Old Testament / Biblical Studies conferences?

[search the scriptures]

Hello,

 

I was told by the director of my program that if I want to get accepted into an Old Testament Ph.D. program, it would be good for me to start attending conferences and even submit papers to present at them (I am currently in an M.A. program for Biblical Studies at Providence College).

 

There are several conferences in Biblical and Religious Studies listed on the SBL website, but they are mostly in foreign countries and not so concentrated in the OT.  The only two I saw that were highly concentrated were the Society of Old Testament Studies' conference at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland this July 2015, and the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa in September 2016.

 

Does anyone know of any other Old Testament conferences coming up this summer or coming year, preferably in the U.S.?

 

 

Any info would be appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Tim

[Body Politics]

The Society of Biblical Literature national and regional conferences will be what you're looking for. Both have lots of different sections, many of which will be intensely focused on the Hebrew Bible. If you are anywhere near Atlanta, I wholly recommend joining the SBL and then coming to the national meeting in November. Otherwise, join the SBL and then just look up when/where the next regional meeting is in your area. If at all possible, do both. 

[colormelovely]

Check out the American Academy of Religion too. Although they focus on areas outside of "biblical studies," their regional conferences have sections devoted to the study of the Bible.

[Abdelazar]

Here's the page on the SBL site about regional meetings: http://www.sbl-site.org/meetings/regionalMeetings.aspx

Regional meetings are most often in March or April. The location and date of 2016 meetings will probably be listed on the site sometime in the next couple months. If you're a SBL member and you have listed your location in your member profile online, you should also get an info and call for papers email about the meeting in your particular region. While you're waiting, you can start preparing a 10-15 page paper to submit! I've found that meetings are usually pretty low-key and a nice time to meet people and get feedback on your work. Many students looking to apply to PhD programs schedule meetings with professors they'd like to work with at the annual meeting.

 

There is also the Catholic Biblical Association which has annual and some regional meetings as well as American Schools of Oriental Research if you're interested in ancient Near Eastern archaeology, languages, and history. The Association of Jewish Studies also has annual meetings and there are some sections on Hebrew Bible topics.

[search the scriptures]

BodyPolitics,

 

Thanks for the heads up.  I found the "Program Units" page for the annual SBL meeting in Atlanta this November, and there are some sections focused on the Hebrew Bible.  As for the regional meeting in my area (New England), looks like I just missed it - happened last month in April.  I will be prepared for next year's though.

 

 

colormelovely,

 

Thanks for the info.  Their annual meeting is combined with SBL's in Atlanta this November, and the regional meeting for New England was a couple months ago in March.  Like I wrote to BodyPolitics, I'll be prepared for next year's.  I'll look into some of the sections they do for study of the Bible.

 

 

Abdelazar, 

 

That is great information.  I should probably become a member of both the SBL and AAR as I'm sure most aspiring PhD students in the field are.  Thanks for putting the CBL and Association of Jewish Studies on my radar as well.

[Enki Knows]

Everything everyone has said about the conferences (SBL, etc) is correct.  However, just know that you certainly don't need to present at one of those conferences to get into a phD program.  Once you are doing doctoral work, you should definitely be presenting, but its not expected of master's students.  To get into a phD program in HB/OT you should have a strong background in semitic languages, strong letters of recommendation, and an excellent statement of purpose and writing sample.  Don't worry about presenting, publishing, etc. at this point in time.

[search the scriptures]

Thanks for your answer, Enki Knows.  I am planning on presenting this spring but won't be preparing for it until after PhD applications are due in December and January, so the things you mentioned will definitely take priority until then.