SBL 2010
The Society of Biblical Literature is holding their annual meeting in Atlanta. I count these few days as continuing education as I sit alongside scholars (and PhD hopefuls) and hear papers. Scholars have an interesting way of “polite” fighting as they question thesis, data, and assumptions. A typical session lasts 3 hrs and one might hear 4 or 5 papers with another scholar responding to the papers with critique or praise as well as discussion from the audience.
Some may wonder why a person who serves in youth ministry, children’s ministry, and young adult ministry would attend SBL? (It is better when the American Academy of Religion is meeting too.) There are no new games taught here and no overt spirituality or self-help suggestions in any of the sessions. For me it is simple. I cannot encourage others to be life long learners if I am not doing the same. Did I mention there are no exams? Every session I attend will have some component that can translate into my service in ministry, specifically and generally, and thus it is up to me to do the translation and sifting work to sync what can be applied and just live with the rest. I am grateful to my companion for her presence and invitation to attend this conference with her. Local ministers, ordained and licensed, would benefit from attending either a regional AAR/SBL event or the annual meeting.
Here are the sessions I’ve attended so far. The italics indicates the title of the papers. (BTW: you can come and go from these sessions so I may only list one or two rather than hearing all the papers.)
Bible and American Popular Culture
Rubén Dupertuis, Trinity University, Presiding
Shelly Colette, Mount Allison University
Dancing with the Devil: The Serpent as Eve in Fashion Magazine Advertising
Valarie Ziegler, DePauw University and Linda Schearing, Gonzaga University
The Sexploitation of Adam and Eve
Richard Walsh, Methodist University
(Carrying the Fire on) No Road for Old Horses
Bradley Crowell, Drake University
Constructing Jesus with the Biblezines
Construction of Christian Identities
Theme: The Birth of Christianity: Ideas, Models, Proposals – 1
Michael Allen Daise, College of William and Mary, Presiding
Adriana Destro, University of Bologna and Mauro Pesce, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna: From Jesus Movement to Christianity: A Model for the Interpretation
Ekkehard Stegemann, Theologische Fakultät der Universität Basel
Did Something Go Wrong in the Beginning? Some Reflections on the Emergence of Christianity
Historical Jesus
Theme: Partnership or Polemic: Faith and History
Mark Powell, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Presiding
Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary
Faith and the Historical Jesus: Does A Confessional Position and Respect for the Jesus Tradition Preclude Serious Historical Engagement?
Craig S. Keener, Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University
Methodological Assumptions in Historical Jesus Studies
Robert Webb, McMaster University
The Rules of the Game: History and Historical Method in the Context of Faith
Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University, Respondent
Robert Miller, Juniata College, Respondent
Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies
Theme: A Workshop on Interactive Technologies for Teaching and Learning
Web 2.0 is the label applied to a raft of new technologies that encourage user-generated content and collaboration. This session will be a workshop exploring how these technologies (wikis, discussion boards, Blackboard/Moodle, Skype, etc.) can be used to facilitate student learning. This workshop will feature hands-on demonstrations of different software, so participants should bring their laptops. Facilitators will lead small group discussions and hands-on training.
Andrew Gilmore, Asbury Theological Seminary, Presiding
Kelley Coblentz Bautch, St. Edward’s University
The Hype about Skype: Using Videoconferencing to Enhance our Teaching
Brooke Lester, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
“To Those Far and Near”: The Case for “Community” at a Distance
David Howell, Ferrum College
Using Technology not to Manage but to Connect Course Teaching and Learning
Adam L. Porter, Illinois College
The Power of Zotero for Student Learning
Nicolai Winther-Nielsen, Copenhagen Lutheran School of Theology
Bereshit Basic Biblical Hebrew (3BH) – Interactive Technology for Language Learning
Blogger and Online Publication
Theme: The Past, Present, and Future of Blogging and Online Publication
Robert R. Cargill, University of California-Los Angeles, Presiding
James Davila, University of St. Andrews-Scotland
What Just Happened: The rise of “biblioblogging” in the first decade of the twenty-first century
Christian Brady, Pennsylvania State University University Park
Online Biblical Studies: Past, Present, Promise, and Peril
Michael Barber, John Paul the Great Catholic University
Weblogs and the Academy: The Benefits and Challenges of Biblioblogging
James McGrath, Butler University
The Blogging Revolution: New Technologies and their Impact on How we do Scholarship
Robert R. Cargill, University of California-Los Angeles
Instruction, Research, and the Future of Online Educational Technologies