SBL Panel Discussion | The Future of Biblical Studies: What Research Still Needs to Be Done?

Well, the impressions of my first SBL meeting are fading  somewhat (you can read about them here), but there are moments which were very helpful for me and I won't likely forget them anytime soon.

One such moment was a panel discussion in the 2010 meeting organized by Pat McCullough called "Finding Your 'Niche' in Biblical Studies" and it was truly excellent. A standing room only kind of affair. Mark Goodacre, who was on the panel, shared a post about his experience as a panelist in the session here. 

Well, I was delighted to note that Pat will again, as a member of the Student Advisory Board, organize a session, this time on the future of biblical studies and work that still needs to be done. These are the questions that panelists will tackle:

• What problems do you see in the field? 
• What topics or approaches no longer need to be rehashed? 
• What are issues that you have encountered that you don’t plan on pursuing yourself, but believe needs to be explored in the field? 
• Are there certain methodologies or approaches that you believe are particularly ripe for exploration?

You can read more about the announcement, including a brief description of the panel along with a list of the scholars who will be on it, over at Pat McCullough's blog.

Also, as Pat points out, the preliminary program book for SBL 2011 in San Francisco is now available on the SBL website.