	March 21-22	St. Louis, MO
Eastern Great Lakes Region	April 8-9	Akron, OH
Rocky Mnts - Great Plains Region	April 9-10	Omaha, NE
Upper Midwest Region	April 9-10	St. Paul, MN
New England Region (register on-line)	April 16	Newton Centre, MA
Pacific Northwest Region	May 7-9	Victoria, BC

NIDA Translation School 2010

Applications Open for Nida Translation Institute, Murcia, Spain.

Teaching the Bible

The March Edition of the SBL newsletter for high school teachers is posted. The March issue continues the focus on Wisdom literature.

2010 Society Fund

 

Contributions to Society Fund support our core mission of fostering biblical scholarship. Click here to donate now.

 

Optional Profile Free Membership Drawing — February Winners!

Every month, we randomly select two members from the pool of those who have filled out the Optional Profile for a free one-year membership. February 2010 winners are:

Rev. Karen Fitz La Barge
Gerhard Pfandl

As our privacy policy indicates, we will never divulge this information to a third party. Thank you to all of you who have supplied this optional data. If you have not yet filled in the information (or you would like to update it), you may do so by logging into our website with your SBL Member # and going to the “my profile” tab, which will appear on the left hand side of the screen in the box where you logged in. While you are filling out the Optional Profile, please make sure all of your profile information is up to date!

 

Membership Benefits Survey

Thank you to all of you who filled out our membership benefits survey! Over 2000 members have completed the survey so far! As promised, we drew a name from those who filled out the survey before March 4 for a free, one-year membership. The winner of this free membership is Mark Weedman. Congratulations to Mark and thank you to everyone else who completed the survey.

If you have not yet taken the survey, please do so. You may find the survey at the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YSNPRPG.

New Benefits for SBL Members

The benefits of being a member of the Society of Biblical Literature continue to grow. Please check out the member benefits page to view the growing list.

The most recent addition are discounts on individual subscriptions to journals published by Cambridge University Press, including:

Harvard Theological Review (quarterly) $38 [normally $55]
Scottish Journal of Theology (quarterly) $40 [normally $54]
Religious Studies (quarterly) $65 [normally $96]
New Testament Studies (quarterly) $70 [normally $76]
Journal of Anglican Studies (biannual) $25 [normally $50]

Please note that you must be logged in to access the member benefits page with active links and information about how to receive the discounts. To find this page, log in on our website and select the “membership benefits” tab that appears in the box where you logged in. If you have any questions, please contact sblservices@sbl-site.org.

 

Calendar

Submit your events to Sharon Johnson.

March 2010
3/12 - 3/14	SBL Southwestern Regional Meeting Marriott Hotel DFW North, Dallas, Texas More information
3/13- 3/15	SBL Pacific States Regional Meeting Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona More information
3/14 - 3/18	Biblical Exegesis and Hebrew Lexicography Gesenius' Hebrew Dictionary as Resource and Mirror of Old Testament Scholarship, throughout 200 Years since its first Publication. Conference at the University of Halle (Germany) Wilhelm Gesenius (1786-1842), professor for Biblical studies at the University of Halle, was the founder of modern Hebrew lexicography and grammar. His numerous works on Hebrew and on further Semitic languages were most influential, especially his "Hebraeisch-deutsches Handwoerterbuch" and the "Thesaurus philologicus criticus linguae Hebraeae et Chaldaeae Veteris Testamenti". The conference, celebrating 200 years since the first edition of the "Handwoerterbuch" was published in 1810, will deal with different aspects of the lexicographical and exegetical work of Wilhelm Gesenius, its basis and its influence, its different editions, its re-worked editions, and its translations. The central question will be how Biblical exegesis influenced the dictionary and its development during its different editions, on the one hand, and how the dictionary influenced the critical exegesis of the Hebrew Bible, on the other. More information here and here.
3/21-3/22	SBL Central States Regional Meeting St. Louis Marriott West More information
3/21-3/22	Jerusalem in Babylonia: New Discoveries from the Exilic Period Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia This conference takes a special look at a collection of documents from Mesopotamia that has recently come to light. Scholars have dubbed these documents the “Al-Yahudu texts,” since many of them were written at a place by that name. The name “Al-Yahudu” means “city of the Judeans” or perhaps just “city of Judah.” One cannot help but ask the question: what was the “city of Judah” doing in Mesopotamia? Six leading scholars on the study of ancient Israel and Mesopotamia will give presentations on these documents and on the exilic and post-exilic periods (the sixth and fifth centuries BCE) from which they come. Among those presenting are the two scholars (Dr. Laurie Pearce and Dr. Cornelia Wunsch) who are currently working on the decipherment and publication of the majority of these texts. The discovery of this cache of documents is an amazing find that promises to shed new light on the Hebrew Bible, on Mesopotamian history, and on early Jewish history. The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. If possible, though, we would like to know if you plan to attend. Please send a brief e-mail message to Dr. Bruce Wells (bwells@sju.edu), director of SJU's Ancient Studies Program.
April 2010
4/1	Registration Deadline: Invention, Rewriting, Usurpation: Discursive Fights over Religious Traditions in Antiquity An international conference held by the research project "The Discursive Fight over Religious Texts in Antiquity," University of Aarhus, Denmark Keynote speakers: Harold W. Attridge (Yale), Daniel Boyarin (UC Berkeley), David Brakke (Indiana University, Bloomington), Karla Pollmann (St Andrews), and Tessa Rajak (University of Reading). For further information, see the conference webpage or contact: rf@teo.au.dk
4/6-4/9	Claiming Conceptual Space. Reimagining the Study of Religion and Theology: Changing Contexts and Social Discourse Huguenot College, Wellington, Western Cape, South Africa For further information contact Gerhard van den Heever  or Naas Swart; or see the conference site
4/8- 4/9	Eastern Great Lakes Region Quality Inn & Suites, Richfield, OH More information
4/9- 4/10	SBL Rocky Mountains-Great Plains Regional Meeting Creighton University, Omaha, NE More information
4/9 - 4/10	SBL Upper Midwest Regional Meeting Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN More information
4/7-4/9	Resurrection of the Dead: Biblical Traditions in Dialogue An International Conference at the Universite´ Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Scholarly debate over the significance of Biblical traditions concerning resurrection from the dead has been lively. The current conference allows for a continuation of research and discussion on the topic. Presentations will include both invited guests (main papers) and paper proposals in response to the « Call for Papers ». Presentations will be made in English or in French. Main Papers presented byClaire Clivaz (Lausanne/Genève); Adela Yarbro Collins (Yale University); John J. Collins (Yale University); José Costa (Paris III – Sorbonne); Gerd Lüdemann (Göttingen); Odette Mainville (Montréal); Daniel Marguerat (Lausanne/Genève); Tobias Nicklas (University of Regensburg); Heikki Räisänen (Helsinki); Tom Shepherd (Andrews University, MI); Geert Van Oyen (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve); André Wénin (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve) For more information, e-mail: Geert Van Oyen  or  Tom Shepherd.
4/15	Call for Applications: Jewish Culture in the Ancient World We are happy to announce a new research program on “Jewish Culture in the Ancient World”, founded by the Humanities Fund, Yad Hanadiv and the Israel Council of Higher Education. The program will run for three years at Haifa, Tel-Aviv and Bar-Ilan Universities, starting October 2010. Students accepted to this program will enroll in one of the universities, under the supervision of one of the program members. Students will receive scholarships and participate in a rich research program. The program offers scholarships (60,000 NIS per year, over three years) for three PhD students, one at each university. Scholarships will also be given to a limited number of MA and postdoctoral students, who are encouraged to apply. The program’s main focus, however, is on PhD-level research. Knowledge of Hebrew is required. Program members: Prof. Albert Baumgarten (Bar-Ilan), Dr. Jonathan Ben-Dov (Haifa), Prof. Gideon Bohak (Tel-Aviv), Dr. Sylvie Honigman (Tel-Aviv), Prof. Aryeh Kofsky (Haifa), Dr. Hillel Newman (Haifa), Prof. Adiel Schremer (Bar-Ilan) Last date for sending applications 15 April 2010 Admission will be announced by 13 May 2010 For details and registration, please visit the program website.
4/16	SBL New England States Regional Meeting Andover-Newton Theological School More information
4/16-4/18	Functions of Roman Memory, providing graduate students and junior faculty with an opportunity to examine the role of memory in diverse areas of Roman civilization and to test current methodologies University of Texas at Austin. Call for Papers Deadline January 20, 2010 More information or see the project homepage
May 2010
5/7- 5/9	SBL Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting University of Victoria, Victoria, BC More information
5/31-6/4	Invention, Rewriting, Usurpation: Discursive Fights over Religious Traditions in Antiquity An international conference held by the research project "The Discursive Fight over Religious Texts in Antiquity," University of Aarhus, Denmark Keynote speakers: Harold W. Attridge (Yale), Daniel Boyarin (UC Berkeley), David Brakke (Indiana University, Bloomington), Karla Pollmann (St Andrews), and Tessa Rajak (University of Reading). For further information, see the conference webpage or contact: rf@teo.au.dk
June 2010
6/1 - 7/26	2010 Online Course for Theological Faculty Teaching Online The course is facilitated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Distance Education Certificate Program - a nationally recognized leader in instructional design for e-learning environments. By arrangement with the Wabash Center they will offer an 8 week online class for seminary faculty to learn about and experience effective practices for teaching online. For detail see2010 Online Course. Please contact Thomas Pearson with questions: pearsont@wabash.edu
6/4	Symposium on Everett Ferguson Everett Ferguson’s Baptism in the Early Church offers an exhaustive survey of the literary and material evidence for baptismal practice in the first five centuries of Christian history. This symposium, hosted by the Christian Scholars’ Conference, brings together leading scholars to engage this magisterial work and to honor its author’s contribution to ecumenical theological scholarship. More information
6/6-6/12	Nida School for Translation Studies (NSTS), University of Murcia Murcia, Spain More Information
6/14-6/16	The Society of Asian Biblical Studies (SABS) will hold its next meeting at the Divinity School, Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong. For further information, please seewww.sabs-site.com or contact Monica Melanchthon or Tat -siong Benny Liew . SABS seeks to bring together scholars interested in and committed to Biblical Studies in various contexts of Asia/Oceania, including those in diaspora.
6/14 - 6/15	Re-Writing the Bible: Devotion, Diatribe and Dialogue University of Glasgow. Keynote panellists include Michael Schmidt, Michael Symmons-Roberts, Kei Miller, Sara Maitland and Michelene Wandor Please send abstracts (approx. 200 words) to rewritingbible2010@gmail.com, by no later than 19th April 2010. More information
6/29-7/2	The Second Annual Australasian Christian Conference, Brisbane The organizers of the second Annual Australasian Christian Conference invite the submission of papers for presentation via its website (www.aa-cc.org). The main speakers this year will be Professor Robert P. Gordon (Cambridge) and Professor Markus Bockmuehl (Oxford). Dr Jim Eisenbraun shall address conference participants at a "Getting Published" workshop on the morning of the 29th June. Please see conference website for further details.
July 2010
7/05-7/07	Astrology in the Ancient Near East ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies is organizing its Twenty Ninth International Conference on the theme of Astrology in the Ancient Near East, with a special focus on the use of the Zodiac in the Syro-Mesopotamian arts, to held at the University of Oxford. If you wish to participate in the conference, please contact our Oxford address: ARAM, the Oriental Institute, Oxford University, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, England. Tel. ++1865-514041. Fax ++1865-516824. Email: aram@aramsociety.org
7/08-7/09	Zoroastrians ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies is organizing its Thirtieth Ninth International Conference on the theme of The Zoroastrians, to held at the University of Oxford, 08-10 July 2010. The conference aims to study Zoroastrian religion and culture, and it will start on Thursday 08 July at 9am, finishing on Saturday 10 July at 1pm. Each speaker's paper is limited to 30 minutes, with an additional 10 minutes for discussion. If you wish to participate in the conference, please contact our Oxford address: ARAM, the Oriental Institute, Oxford University, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, England. Tel. ++1865-514041. Fax ++1865-516824. Email: aram@aramsociety.org
7/08-7/10	Themes in Biblical Narrative: The Day of Atonement – International Conference at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany. Organizers: Thomas Hieke (Mainz), Tobias Nicklas (Regensburg). See web page for more information.
7/25- 7/29	SBL International Meeting, Tartu, Estonia SBL will be meeting in conjunction with the European Association of Biblical Studies
7/25-7/29	Judaism in the Mediterranean Context Ninth European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS) Congress Ravenna, Italy More information
7/26-7/28	Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense LVIV The book of Joshua and the land of Israel University of Leuven - Belgium More information
7/27-7/29	Indonesian Biblical Scholars Meeting in Jakarta The theme is The Development of the Wisdom's Tradition in the Bible. For more information e-mail Yonky Karman
7/29-7/31	The 14th Congress of International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) will be held in Helsinki, Finland together with the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (IOSOT)1-6 August 2010). More information