Members of the Union community will be at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA on November 23-26, 2024 for the 2024 Annual Meetings hosted by the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). This annual meeting is the world’s largest gathering of scholars interested in the study of religion.
During the Annual Meeting, Union will host a reception for friends and alums from Union Theological Seminary.
On Sunday, November 24, at 9:00 pm PT at Union’s Reception at the AAR and SBL Annual Meeting at Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. Event will require registration.
Below is a list of Union faculty, students, staff, and alumni who will participate at the Annual Meeting.
*Alumni of Union Theological Seminary
Society of Biblical Literature
Ethnic Chinese Biblical Colloquium
Sat 11/23 | 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM | Marriot Marquise – Temacula 1 (North Tower – First Floor)
Theme: Professional Development for Early Career Scholars: Job Searches and Publishing
Panelist: Mary Foskett, Wake Forest University*
SBL Genesis Section
Sat 11/23 | 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Convention Center – 31A (Upper Level East)
Theme: Genesis Open Session
Presenting: David M. Carr, Union Theological Seminary • The Original Sin of Earth Violence: An Animal-Studies Rereading of the Present (P/non-P) Genesis Origin Story (30 min)
SBL African-American Biblical Hermeneutics Section
Sat 11/23 | 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Omni – Grand A (Fourth Floor)
Theme: Honoring the Work and Legacy of the Rev. Dr. Gay L. Byron
Panelist: Margaret Aymer, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary*
SBL Reading, Theory, and the Bible Section
Sat 11/23 | 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Sapphire P (Fourth Level)
Theme: 20th Anniversary Celebration: The Bible & Critical Theory Journal
Panelist: Steed Davidson, Society of Biblical Literature*
SBL The Bible and Animal Studies Section
Sun 11/24 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Convention Center – 31C (Upper Level East)
Theme: Animality and Gender
Presenting: David M. Carr, Union Theological Seminary • Decolonizing Eden: Cosmological Deixis, a Queer Snake, and Subversive Memories of a Different Life World (25 min)
Presenting: Caroline Choi Park, Union Theological Seminary • Rediscovering the Animal Selves Who People the Garden: An Animist Reading of Genesis 2: 4-25 (25 min)
SBL Reading, Theory, and the Bible Section
Sun 11/24 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Hilton Bayfront – Aqua 310B (Third Level)
Theme: Review Session: Andrew Jacobs, Gospel Thrillers
Panelist: Jacqueline Hidalgo, University of San Diego*
SBL Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible Section / LGBTI / Queer Hermeneutics Section
Sun 11/24 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Convention Center – 6E (Upper Level West)
Theme: Masculinity Studies in Biblical Scholarship: Feminist, Womanist, and Queer Assessments
Panelist: Susanne Scholz,
SMU Perkins School of Theology*
SBL Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies Section
Sun 11/24 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 24C (Upper Level East)
Theme: Tips for Teaching Biblical Studies Online
Presenting: Julie Faith Parker, Union Theological Seminary • “Taste and See”: Multisensory Pedagogical Practices to Enliven Online Teaching (20 min)
SBL Letters of James, Peter, and Jude Section
Sun 11/24 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 23C (Upper Level East)
Theme: Critical Assessments of the Dating of James, 1-2 Peter, Jude
Presenting: Jeremy Hultin, Union Theological Seminary • Dating 2 Peter: Peter among the Apologists (30 min)
SBL Minoritized Criticism and Biblical Interpretation Section / Asian and Asian-American Hermeneutics Seminar / Postcolonial Studies and Biblical Studies Section / African-American Biblical Hermeneutics Section
Sun 11/24 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 6E (Upper Level West)
Theme: Book Review Panel on Reading in These Times, eds. Tat-siong Benny Liew and Fernando Segovia (SBL Press)
Panelist: Margaret Aymer, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary*
SBL Synoptic Gospels Section / Matthew Section
Mon 11/25 | 9:00 AM – 11:15 AM | Convention Center – 1A (Upper Level West)
Theme: Review of R. Alan Culpepper, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary (W/JK 2022)
Presiding: Margaret Aymer, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary*
SBL Latino/a/e and Latin American Biblical Interpretation Section / Contextual Biblical Interpretation Section / Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible Section / Minoritized Criticism and Biblical Interpretation Section / Wisdom and Apocalypticism Section / LGBTI/Queer Hermeneutics Section
Mon 11/25 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Omni – Gaslamp 2 (Fourth Floor)
Theme: Revisiting the Legacy of José Esteban Muñoz for Biblical Studies
Presiding: Jacqueline Hidalgo, University of San Diego*
SBL African Biblical Hermeneutics Section
Mon 11/25 | 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Sapphire MN (Fourth Level)
Theme: Book Review of Knut Holter and Celebration
Panelist: Aliou Niang, Union Theological Seminary (25 min)
SBL John’s Apocalypse and Cultural Contexts Ancient and Modern Section
Mon 11/25 | 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Convention Center – 6E (Upper Level West)
Theme: The Future of Gender Studies and Revelation
Panelist: Jacqueline Hidalgo, University of San Diego*
SBL Bible and Visual Art Section
Mon 11/25 | 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Convention Center – 24C (Upper Level East)
Presenting: Susanne Scholz, SMU Perkins School of Theology* • The Eyes of Leah (Gen. 29:17) in the Abstract Artwork of Yehuda Levy-Aldema (25 min)
SBL Asian and Asian-American Hermeneutics Seminary / Minoritized Criticism and Biblical Interpretation Section
Mon 11/25 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Aqua 310A (Third Level)
Theme: Indigenous, Multiethnic, and Multiracial Readings of the Bible from Asian and Asian-American Contexts
Presenting: Caroline Choi Park, Union Theological Seminary • Conversing with a Snake, a Woman, and a Bear-Woman: Reading Gen 3 alongside a Korean Foundation Myth (20 min)
SBL Contextual Bible Interpretation Section
Mon 11/25 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Aqua 303 (Third Level)
Presenting: Adulin Prophete, Union Theological Seminary • A Feminist Reading of Paul on Women: A Haitian Context (30 min)
American Academy of Religion
Applied Religious Studies Committee Meeting
Fri 11/22 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Convention Center-19 (Mezzanine Level)
Committee Member: Hannah Hofheinz, Phillips Exeter Academy*
Psychology, Culture, and Religion Unit
Sat 11/23 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Convention Center – 11B (Upper Level West)
Theme: Breathing Life into Religion through Teaching, Research, and Writing: Building on the Contributions of Bonnie Miller-McLemore
Presiding: Eileen Campbell-Reed, Union Theological Seminary
Religion and Economy Unit and Religion and Memory Unit
Sat 11/23 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Hilton Bayfront – Sapphire L (Fourth Level)
Theme: The Costs of Memory and Ethical Economies of (Un)Just Remembrance
Presenting: Jeannine Hill-Fletcher, Fordham University* • The Price and Pain of Memory: Institutional Reckoning with White Supremacy
Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Unit
Sat 11/23 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Convention Center – 29D (Upper Level East)
Theme: Mining the Prophetic Wisdom of Womanist Scholar Jacquelyn Grant
Panelist: Linda Thomas, Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago*
Body and Religion Unit, Class, Religion, and Theology Unit, and Women and Religion Unit
Sat 11/23 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Convention Center – 7B (Upper Level West)
Theme: Single Mothering as Critique and Vision
Panelist: Monica Coleman, University of Delaware*
Contemporary Pagan Studies, Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Unit, Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Unit, Religion, Media, and Culture Unit, and Women and Religion Units
Sat 11/23 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Indigo C (Second Level)
Theme: From Tweets to TikToks: Reimagining Religious Influence through Women’s Social Media Use
Presenting: Leslie Polk, Union Theological Seminary • Conjuring Interiority: Womanist Reflections on Ancestor Veneration, Social Media, and a Philosophy of Aesthetics
Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
Sat 11/23 | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM | Convention Center (Mezzanine Level)
Theme: Singing Peace to Violence
Panelist: Claudio Carvalhaes, Union Theological Seminary
Moral Injury and Recovery in Religion, Society, and Culture Unit
Sat 11/23 | 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Indigo D (Second Level)
Theme: Moral Injury in the Context of State and Cultural Violence
Presenting: Kristine Chong, Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America* • Anti-Asian Hate and Moral Injury: Social Healing through Reclaiming Moral Virtues, Collective Action, and Meaning Making
Committee on the Public Understanding of Religion
Sat 11/23 | 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Convention Center – 6C (Upper Level West)
Theme: Why religion scholars should talk to the media – or write for the public
Panelist: Simran Jeet Singh, Union Theological Seminary, The Aspen Institute*
AAR’s Sacred Text, Theory, and Theological Construction Unit and SBL’s Reading, Theory, and the Bible
Sat 11/23 | 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Sapphire P (Fourth Level)
Theme: 20th Anniversary Celebration: The Bible & Critical Theory Journal
Panelist: Steed Davidson, McCormick Theological Seminary
Anglican Studies Seminar
Sat 11/23 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 26B (Upper Level East)
Theme: Anglican Studies Seminar: Session 2
Panelist: Gary Dorrien, Union Theological Seminary
Childhood Studies and Religion Unit
Sat 11/23 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Aqua 310B (Upper Level East)
Theme: Re-imagining Eschatology: Pediatric Hope, Chronic Illness, and Children’s Experiences
Presiding: Eileen Campbell-Reed, Union Theological Seminary
Christian Systematic Theology Unit
Sat 11/23 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 9 (Upper Level West)
Theme: World-Making, Non-Violence, and the Transformation of the Political
Presiding: Andrea C. White, Union Theological Seminary
Buddhist Philosophy Unit and Global-Critical Philosophy of Religion Unit
Sat 11/23 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 30A (Upper Level East)
Theme: Buddhist Critical Phenomenology
Panelist: Gregory Snyder, Union Theological Seminary
Theology of Martin Luther King Jr. Unit and Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Unit
Sat 11/23 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Indigo H (Second Level)
Theme: Author Meets Critics: AnneMarie Mingo, Have You Got Good Religion? Black Women’s Faith, Courage, and Moral Leadership in the Civil Rights Movement
Panelist: Eboni Marshall Turman, Yale University*
Critical Approaches to Hip-Hop and Religion Unit
Sat 11/23 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Cobalt 520 (Fifth Level)
Theme: Author Meets Critic: Jon Ivan Gill’s Toward Afrodiasporic and Afrofuturist Philosophies of Religion
Panelist: Monica Coleman, University of Delaware*
Latina/o Religion, Culture, and Society Unit
Sun 11/24 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Hilton Bayfront – Indigo 204 (Second Level)
Theme: Borderlands, Liminal Spaces, and Religion: Latinx/Caribbean Perspectives on Gender, Sexuality, Violence, and Identity
Presenting: Octavio Carrasco, Union Theological Seminary • A Borderlands Imperative: Music, Mestizaje, and US Religious History
Black Theology Unit
Sun 11/24 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Convention Center-5B (Upper Level West)
Theme: Black Theology, Violence, & the Absurdity of Hope
Presiding: Eboni Marshall Turman, Yale University*
AAR’s Religion and Popular Culture Unit and SBL’s Reading, Theory and the Bible
Sun 11/24 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Hilton Bayfront – Aqua 310B (Third Level)
Theme: Review Session: Andrew Jacobs, Gospel Thrillers
Panelist: Jacqueline Hidalgo, Williams College*
Liberation Theologies Unit and Middle Eastern Christianity Unit
Sun 11/24 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Convention Center – 11B (Upper Level West)
Theme: Theologies of Liberation in the Middle East
Presenting: Nicole Simpson, Union Theological Seminary • Katie Cannon and Naim Ateek in Dialogue: A Power Analysis of U.S. Christian Engagement in Israel-Palestine
Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit
Sun 11/24 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Indigo 204A (Second Level)
Theme: Christian Imaginations of the Other: The Impact of Religionization and Racialization on (Inter)Religious Studies
Panelist: Jeannine Hill-Fletcher, Fordham University*
Transformative Scholarship and Pedagogy Unit
Sun 11/24 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Cobalt 520 (Fifth Level)
Theme: Teaching Against the State: Resisting Anti-CRT and Anti-LGBTQI Authoritarianism
Presenting: Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary* • Transgressive Pedagogy: Cultivating Democracy and Agency for Social Justice through Arts of Community Organizing
Psychology, Culture, and Religion Unit
Sun 11/24 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Sapphire 402 (Fourth Level)
Theme: Work In Progress and Business Meeting
Presiding: Lisa M. Cataldo, Fordham University*
Sikh Studies Unit
Sun 11/24 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 25A (Upper Level East)
Theme: Embodying the Sensuous: Sikh Poetry, Aesthetics, Ecology, and Feminisms
Panelist: Simran Jeet Singh, Union Theological Seminary, The Aspen Institute*
Evangelical Studies Unit
Mon 11/25 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Convention Center – 24B (Upper Level East)
Theme: Author Meets Critics Panel: Who Is a True Christian? Contesting Religious Identity in American Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2024), by David W. Congdon
Panelist: John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary
Special Session
Mon 11/25 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Hilton Bayfront – Sapphire AEI (Fourth Level)
Theme: The Prophetic: The Life and Legacy of Marc H. Ellis (1953 – 2024)
Panelist: Claudio Carvalhaes, Union Theological Seminary
Publicly Engaged Scholarship in the Study of Religion Seminar
Mon 11/25 | 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Convention Center – 28B (Upper Level East)
Theme: Serving More Than One Master? Institution vs./and Community in Engaged Research
Presenting: Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary* • Collaboratively Cultivating Subversive Knowledge: Transgressing Community-Academy Boundaries
Class, Religion, and Theology Unit
Mon 11/25 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 24A (Upper Level East)
Theme: Class Struggle and the Constitution of Religious Communities
Presiding: Ken Estey, Brooklyn College*
Psychology, Culture, and Religion Unit
Mon 11/25 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Convention Center – 30A (Upper Level East)
Theme: Psychology of Religion with or without God
Presiding: Lisa M. Cataldo, Fordham University*
Other Events
Lutheran Scholars Network
Sat 11/23 | 8:00 PM | Hilton Bayfront-Aqua 311B (Third Level)
Theme: Book panel: Jason A. Springs, Restorative Justice and Lived Religion: Transforming Mass Incarceration in Chicago (NYU Press 2024)
Panelist: Rebecca Todd Peters, Elon University*
Simulating Religious Violence: West Coast Premiere
Sat 11/23 | 6:00 PM – 7:45 PM | Convention Center – 5B (Upper Level West)
Social Ethics Energizing Democracy (SEED) and Baylor University Press
Sun 11/24 | 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Hilton Bayfront – Aqua Salon AB (Third Level)
Theme: What Remains: Gary Dorrien’s Christian-Intellectual Life, Democratic Socialism, and Liberation Theology
Presiding: Aaron Stauffer, Union Theological Seminary
Panelist: Serene Jones, Union Theological Seminary
Panelist: Andrea C. White, Union Theological Seminary
Panelist: Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary*
Panelist: Demian Wheeler, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities*