This month’s Carnival is a bit different because there are no links per se (aside from the links provided in the tweets). Rather, and instead, each day of the month has the best tweet(s) of the day (as decided by my capriciousness and my capriciousness alone) about or from the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. I think you’ll enjoy the entries which follow if only to see how the participants at the annual meeting get ramped up for it and then experience it. And if not, well it’s a rough month for you because this is not just the Avignonian Carnival, it’s the official one too! Bwahahahaha.
[Serious aside] Also, you might find some great tweeters to follow too and I think that’s the authentic reason for this month’s arrangement- because SBL is about connections with scholars and following the right folk on twitter can enlarge your network!)…
[NB]- the format is simple- the handle of the tweeter is followed by their tweet. Then, in bold, my always salient remarks.
[Finally] – don’t be offended if something sounds offensive. It’s only apparently so. Probably. In all likelihood.
1- @kecia_ali – Conduct codes for academic conferences would signal expectations of appropriate conduct. #aarsbl15.
I like conduct codes. I especially like the 10 Commandments. Especially the one’s prohibiting stealing, lying, adultery, honoring parents, and keeping Sabbath. #YayConductCodes!
2- @emuehlbe – Restaurants that aren’t in the downtown Atlanta Hyatt, Marriott, or Hilton, but close by? #aarsbl15.
Because we need to know these things!
3– @SBLsite – Student-Scholar luncheon RSVPs are open now: sblsabluncheon.splashthat.com. Space is limited. #sblsite #aarsbl15 @SBLStudents.
The grad students have to eat. It’s the free stuff on tables, or digging through the dumpsters for that lot. #TruePoverty. #TossEmAStaleDonut. #SpendingWhatLittleTheyHaveOnBooksAndEnragingTheirSpouses.
4– @SBLsite -Looking for a grant? Stop by the NEH table (208) in the #aarsbl15 exhibit hall to talk with a program officer about opportunities.
Everyone can use them some research money. Of course, SBL is over as you read this, but you can still contact SBL for help. And, just in case you need them–
@THATCampAAR – Guidelines on the use of social media for #aarsbl15.
That’s right. AAR is helping you with your social media by telling you how to do it at the annual meeting. #Blessed. #AAR. #AdultsNotAllowed.
5– @DrMJCWarren – Pretty happy that BOTH of my papers for #aarsbl15 are done!
And I’m sure they will be excellent. Perhaps, though, one day, the SBL and AAR will have enough members submitting papers that they won’t need to depend on one person to do more than one. It’s sad when organizations are so small that they have to depend on very few people to do all the work. Pray for AAR and SBL, that God will bless them with sufficient members so multiple papers are no longer necessary. And lest you think that SBL/AAR folk only care about papers and such, take note of this tweet –
@TheKateWard — #aarsbl15 Petition to move AAR/SBL meetings away from executing states.
States that kill people don’t deserve to have SBL /AAR meetings in them. I wonder, though, does this apply to the International meeting too? Or is it just American exceptionalism?
6– @drmacdonald – I am sure you won’t miss this for the carnival http://entangledstates.org/2015/11/05/memory-eternal-rene-girard/.
I have to admit, I am not familiar with Girard. He seems to have been widely admired, though. May he rest in peace.
7– @stepbcrowder – This is the season of #womanist works. I’m next!Thanks @wjkbooks #maternalthought #midrash #bible #womenwriters #womenempowerment #aarsbl15.
And what can one say but ‘yeah womanism’. But that’s the great thing about academia. It’s thoroughly disinterested in labels and all the rot that comes with that sort of thing and is only concerned with one’s scholarship without regard to sex, race, or religion. You’re just as accepted and treasured as a scholar if you’re a white man as you are if you’re a lesbian black or asian woman.
8– @jenniferguo – ICYMI: a sesson I’m really excited about at #aarsbl15. last day to get the book on Logos at a huge discount. academic.logos.com/2015/11/06/gos…
I don’t know about kids these days. Excited about sessions when they should be excited about meeting their idols.
9– @ctschroeder – Does anyone know if there will be free wifi at #aarsbl15? @SBLsite @AARWeb Thanks!
That really is super important to conference attendees. You can see hotel lobbies overflowing with people glued to their laptops and their smartphones because they’re too cheap to pay for wifi in their rooms. And who doesn’t love free wifi. The hotel I was at has it. I won’t stay where there isn’t free wifi. And I’m certain I’m not alone.
10– Happy birthday Martin Luther! Now, on to today’s tweet about #aarsbl15.
@ReligionProf – What I’m Telling My Students Luncheon #aarsbl15 tinyurl.com/pyz53qb
This one actually has appeared numerous days (every day really) but it appeared again today so I’m sharing it because evidently if you’re a student this is something you should have gone to otherwise you won’t know how to behave as a student. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you can get a copy of the paper!
11– Apparently there was a panel at SBL on unprovenanced artifacts and their value for research. So–
@ctschroeder – “Does the Provenance of Ancient Artifacts Matter?” Is anyone on this panel going to answer “No”? #aarsbl15.
If anyone does say no, it’s because they work for BAR or for an antiquities dealer.
12– @Targuman – SBL Professional Conduct Policy http://targuman.org/blog/2015/11/12/sbl-professional-conduct-policy/ …
Erm….
13– @RickBrannan – Blogged: Some thoughts on 1Ti 3:2, “Husband of One Wife”. http://rickbrannan.com/2015/11/13/why-husband-of-one-wife-is-better-than-one-woman-man/ …
Fun times!
14– #Paris was attacked yesterday and over 120 people were killed. Today the world is reeling from the horror perpetrated by Muslims whom even Muslims despise as inhuman savages. Twitter has been ablaze with essentially that. Except among most biblical scholars, who can scarcely be bothered to look at the world around them.
15– The strategy of the 14th continued today. Reminders of receptions filled the twitter timeline. Whew, it’s good to know biblical scholars can still think about food and booze even in the darkest of times. My ‘faith’ in humanity remains unchallenged…
16– @ReligionProf – Magic Bowls at #AARSBL15 in Atlanta tinyurl.com/prm6tsg.
Oh boy! Magic bowls! I hope they have instructions as to how to rid oneself of Joel Watts’s. That’d be super useful. And people say biblical scholarship has no relationship to real life. Piffle.
17– @PurposeofJesus – #aarsbl15 So excited excited to attend the conference and discuss my new book #purposeofjesus Check it out purposeofjesus.com.
Because really what are conferences for if not to promote oneself?
18– @mcbalz – how’s this for paper title? Door in an Alien World: the Mythology of Exile and Alienation in the Ascension of Isaiah — too clunky? #aarsbl15.
Now I bet you wish you had attended the Conference don’t you! Next year in Jerusalem!
19– @kelly_j_baker – Here’s a sneak peek of all three of my #aarsbl15 papers on the 1920s Klan, the job market, & academic freedom: kellyjbaker.com/aarsbl15/ Three papers.
Again, I hope one day that SBL has enough people to manage to get folk to present so they don’t have to rely on a few people to do all the work.
20– Busy At SBL so No Tweets Mentioned of Note
21– Busy At SBL so No Tweets Mentioned of Note
22– Busy At SBL so No Tweets Mentioned of Note
23– Busy At SBL so No Tweets Mentioned of Note
24– Busy At SBL so No Tweets Mentioned of Note, but lots of photos posted during the conference so scroll down till you find them. They’re here, you just have to work a bit to get them.
25– @jennisifire — Post #aarsbl15 twitter convos are adorable. The immediate nostalgia is heart warming.
Indeed it is. I hope everyone made it home safe and sound. A few takeaways: networking matters and can be pleasant if you weed through the pretenders and associate with authentic people who aren’t simply interested you as a stepping stone. Arrive early and get acclimated. Learn the layout of the venue. Bring a few breakfast bars and eat them in your room before the sessions start each day. Room with someone who knows what soap is. Be polite. Smiling at people won’t kill you. Turn you phone to vibrate. Don’t sleep through sessions. If someone is asleep while you’re giving a paper and afterwards they compliment you, you know them to be insincere. And always remember, the smartest person in the room may not be the one presenting.
26– Thanksgiving. Plenty of tweets about food and shopping. None about things of great interest.
27– @DrPaulMiddleton Right, I’ve been awake for more hours than I can count after flying back from Atlanta. It’s finally time for bed. #AARSBL15
Paul is one of my favorite Scottish persons. He knows more about ‘persecution’ in the early church than any human being presently alive. And he’s great to follow on twitter if you love political banter.
28– @heather_barkman Just deleted the #aarsbl15 app so I guess it’s officially time to start thinking about next year.
Right!!!! When will the #aarsbl16 app be ready? That’s what we all want to know.
29– @EBiblicosOnline – Videos y audios en español sobre estudios bíblicos y áreas afines. Este sitio web está inspirado en Biblical Studies Online (en inglés).
Yay!!!! A most welcome addition to the biblical studies universe.
30–
Zwinglius Redivivus 