Members of the Union community will be at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO on November 19-22, 2022 for the 2022 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 two events.
On Sunday, November 20, at 3:00 pm MT, join us for Denver Area Union Alums and Friends Gathering at the Tattered Cover Café.
On Sunday, November 20, at 9:00 pm MT at Union’s Reception at the AAR and SBL Annual Meeting at The Slate Denver, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. Each event requires registration.
Below is a list of Union faculty, students, staff and alums who will participate at the Annual Meeting.
Society of Biblical Literature
SBL Biblical Literature and the Hermeneutics of Trauma Section
Sat 11/19 | 9:00 AM–11:30 AM | Convention Center (CC) – 403 (Street Level)
Theme: Open Session
Presenting: David M. Carr, Union Theological Seminary • Scribal Trauma: Particularly Writerly Reflections of Communal Near-Death Experiences in the Flood, Sodom, and Golden Calf Stories (25 min)
SBL Genesis Section
Theme: Israelite Neighbors
Presenting: J. Christiaan Faul, Union Theological Seminary • “Do Not Go Down to Egypt:” An Analysis of the Significance of God’s Command to Isaac in Genesis 26:2a (30 min)
SBL African Biblical Hermeneutics Section
Sun 11/20 | 1:00 PM–3:30 PM | Convention Center (CC) – Mile High 2A (Lower Level)
Theme: Genesis: African Interpretations
Presenter: Shola Adegbite, Union Theological Seminary • The Toledot of the Heavens and the Earth: Reading Genesis 1 as a Genealogy (25 min)
SBL Book of Ezekiel Section
Sun 11/20 | 4:00 PM–6:30 PM | Convention Center (CC) – 710 (Street Level)
Theme: This is an open session on any topic with a linguistic, textual, literary, or historical focus in the Book of Ezekiel.
Presenter: J. Christiaan Faul, Union Theological Seminary • Ezekiel’s Gēr: An Anthropological Exploration of the Term gēr in the Ezekielian Tradition (20 min)
Society for the Arts in Religious and Theological Studies (SARTS)
Sun 11/20 | 4:00 PM–6:30 PM | Sheraton Downtown (SD) – Governor’s Square 11 (Plaza Tower – Concourse Level)
Theme: Good—and Beautiful—Reads: A Conversation with Recent Authors on Religion & the Arts
Panelist: Cláudio Carvalhaes, Union Theological Seminary
SBL Ugaritic Studies and Northwest Semitic Epigraphy Section
Mon 11/21 | 1:00 PM–3:30 PM | Hyatt Regency (HR) – Capitol 6 (Fourth Level)
Discussion: Asaf Gayer, Ariel University and David M. Carr, Union Theological Seminary • Use of Digital Imaging Software to Determine Shifts in Script Density Distribution in Egyptian and Levantine Scrolls (25 min)
American Academy of Religion
Karl Barth Society of North America Friday Evening Lectures
Fri 11/18 | 4:00 PM–5:30 PM | Convention Center-104 (Street Level)
Panelist: Andrea C. White, Union Theological Seminary
Theology Without Walls
Fri 11/18 | 4:00 PM–5:30 PM | Sheraton Downtown-Director’s Row I (Plaza Tower – Lobby Level)
Theme: Rising Scholars Discussion
Presiding: John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary
Planning Meeting
Fri 11/18 | 5:30 PM–6:30 PM | Sheraton Downtown-Director’s Row I (Plaza Tower – Lobby Level)
Theme: Theology Without Walls
Panelist: John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary
Theological Education Committee Meeting
Sat 11/19 | 9:00 AM–11:00 AM | Convention Center-204 (Street Level)
Presiding: John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary
Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Unit
Sat 11/19 | 9:00 AM–11:00 AM | Convention Center-111 (Street Level)
Presenting: Kimberley Gordy, Union Theological Seminary • Transformative Love: Black Women as Chaplains in Black Literature
Black Theology Unit
Sat 11/19 | 12:30 PM–2:30 PM | Convention Center-107 (Street Level)
Theme: Pneumatology and Eschatology in Black Theology: Spirit/s and Black Flourishing in the World to Come
Presiding: Andrea C. White, Union Theological Seminary
Bonhoeffer: Theology and Social Analysis Unit
Sat 11/19 | 12:30 PM–2:30 PM | Convention Center-Mile High 4C (Lower Level)
Theme: Religion and Catastrophe: Bonhoeffer in Comparative Perspective
Presenting: Adam Vander Tuig, Union Theological Seminary • A History of the Anthropocene in a Single Cheap Thing: Bonhoeffer, Cheap Grace, and the Future of the Planet
Class, Religion, and Theology Unit, Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Unit
Sat 11/19 | 12:30 PM–2:30 PM | Convention Center-402 (Street Level)
Theme: Reproductive Labor as a Critical Concept for the Study of Religion
Panelist: Cláudio Carvalhaes, Union Theological Seminary
Black Theology Unit
Sat 11/19 | 3:00 PM–4:30 PM | Convention Center-Mile High 4E (Lower Level)
Theme: Method and Sources in Black Theology: A Tribute to the 50th Anniversary of James H. Cone’s The Spirituals and the Blues (University of Michigan Press, 1972)
Responding: Kelly Brown Douglas, Episcopal Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary
Religion and Economy Unit
Sun 11/20 | 9:00 AM–11:00 AM Hyatt Regency-Granite B (Third Level)
Theme: Beyond Capitalism: Four Constructive Proposals toward Ecological, Equitable, Democratic Economic Life
Panelist: Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Union Theological Seminary Alum Council
Comparative Theology Unit and Theology Without Walls
Sun 11/20 | 9:00 AM–11:00 AM | Convention Center-Mile High 4D (Lower Level)
Theme: The Concept of Home in Comparative Theology and Theology Without Walls
Panelist: John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary
Theology and Religious Reflection Unit
Sun 11/20 | 9:00 AM–11:00 AM | Convention Center-503 (Street Level)
Theme: Agency and Solidarity Beyond the Human
Presenting: Ban Htang, Union Theological Seminary • Entangled Agencies: Toward Deep Solidarities
Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession Committee and Status of Women in the Profession Committee
Sun 11/20 | 11:15 AM–12:15 PM | Convention Center-605 (Street Level)
Theme: Women’s Mentoring Lunch
Panelist: Su Yon Pak, Union Theological Seminary
Class, Religion, and Theology Unit
Sun 11/20 | 12:30 PM–2:30 PM | Hyatt Regency-Granite B (Third Level)
Theme: Class Futures: Against the Capitalocene, For Liberation
Presenting: Adam Vander Tuig, Union Theological Seminary • Anthropocene, Capitalocene, and Maneggiocene: The Insidious Ecocide of Modern Managerialism
Liberation Theologies Unit
Sun 11/20 | 3:00 PM–4:30 PM | Hyatt Regency-Mineral D (Third Level)
Theme: Honoring the Life and Work of Dr. Paul Farmer, MD
Responding: Cláudio Carvalhaes, Union Theological Seminary
Psychology, Culture, and Religion Unit
Sun 11/20 | 3:00 PM–4:30 PM | Convention Center-505 (Street Level)
Theme: Reading Political Realities through Psychoanalytic Lenses: Book Panel with Phillis Sheppard (Tilling Sacred Ground (Lexington Books, 2022)) and Pamela Cooper-White (The Psychology of Christian Nationalism (1517 Media, 2022))
Panelist: Pamela Cooper-White, Union Theological Seminary
Innovations in Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Unit Theme: Diversities in Chaplaincy
Sun 11/20 | 5:00 PM–6:30 PM | Hyatt Regency-Capitol 1 (Fourth Level)
Panelist: Kimberley Gordy, Union Theological Seminary • Expanding the Lens of Chaplaincy Through Black Women’s Communal Roles in Black Literature and Lived Experience
Responding: Pamela Cooper-White, Union Theological Seminary
Theology of Martin Luther King Jr. Unit
Sun 11/20 | 5:00 PM–6:30 PM | Embassy Suites-Aspen A (Third Level)
Theme: A Dream or a Nightmare? A Roundtable on James Cone’s Martin & Malcolm & America (Orbis, 1991)
Panelist: Stanley Talbert, Union Theological Seminary
American Lectures in the History of Religions Committee
Mon 11/21 | 9:00 AM–11:00 AM | Convention Center-Mile High 4C (Lower Level)
Theme: American Lectures in the History of Religions: Professor Daisy Machado on Religion and the Borderland
Panelist: Daisy L. Machado, Union Theological Seminary
Sacred Writes
Mon 11/21 | 9:00 AM–11:00 AM | Convention Center-606 (Street Level)
Theme: The Risks of Going Public: An Interactive Workshop
Panelist: Jorge Rodríguez, Union Theological Seminary
Buddhism Unit and Buddhist Philosophy Unit
Mon 11/21 | 12:30 PM–2:30 PM | Convention Center-107 (Street Level)
Theme: Legacies of Violence: Trauma, Buddhism, and our Collective Bodies
Panelist: Rima Vesely-Flad, Union Theological Seminary
History of Christianity Unit and Religions in the Latina/o Americas Unit
Mon 11/21 | 12:30 PM–2:30 PM | Convention Center-505 (Street Level)
Theme: Faith and Power: Latina/o Religious Politics Since 1945
Panelist: Jorge Rodríguez, Union Theological Seminary
Queer Studies in Religion Unit
Mon 11/21 | 5:00 PM–6:30 PM | Convention Center-303 (Street Level)
Theme: The Trans Sounds of Black Freedom: Identifying Embedded Socio-emotional Assets in House Ball Families: Implications for HIV prevention, Grass Roots Organizing and a new understanding of a Theology of Liberation
Panelist: Charlene Sinclair, Union Theological Seminary