Tuesday, February 09, 2010
The Palaeography Chair at Kings College, London
Over on Paleojudaica, Jim Davila draws attention to the scandal that the last Palaeography chair in the UK is being eliminated at King's College, London. Jim notes an article in today's Guardian:
Writing off the UK's last palaeographer
The decision by a London university to axe the UK's only chair in palaeography has been met by outrage from the world's most eminent classicists. John Crace on why the study of ancient writings matters – and why history will be lost without it
Jim offers an important criticism of an otherwise excellent article,
So what can be done? For a start, we can spread the word. There are already 4,774 members of this Facebook group:
Save Palaeography at King's London
5,995 people have signed the petition:
Save Palaeography at King's College London
When you're done, don't forget to tweet it. Moreover, if you have a blog, why not blog it too?
Writing off the UK's last palaeographer
The decision by a London university to axe the UK's only chair in palaeography has been met by outrage from the world's most eminent classicists. John Crace on why the study of ancient writings matters – and why history will be lost without it
Jim offers an important criticism of an otherwise excellent article,
One criticism of the piece though; it shouldn't assume that subjects like paleography can't bring in research grant money. The research councils and other funding sources recognize the value of such things and are quite willing to fund projects on them if they are well thought out.Indeed. Some of the most successful units in gaining research grants have been those specializing in ancient texts. In addition to Jim's own successes, you need only to think of ITSEE at the University of Birmingham.
So what can be done? For a start, we can spread the word. There are already 4,774 members of this Facebook group:
Save Palaeography at King's London
5,995 people have signed the petition:
Save Palaeography at King's College London
When you're done, don't forget to tweet it. Moreover, if you have a blog, why not blog it too?
Top 50 Biblical History Blogs
Several bloggers are rightly celebrating their inclusion on a new list of the Top 50 Biblical History Blogs. Neither the NT Blog nor the NT Pod themselves make the cut, nor does the NT Gateway make it into the "other studies and study tools" section, but those absences give all the more room for all the other fine resources listed there.
Monday, February 08, 2010
NT Pod 24: Was Mark the First Gospel?
I uploaded the latest NT Pod at the weekend, the second in the current series of back-to-back episodes on the Synoptic Problem, asking Was Mark the First Gospel?. In it I cover some of the main arguments for Marcan Priority, but I decided to save the argument from editorial fatigue for another NT Pod later in the year. I have also released two extended episodes, which use the audio from my recent classes on the topics, and I will post separately on those in due course.
Labels: NT Pod, Synoptic Problem
Sunday, February 07, 2010
KGO Radio Guest Spot on the Synoptic Problem
You can listen to my guest spot on KGO Radio's God Talk with Brent Walters either via their archive, which has a streaming and an mp3 download function. My contribution starts about seven and a half minutes in and lasts off and on for the hour. The broad topic is the Synoptic Problem, though it ranges onto related topics too.
Labels: KGO Radio
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Guesting on KGO Radio, Sunday morning
I'll be guesting on God Talk with Brent Walters on KGO Radio, tomorrow morning. The topic will be the Synoptic Problem. God Talk is on from 6am to 9am PST, which is 9am to 12pm my time here on the east side of the USA. I'll be on during the last hour of the show, between 8am and 9am PST, between 11am and 12pm my time. You can listen along on the internet if you are not in the San Francisco area, at KGO Radio. It will be my second time on the show; I did slot on Paul last June.Labels: KGO Radio
NT Pod 23: What is the Synoptic Problem?
I have now reached the part of the New Testament Introduction class where we look at the Synoptic Problem, naturally one of the most enjoyable elements in any New Testament Introduction course. This term, I am following along my teaching with episodes of the NT Pod. The latest episode is NT Pod 23: What is the Synoptic Problem? I released it on Wednesday and it is the first of three back-to-back episodes on the Synoptic Problem. This one introduces the problem and surveys the data. The next episode will deal with Marcan Priority and the one after that with the existence of Q. For those who are interested, I am also experimenting, for this topic, with extra, extended versions of the NT Pod which use the audio feed from my lectures on the topic. The first of these is already available, and I will cover it here in a separate post later. The second is ready and will go online this weekend, along with NT Pod 24.
If you'd like to subscribe to the NT Pod, it's available on Duke iTunes U or through your reader or at the NT Pod site.
Labels: NT Pod, Synoptic Problem
Pericopes and periscopes
When I am reading manuscripts or editing or examining, one of my favourite typos is "periscopes" for "pericopes". The word pericope is a favourite among Biblical scholars, for a unit of text, a passage, especially in the Gospels, especially in contexts connected with form-criticism. Even as I type this entry, "pericopes" is getting underlined in red as a spelling error, while "periscopes" is not. Since the advent of spell-checkers over the last generation or so, I suspect that this typo has become much more common. The eye misses the extra "s" and it is not, of course, picked up by the spell-checker. The other day I glanced at my hand-out in class and saw the word "periscopes" there where it should have been pericopes, so I had fallen prey to the same error. Perhaps this is a reason to stick to the slightly affected plural "pericopae"?
Biblical Studies Bulletin latest
Grove have updated their website so that now all the Biblical Studies Bulletins for 2009 are online. The most recent one, for December 2009, includes reflections on the SBL Annual Meeting 2009, and reviews of books by Francis Watson and James D. G. Dunn. Thanks to Dr Richard Briggs for letting me know.
Labels: Biblical Studies Bulletin
Friday, February 05, 2010
PhD position Qumran Institute, University of Groningen (NL)
The following is posted on behalf of Mladen Popovic.
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PhD position The Jewish Revolt against Rome (0,9 fte) (210026) at the Qumran Institute of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands
The department of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of Groningen is looking for a PhD candidate (0,9 fte) for the project 'The Jewish Revolt against Rome: Religious Groups and the Shaping of Identities in First-Century Judaea'.
This PhD position is financed by a grant of the SNS/Reaal Fund. It will run parallel to the interdisciplinary NWO VENI project The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish War against Rome (66-70), which investigates the impact of Rome on the self-understanding of a Jewish group at Qumran prior to the revolt. PhD candidates are expected to carry out research within the historical and archaeological framework of first-century Judaea in relation to the impact of the Roman Empire on the region and the conflict of 66-70/73. Projects may investigate e.g. Flavius Josephus' position, specific tions, specific sites, regions or interregional connections from different perspectives and on the basis of different sources (literary, archaeological and/or numismatic). The final form of the PhD project will be determined in consultation with the PhD candidate.
We are looking for enthusiastic candidates with a Master's degree or equivalent, in a (sub)discipline in which the doctoral study will take place. Candidates with a degree in Hebrew Bible, Jewish Studies, Ancient History, Classics, or Archaeology are especially encouraged to apply.
The degree must have been obtained within a reasonable period of time and with results that justify the expectation that the student will be able to successfully complete the programme in four years.
This PhD position is available as of September 1st, 2010.
For additional information see:
http://www.rug.nl/ggw/vacatures/10PhDJRR
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PhD position The Jewish Revolt against Rome (0,9 fte) (210026) at the Qumran Institute of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands
The department of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of Groningen is looking for a PhD candidate (0,9 fte) for the project 'The Jewish Revolt against Rome: Religious Groups and the Shaping of Identities in First-Century Judaea'.
This PhD position is financed by a grant of the SNS/Reaal Fund. It will run parallel to the interdisciplinary NWO VENI project The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish War against Rome (66-70), which investigates the impact of Rome on the self-understanding of a Jewish group at Qumran prior to the revolt. PhD candidates are expected to carry out research within the historical and archaeological framework of first-century Judaea in relation to the impact of the Roman Empire on the region and the conflict of 66-70/73. Projects may investigate e.g. Flavius Josephus' position, specific tions, specific sites, regions or interregional connections from different perspectives and on the basis of different sources (literary, archaeological and/or numismatic). The final form of the PhD project will be determined in consultation with the PhD candidate.
We are looking for enthusiastic candidates with a Master's degree or equivalent, in a (sub)discipline in which the doctoral study will take place. Candidates with a degree in Hebrew Bible, Jewish Studies, Ancient History, Classics, or Archaeology are especially encouraged to apply.
The degree must have been obtained within a reasonable period of time and with results that justify the expectation that the student will be able to successfully complete the programme in four years.
This PhD position is available as of September 1st, 2010.
For additional information see:
http://www.rug.nl/ggw/vacatures/10PhDJRR
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Donald Wiseman (1918-2010)
The death of the Old Testament scholar Donald Wiseman (1918-2010) has been mentioned in several of the blogs, including BiblicalStudies.org.uk and Zwinglius Redivivus, both of which carry material from Pete Williams, the warden of Tyndale House, and reflections from Alan Millard. Remarkably, the picture shows Wiseman standing next to Agatha Christie.
Labels: Donald Wiseman
T. G. H. James obituary
Tomorrow's Times carries a delightful obituary of Egyptologist T. G. H. James, who died in December, aged 86. I particularly enjoyed the following note:
The highlight of the departmental Christmas party was the presentation of a cake, baked by James and iced with an ancient hieratic text, which had to be identified before the cake could be cut.
Labels: obituaries
Mary Beard on Desert Island Discs
It's not that often that classicists or Biblical scholars are on Desert Island Discs, but it's little surprise that Mary Beard appeared on the programme last week. It's a very entertaining and quirky episode, as you might expect. She defends her notorious post-9/11 column, talks about her parents and her past and says that life as an academic is "bloody hard work" and yet the ideal job. Not sure Kirsty Young should have allowed her the Elgin marbles as her luxury item, though.
The nice thing about Desert Island Discs these days is that you can download it as a podcast too, with the tracks reduced to an even shorter length (10 seconds or so?!) than on the actual programme.
Also mentioned on Rogue Classicism.
The nice thing about Desert Island Discs these days is that you can download it as a podcast too, with the tracks reduced to an even shorter length (10 seconds or so?!) than on the actual programme.
Also mentioned on Rogue Classicism.
Labels: desert island discs, Mary Beard, Radio 4
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Helen Bond on the Apocalyptic Jesus (and Doctor Who!)
Helen Bond's latest op-ed piece on Bible and Interpretation is an enjoyable piece on The Relevance of an Apocalyptic Jesus including this gem:
Against this background, a non-apocalyptic Jesus sounds oddly complacent, stuck in an 80s time warp, when the only thing to rail about was conspicuous consumption and social inequalities. Of course, these things are important, and I don’t doubt that Jesus had something to say on the matter, but in a modern context these reconstructions seem to lack an important dimension. There is no point in teaching others to fiddle a better tune if Rome is about to burn all around you.It's naturally a pleasure to see that other NT colleagues enjoy Doctor Who, but Helen is clearly not a geek, as this comment shows:
Over Christmas and New Year, six-million people in Britain tuned in to the popular TV series Dr Who, in a lengthy two-part special called "The End of the World" (luckily David Tennant averted disaster).The two-parter was actually called "The End of Time", though Helen is quite right that its apocalyptic scenario witnesses to some taste for such things among the British public, who gave the two parts unprecedented appreciation indexes of 87 and 89 respectively. Helen's viewing figures are grossly underestimated; the total viewing figures for each episode were in fact over twelve million (source: Blogtor Who). If I were being really geeky, perhaps I might add too that while David Tennant clearly "averted disaster" he did so at the expense of his own identity, and now we have Matt Smith to look forward to.
Labels: Bible and Interpretation, Doctor Who, Helen Bond
NT Pod 22: The Anonymity of the Gospels
I released the latest episode of the NT Pod at the weekend. The topic is The Anonymity of the Gospels.This semester, I am teaching New Testament Introduction here at Duke and I am running the NT Pod alongside classes, providing episodes related to the topics that arise in class. This one came out of the lecture on the authorships and dates of the Gospels. It is a topic I have blogged on here before, and you can read some of my thoughts on it in a little more detail in The Dating Game VIII: John, Thomas and Authorial Self-Representation (cf. the disciples writing the Gospels), as well as in forthcoming publications, of course.
For the next couple of episodes of the NT Pod, I am planning to talk about the Synoptic Problem. Well, it had to happen sooner or later, didn't it?
Teaching the Bible e-pub latest
There is a new Teaching the Bible e-pub available at the SBL site, for February 2010. For those unfamiliar with this regular publication, it is "designed to support teachers of high school Bible electives" and "it features easy to read and reliable resources that you can use in your classroom". There is a special focus on Wisdom Literature in the latest edition.
Labels: Teaching the Bible
Biblical Studies Carnival 50
Duane Smith has posted the latest Biblical Studies Carnival, number 50, over on Abnormal Interests. (At least I think it's supposed to be 50?). There is a lot of stuff there, nicely divided into two halves, the first of submissions from outsiders, the second of Duane's own selections.
Meanwhile, the Biblioblog top 50 continues over in Free Old Testament Audio Website Blog.
Meanwhile, the Biblioblog top 50 continues over in Free Old Testament Audio Website Blog.
Labels: Biblical Studies Carnivals, biblioblogs top 50
Saturday, January 30, 2010
NT Pod 21: A Historical Approach to the New Testament
With another NT Pod on the horizon, I was reminded tonight that I had not mentioned the previous episode here on the NT Blog. So this corrects that lack. Let me add a few words about where we are with the NT Pod at the moment.This semester, I am teaching Introduction to the New Testament at Duke and I have decided to use the NT Pod to supplement the classes, to add short pieces that relate to what we are covering in class. I like to begin with some reflections on what is involved in a historical approach to the New Testament, and this gave me the opportunity to add some reflections on the topic in the NT Pod. Since the beginning, the NT Pod has had the subtitle "A Historical Approach to the New Testament" and now, in episode 21, we finally have the chance to explore what an historical approach involves.
As usual, you can find the NT Pod at its own site, you can subscribe in your reader, or you can subscribe via Duke's iTunes U.
Labels: NT Pod
