2023 Annual Meeting San Antonio, Texas Meeting Begins: 11/18/2023 Meeting Ends: 11/21/2023 Call for Papers Opens: 1/23/2023 Call for Papers Closes: 3/14/2023

Policies

Please note these major policies.

• Professional Conduct and Harassment Policy and Procedures
• Policy on Scholarly Presentation and Publication of Ancient Artifacts

Deadlines

• All proposals are due by the date indicated on the main Annual Meeting webpage.
• All session details are due on 19 April, including all participant, discussion, and presider information and scheduling requests.
• Program unit chairs should review and decide upon all proposals by 19 April.
• All session information, including audio-visual and scheduling requests, should be entered by 19 April so that initial room assignments are as accurate as possible. We can accommodate AV requests and changes at no charge through 30 June. If a presenter requests A/V or changes prior requests after 30 June, the request is subject to a $100 fee. After 30 September, all new A/V requests will be directed to SBL’s A/V vendor for direct payment.

Participation Details

• Current full and student SBL members may submit up to three proposals to SBL program units. Public members are not eligible to propose papers. It is strongly recomended that each submitted proposal be unique. The system cannot automatically withdraw duplicated proposals that have been accepted unless they are over the participation limit. If a duplicate proposal is accepted by more than one unit, it will have to be manually withdrawn by the presenter.
• Full and student members of SBL are eligible to participate in two regular program sessions as a presenter or panelist. Presiding at a session does not count towards this total. Appearances on affiliate programs, SBL committee, and business sessions do not count towards this total. Once the participation limit of two accepted proposals is reached, any outstanding proposal(s) will be withdrawn automatically by the system.
• By submitting a paper proposal or accepting a role in any affiliate organization or program unit session at the Annual or International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, you agree to participate in an open academic discussion guided by a common standard of scholarly discourse that engages your subject through critical inquiry and investigation.
• Paper proposal policies apply at the time of proposal. If a student member submits proposals under her/his student membership but changes her/his membership type to full membership at a later date, for example, policies related to student members will apply to those proposals.

Proposals

General

• Proposals must be submitted through the online system.
• Membership in SBL is required to submit a proposal.
• It is recommended that you compose your abstract prior to entering the proposal submission process. The process may time out, and your information may be lost, if too much time elapses between the start of the process and the time you submit the proposal. Compose your abstract on a local computer and then copy and paste the abstract into the appropriate field in the submission form.
• Proposers (full and student members) who have not presented at the Annual Meeting are no longer required to submit the paper to-be-read to the program unit chair(s) during the call for papers period. However, graduate students in particular are encouraged to work with your advisor and/or department to do a trial run of your presentation before the Annual Meeting.
• Proposals require a presentation title and an abstract (limited to 450 words). Enter only your abstract in the abstract box. Do not put your paper title or your name in your abstract.
• Papers are typically allotted 20–25 minutes in a session, with 5–10 minutes for discussion. Exact details of a paper's time allotment is up to the program unit chairs.
• If you have a question about a particular program unit, email the chair listed in the call for papers for that unit.
• All presentations must be new presentations of the scholar's own original work. In absentia presentations are not accepted.
• Papers cannot be repeated in other sessions or at other SBL Annual or International Meetings. An exception to involves presentation at an SBL award session (e.g., Achtemeier, Diamond, Freedman, DeGruyter) session in the same year that was accepted prior to notification of the award.
• Proposers are obligated to notify program unit chairs of any change to their participation as soon as possible.
• SBL Membership must be current at the time of the Annual Meeting.

Style

• Enter only your abstract in the abstract box. Do not include your paper title or your name in the abstract field.
• Enter your paper title and abstract using the SBL Handbook of Style as a guide.
• Do not put quotation marks around your paper title.
• Do not use all uppercase letters (all caps) for your paper title.

Registration and Membership Requirements

SBL Program

• SBL Membership will be checked by 1 June and non-current members will be removed from the program.
• Participants must maintain current SBL Membership through their participation in the Annual Meeting.
• Both SBL and AAR permit the participation of the other organization’s members in its sessions without requiring that the individual hold membership in the other organization. The person is required to register for the meeting as a member of one of the organizations.

Affiliate Organization Programs

• Affiliate organization membership is required to participate.
• If a member of an Affiliate organization intends to participate in an SBL session, the member is required to have current SBL membership.

Registration for Meeting

• Participants must be registered by 1 June.

Waivers of Registration and/or Membership Requirements

• Program unit chairs may request membership and/or registration waivers for nonmembers whose work is not primarily in the field of biblical studies and related disciplines. The criteria for these requests are detailed in the Annual Meeting Program Unit Chair Handbook.
• Past members of SBL, prior attendees of SBL meetings, and those who work in biblical studies or related disciplines are not eligible for waivers.

Changes to the Program

• In general, the printed Program Book reflects a near-final schedule. However, changes are occasionally necessary after it is printed. Please refer to the mobile app and the online program book for the most up-to-date session listings.
• In rare cases, room changes must be made after November 1. Such changes will be publicized in the mobile app and in the online program book.

Recording Policy

• Anyone who wishes to audiotape, videotape, or otherwise record a session in part or whole must obtain the permission of participants. The SBL is not responsible for unauthorized recording but does reserve the right to revoke the registration of anyone who records sessions without appropriate permissions.

Best Practices for Social Media Use at the Annual Meetings

SBL and AAR promote the academic study of religion and the bible across many channels: print, online, and the Annual Meeting. Social media outlets can be an important means for continuing the conversation beyond the audience of an Annual Meeting session. These guidelines are intended to craft a forum that encourages an open discussion while maintaining the integrity of the scholar's work.
• Attendees are encouraged to live-tweet at the Annual Meeting using the official Annual Meeting hashtag (#aarsbl23).
• Program unit chairs are invited to create hashtags on their own for the program unit or session.
• Presenters may request that the presentation not be broadcast across social media. Similar to a presenter's requests not to be filmed or recorded, attendees are asked to respect the presenters' wishes.
• Attribution is key. List the speaker's name and presentation title; refer to a social media handle, if known.
• Clearly define where the idea originated. Note direct quotes within quotation marks. Make it clear when you are summarizing an argument and when you respond with your own opinion or interpretation of it. Note when the presentation is over.
• Be respectful, even if you disagree.
• Keep the dialogue going—bring responses from social media into the meeting session (e.g., ask questions posed to the author from the Twittersphere) and remember to use the meeting hashtag (#aarsbl23) so you can see who is responding to the same session you are.