IOQS

The International Organization for Qumran Studies

Category: Call for Papers

IOQS 10th Meeting Aberdeen (The DSS in the Context of Hellenistic Judea) – Call for Papers Deadline extended!

(Thanks to Patrick Angiolillo)

Since the online proposal submission system is the same for IOSOT and all the affiliate meetings, …

… the IOQS deadline for submitting papers is also extended to March 10, 2019!

Call for Papers:
A Halakhic Concordance in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Flavius Josephus, and the New Testament
(17-18 July, 2019, Jerusalem, Israel)

(On behalf of Claude Cohen-Matlofsky)

A Halakhic Concordance in the DSS, Philo, Flavius Josephus and the New Testament (and more broadly the Second Temple Sources)

Call for Papers

Conveners: Claude Cohen-Matlofsky and Arnaud Sérandour


17-18 July, 2019 Jerusalem, Israel


The goal of this research project is the production of a text-critical multiple volumes corpus of comparative Halakhah based on all currently available Second Temple sources. The purpose is to show both the concordance and discordance in the observance of Halakhah and the discussions in process for Halakhah in Second Temple period sources; in other words: the « Halakhah in the making ». Please note that we intend to leave aside the rabbinic literature for purpose of methodology.
Furthermore, the use of the terms « Halakhah » and « halakhic » for the project will be discussed in introduction of the corpus.


Presenters will have ample time to present their work, followed by a generous period for discussion with other symposium participants, including Eyal Regev, Tal Ilan, Vered Noam.

We invite paper proposals from scholars, advanced doctoral students, recent PhDs, and postdocs, whose work addresses the questions of our symposium. Proposals of 1,000–2,000 words, based on projects that are well under way, should be sent to Claude Cohen-Matlofsky (claudematlofsky|at|hotmail.com).

Update: 10th Meeting of the IOQS (Aberdeen, 4‒8 August, 2019): Call for Papers now open!

Tenth Meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies (Aberdeen, Scotland, 4‒8 August, 2019)

The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Hellenistic Judea

Call for Papers Open

The Scrolls are viewed more and more within their wider cultural, historical, and geographic context, and previous categorizations based on sectarianism, canonicity, or genre are being re-thought. For the special topic of the IOQS meeting, we welcome papers that consider the scrolls in their wider context of Hellenistic Judea and beyond.

The field of Qumran studies is no longer necessarily focused on the area where the scrolls were discovered. For example, archaeological study of Judea and Galilee has made advances during recent years, and the history of the Hasmonean rulers and their policies is increasingly placed in the wider context of power negotiations throughout the region. Papers may investigate how the scrolls should be viewed in light of new results in other fields (e.g., archaeology, history, paleography), or how the scrolls help to understand this particular cultural, historical, and geographic context. Proposals by scholars with expertise in other fields relevant to the scrolls are also welcome. Papers may seek to address how the scrolls and their producers interact with or represent a part of the wider landscape of Second Temple Judaism: how we negotiate balance between what is distinctive about Qumran evidence and what is “universal” or more broadly shared.

IOQS wishes to encourage scholars and PhD candidates at all levels who are working on the topic to propose a paper for the meeting. Papers that are directly related to the topic of the meeting will be considered for publication in a corresponding volume of the STDJ series.


In addition, those working on other topics are encouraged to submit papers on any area of Qumran studies for one or more open sessions.

Paper proposals should be sent with the following information: name, academic institution, paper title, and an abstract of no more than 250 words. Abstracts should include explicit mention of the sources that will be discussed, a clearly formulated hypothesis, argument, or research question, and (with the special topic), consideration of which type of context is investigated and related to the scrolls.

Proposals should be submitted before 28 February, 2019 via the IOSOT Aberdeen website. For any questions, please contact IOQS president, Jutta Jokiranta, jutta.jokiranta|at|helsinki.fi, or secretary Molly Zahn, mzahn|at|ku.edu. To submit your paper you are required to first register for the IOSOT/IOQS. You will receive an email confirming your registration, after which you will be able to submit your proposal. Submitted proposals may be amended, if necessary, prior to the deadline. Proposals will be reviewed and accepted or rejected by the IOQS Executive Committee.
To submit your paper, see here or submit directly here.

10th Meeting of the IOQS (Aberdeen, 4‒8 August, 2019): Call for Papers

Tenth Meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies (Aberdeen, Scotland, 4‒8 August, 2019)

(23rd Congress of the International Organisation for the Study of the Old Testament)

The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Hellenistic Judea

Call for papers

The Scrolls are viewed more and more within their wider cultural, historical, and geographic context, and previous categorizations based on sectarianism, canonicity, or genre are being re-thought. For the special topic of the IOQS meeting, we welcome papers that consider the scrolls in their wider context of Hellenistic Judea and beyond.

The field of Qumran studies is no longer necessarily focused on the area where the scrolls were discovered. For example, archaeological study of Judea and Galilee has made advances during recent years, and the history of the Hasmonean rulers and their policies is increasingly placed in the wider context of power negotiations throughout the region. Papers may investigate how the scrolls should be viewed in light of new results in other fields (e.g., archaeology, history, paleography), or how the scrolls help to understand this particular cultural, historical, and geographic context. Proposals by scholars with expertise in other fields relevant to the scrolls are also welcome. Papers may seek to address how the scrolls and their producers interact with or represent a part of the wider landscape of Second Temple Judaism: how we negotiate balance between what is distinctive about Qumran evidence and what is “universal” or more broadly shared.

IOQS wishes to encourage scholars and PhD candidates at all levels who are working on the topic to propose a paper for the meeting. Papers that are directly related to the topic of the meeting will be considered for publication in a corresponding volume of the STDJ series. In addition, those working on other topics are encouraged to submit papers on any area of Qumran studies for one or more open sessions.

The call for papers will be opened soon at IOSOT website and all proposals should be submitted through the local organizers online system, see here. For any questions concerning IOQS, please contact IOQS president, Jutta Jokiranta, jutta.jokiranta|at|helsinki.fi, or secretary Molly Zahn, mzahn|at|ku.edu. For any questions concerning the accommodation, registration, or any other general conference information, please contact the local organizers.

Conference on Religious and Philosophical Conversion in Ancient Mediterranean Traditions (Bonn, Germany, 25–27 September, 2018): Call for Papers

On behalf of PD Dr. Athanasios Despotis (Abteilung für Neues Testament, Bonn, Germany)

Conference on Religious and Philosophical Conversion in Ancient Mediterranean Traditions (CoRPC)

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the Conference on Religious and Philosophical Conversion in Ancient Mediterranean Traditions (CoRPC) , which will take place at the University of Bonn from 25 to 27 of September 2018 ( https://www.etf.uni-bonn.de/de/ev-theol/institute/corpc/startseite ).

Steering Committee:

  • Kelley Coblentz Bautch (St. Edward’s University in Austin)
  • Athanasios Despotis (Universität Bonn)
  • Edith M. Humphrey (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary)
  • Hermut Löhr (Universität Bonn)

Rationale: Research on the experience of religious conversion or spiritual transformation is necessarily interdisciplinary and interest in this field grows progressively. In light of this important and burgeoning area of study, CoRPC explores conversion or converting experience in the environment of the ancient Hellenistic world(s) with attention to early Judaism and early Christianity/the New Testament. Presentations will undertake both historical and philological reconstructions relying on source material and utilising interdisciplinary approaches. Similarly, discussions take up the literary use of the motif of conversion, the topic of philosophical conversion as well as ritual, social and embodied aspects of spiritual transformation.

CONFIRMED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS (in alphabetical order)

  • Pierre-Yves Brandt, Lausanne
  • Natacha Bustos, Rosario
  • Stephen Chester, Chicago
  • Athanasios Despotis, Bonn
  • Edith M. Humphrey, Pittsburgh
  • Miguel Herrero de Jauregui, Madrid
  • Rikard Roitto, Stockholm

We are accepting papers for the following main subjects of discussion:

  1. Theorising conversion and de-conversion
  2. “Turning” in the Hebrew Bible
  3. Conversion rhetorics in Hellenistic Judaism
  4. Spiritual transformation in the purview of the Qumran Communities
  5. Conversion in the New Testament and Christian Apocrypha
  6. Philosophical conversion
  7. Conversion and the pagan mysteries
  8. Early Christian reception of the New Testament texts
  9. Polemical and satirical approaches to religious and philosophical conversion
  10. Ecumenical readings
  11. CSR (Cognitive Science of Religion) approaches to conversion experience in the Jewish and Hellenistic world

Abstracts of no more than 300 words for 20-minute papers should be sent to corpc@ev-theol.uni-bonn.de by 30th January 2018 . The abstracts will be reviewed by 15th of February.

We look forward to hearing from you and please do not hesitate to contact us at corpc@ev-theol.uni-bonn.de with any questions.

Best regards,
PD Dr. Athanasios Despotis
Abteilung für Neues Testament
An der Schlosskirche 2–4
53113 Bonn, Germany

SBL International Meeting (Helsinki, Finland, July 30–August 3, 2018): Call for Papers

(courtesy of Jutta Jokiranta)

Call For Papers:

The Qumran and Dead Sea Scrolls unit welcomes papers for four separate sessions

1) The first session is on Ethics and Policies regarding Unprovenanced Materials. This session continues the conversation begun in ISBL Berlin 2017 sessions on the “Tracing and Facing the Possibility of Forgeries.” The current focus moves from identification of forgeries towards Ethics and Policies in the academic community and beyond, participating in wider discussions concerning heritage management, measures to stop illicit trade, and cooperation needed in the academia for a sustainable future. The session is partly invited (in collaboration with the WCOM [Working with Cultural Objects and Manuscripts] project) and partly open.

2) The second session is a joint session with Ritual in the Biblical World unit. It welcomes papers exploring ritual experience that relates to the Dead Sea Scrolls/the Qumran movement or other relevant late Second Temple evidence, with a special focus on festival landscapes, festival time, habitus and ritual innovation in interaction with ritual theory.

3) The third session is a joint session with Digital Humanities unit. It invites proposals on ongoing research projects that produce new digital/online editions of the Dead Sea Scrolls or make use of digital tools in studying the scrolls and presenting the data.

4) The fourth session is open, and welcomes proposals on any relevant topic with a clear abstract stating the task or question, sources, and methods or theoretical framework.

Program Unit Chairs
Jutta Jokiranta
Matthew Goff

Further information can be found here.

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