PhD Students to present at 2023 AAR/SBL Annual Meeting
The Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is pleased to announce that 14 current PhD students will present topics this coming week at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX. The meeting is co-hosted by AAR and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), and is the world’s largest gathering of religious scholars.
“The lineup of AAR/SBL presenters and their presentation topics demonstrates the academic excellence of Boston University School of Theology PhD students and candidates,” says Abhishek John, president of the Association of PhD students at BUSTH. “The presentations this year expertly navigate the intersections between global and regional dialogues, textual analysis and practical applications, and the exploration of theological and spiritual frameworks, showcasing the scholarly depth and breadth of the PhD student body.”
The full roster of sessions and presentations can be found on the AAR annual meeting website. Many community members with BUSTH and BU affiliations, including BUSTH alumni and faculty, are either leading sessions or on response panels.
Together with the Boston University Department of Religion, BUSTH will be co-hosting a reception on Sunday, November 19 at 9pm CT for alumni, faculty, students, and staff.
BUSTH PhD AAR/SBL Presenters
Friday, November 17
Taylor Thomas, “An Intersubjective Account of Tillichian Grace,” North American Paul Tillich Society
Saturday, November 18
Jaira Koh, “Care Is Not Enough: Abolishing the Bread of Life, and Other Redistributions of Reproductive Labor,” Liberation Theologies Unit
Blair Stowe and Emily Nelms Chastain, “All the World’s My Syllabus: Necessary Adjustments to Methodist Studies Curriculum in a Globalized Church,” Wesleyan and Methodist Studies Unit
Daniel Montañez, “From Aztlán to Tenochtitlan: Religion and Spirituality in Mexico’s First Migration Narrative,” Religions, Borders, and Immigration Seminar
Sunday, November 19
Connie Bahng, “The Spector of Okseon Lee: Hauntology in Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s Grass,” Theology and Religious Reflection Unit
Jaira Koh, “The Hope of the Gestational Strike: Negating Natalism in/with Rubem Alves,” Class, Religion, and Theology Unit
Xiaodi Wu and co-authors, “Providing Help to the Helpers Post Covid-19: Burnout Prevention and Flourishing,” Religion and the Social Sciences Unit
Jacob Leal, “Resurrecting Indigenous Practices: How Playing an Ancient Mesopotamian Ballgame Resurrects the Ancestors and Contributes to Healing,” Religions in the Latino/a Americas Unit
Britta Meiers Carlson, “Contested Space: Identity Formation in the New Sanctuary Movement,” Ecclesial Practices Unit
Samantha Reilly, “Fingering-as-Theology: Divine Fingers, Touches in the Hebrew Bible,” Senses, Cultures, and Biblical Worlds Section
Monday, November 20
Hanna Rhee, “Evangelical but also Liturgical: A Comparative Analysis of Worship in a Korean Megachurch and a North American Megachurch,” Korean Religions Unit
Togu Sihité, “Ahab and Sane: Legal Terms as Expressions of Attitudes in Marriage Law and Wifehood Documents from Elephantine,” Aramaic Studies Section
Samantha Reilly, “Text and Tissue: Reading for Affective and Written Bodies in the Hebrew Bible,” Reading, Theory, and the Bible Section
Tuesday, November 21
Xiaodi Wu and co-authors, “Forced Migration, Spirituality, and Mental Health: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study Exploring the Spiritual, Existential and Religious Journeys of Refugee Persons from Asia,” Psychology, Culture and Religion Unit
Jee Hyun Baek, “Haunting Secrets: Intergenerational Trauma in Korean American Diaspora Communities and its Challenge on Theological Understanding of Human Suffering,” Theology and Religious Reflection Unit
Stephen Waldron, “Intellectual Humility and Negative Theology as a Connection-Making Task,” Theology and Religious Reflection Unit