More on the SBL / Biblioblogging Affiliation

Earlier this week, I mentioned the new affiliation between bibliobloggers and the SBL, and there have been major advances on this story today. Jim West reports A Further Bit of News Concerning the Biblioblog Program Unit in the Society of Biblical Literature and notes that he will chair a new section, with a steering committee made up of April DeConick, Stephanie Fisher, Robert Cargill, Christian Brady and me. I must admit to being impressed at seeing the speed with which Jim gets things done. I've been writing today, and I had scarcely written two paragraphs between the time that Jim had engaged in full and complete negotiations with all of the above, securing agreements and announcing the results.

I am very happy to have been invited to participate in this unit, all the more so given the range of expertise on offer. I realize that some are a bit concerned about the affiliation, and about the unit (John Hobbins in Ancient Hebrew Poetry and Chris Heard in Higgaion). I understand the points of view expressed here, and I would hope that we will take on board some of the concerns expressed, but my own feeling is that you really don't know quite how something is going to evolve until you have given it a try. I don't think we need to be pompous or exclusionary or prescriptive, but we can collaborate, listen and learn. We have plenty of time before the Atlanta SBL in 2010, which is the earliest occasion on which the group can meet, so the discussion does not need to be rushed. Some of the very issues mentioned by John and Chris would in fact be pertinent to our discussions, and I would add that the interest that came out of the session on biblioblogging at the SBL in 2005 is testimony to the potential value of a broader, continuing discussion.