Lots of CfPs with deadlines coming up
1: SBL/AAR in Boston - due 3/18
2: SCS/AIA in San Francisco - due 3/20
3: ASOR in Boston - due 3/15
Further details below!
Society for Biblical Literature 157th Annual Meeting (Due: 3/18/25)
NOVEMBER 22-25, 2025
BOSTON
Calls for Papers for Panels Co-Sponsored by the Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions
Co-sponsored with Greco-Roman Religions: Honoring Frederick Brenk: Religion & religious thought in the early and high Roman empire
We invite papers on the relationship between religion, philosophy, and literature in Plutarch and others in the first two centuries of the Roman empire in honor of Frederick Brenk. Topics might include Plutarch's views on religion and society; studies of Plutarch's and his contemporaries’ religious thought; figures of the Second Sophistic as religious practitioners and theorists; 1st and 2nd c. treatments of religious practices; connections between Middle Platonic philosophy and religion; the legacy of Brenk’s work. The panel aims to celebrate Brenk's contributions while fostering new discussions and insights.
Co-sponsored with Violence and Representations of Violence in Antiquity: Religious Violence and the Affective Turn"
This session will explore the emotional dimensions of religious violence in the ancient world. By focusing on emotions, feelings, and affective states, we aim to broaden the understanding of religious violence beyond doctrinal or ideological explanations. Papers are invited to explore these affective dynamics and their role in shaping behavior and social structures.
Society for Classical Studies 157th Annual Meeting
JANUARY 7-10, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO
Call for Papers for Panel Sponsored by the Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions (due: 3/20/25)
Religion and religious thought in the late Republic and early Roman empire – A panel honoring the work of Frederick Brenk
Organized by Zsuzsanna Várhelyi (Boston University)
We invite papers dedicated to exploring the intricate relationship between religion, philosophy and literature in the works of late Republican and early imperial writers. In honoring the work of Frederick Brenk, proposals engaging with his research areas are especially encouraged; to quote one of his obituaries, Plutarch’s “Erotikos was, perhaps, Fred’s favorite Plutarchaean moral treatise, like Mark Antony his favorite hero, and Isis his favorite goddess.” Thus, topics of possible interest include, but are not limited to: specific ancient views on religion, philosophy and society and their relation to each other; studies of religious thought in various genres in the late Republic and early empire, especially but not limited to Plutarch; first- and second-century treatments of various religious practices, including those of the “Egyptian” gods and of “magical” character; the connections between Middle Platonic philosophy and religion. The panel aims to celebrate Brenk's significant contributions to the study of ancient religion while fostering new scholarly discussions and insights.
Please send abstracts that follow the guidelines for individual abstracts (see the SCS Guidelines for Authors of Abstracts) by email to Zsuzsa Várhelyi (Boston University) at varhelyi@bu.edu by midnight, March 20, 2025.
Please ensure that the abstracts are anonymous.
The organizers will review all submissions anonymously, and their decision will be communicated to the authors of abstracts by early April with enough time that those whose abstracts are not chosen can participate in the individual abstract submission process for the upcoming SCS meeting.
Leah Neiman and Sandy Blakely invite you to submit an abstract for the session “Ancient Aliens in Modern Times: The Politics and Ethics of Pseudoarchaeology” at the 2025 ASOR Annual Meeting. The Meeting will be held in-person at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza and online from November 19-22, 2025. The session (full description below) is designed to facilitate discussion around scholars’ responsibility to engage with pseudoarchaeological work and the ethics of such engagement. Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be submitted via the ASOR online portal (ASOR membership and meeting registration required) by March 15, 2025. For further guidelines for submission can be found here.
Archaeology has inspired endless theories about aliens, lost civilizations, apocalyptic predictions, and mysterious technologies. While many of these theories may seem laughable, the political and religious ideologies they promote and in which they are grounded can have serious implications. Pseudoarchaeologies build on narratives of racism, nationalism, and conspiracy theories with roots in the 19th century and earlier: the study of alternative archaeologies has taken on new urgency in the wake of Covid-19, the politics of disinformation, and the proliferation of anti-science attitudes in the West and beyond. Pseudoarchaeologies index the continual repurposing of the past for contemporary needs: their analyses offer critical reflection on the responsibility of the field for public education, conservation, and indigenous rights.
This session invites contributions that examine the impact of pseudoarchaeological narratives on society and consider our responsibility as scholars to engage with such discourse publicly. Together, we will discuss: How has historical and archaeological research been used and intertwined with the evolution of modern religious and political ideologies? How are we to respond when the past gets appropriated for problematic means in the present? What responsibility do academics have for confronting how their work may be used, or abused, by others?