Workshops and Conferences
Forthcoming Events
Reconceptualising Monotheism: Concepts and Cultures in Ancient Israel
November 4, virtual event
Past Events
21 October 2021, virtual event.
Speakers: Daniel James Waller (Oxford), Daniel Schwemer (Würzburg), Richard Gordon (Erfurt), Siam Bhayro (Exeter), Dorota Molin (Oxford), Ortal-Paz Saar (Utrecht), Sarah Iles Johnston (Ohio).
Speaker's Lectures Series: Parting of the Ways, Adele Reinhartz (uOttawa)
October 26, 27 and 28, Oriel College.
Prophets, Priests and Promises: Reflections and Responses to Gary Knoppers' posthumously published volume.
Tuesday 15 June 2021, Virtual
Speakers: Sarah Japhet (Hebrew University), Louis Jonker (South Africa), Steven McKensie (Tennessee), Hindy Najman (Oriel), Konrad Schmid (Zurich), Hugh Williamson (Oriental Studies).
What Does the Septuagint mean for the Wider Hellenistic World
Thursday 3 June 2021, Virtual
Co-organised by Martin Goodman (Oriental Studies) and Hindy Najman (Oriel). Co-sponsored by the Centre for the Study of the Bible and the David Patterson Lectures.
Oxbridge Day
Friday 30 April 2021, Virtual
Created Male and Female: The Hebrew Bible, Gender and Sexuality
Monday 26 April 2021, Virtual
Speakers: Deborah Rooke (Regent's Park), Ken Stone (Chicago), Janice De-Whyte (Loma Linda), Mercedes Garcia Bachmann (Buenos Aires), Rhiannon Graybill (Memphis), Sarah Nicholson (Glasgow), Brian Charles DiPalma (California).
‘Created Male and Female’: Zooming in on Gender and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible
On Monday 26 April, members of the Oxford Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Seminar were joined by participants from around the world for an online day conference entitled ‘Created Male and Female: Gender and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible’, arranged by Seminar and Theology & Religion Faculty member Dr Deborah Rooke. With the support of Oriel College’s Centre for the Study of the Bible, and the help of Professor Hindy Najman in introducing the day and chairing the first of its three sessions, over two hundred participants registered and were hosted on Zoom for seven papers covering textual, methodological and thematic topics. The event was in anticipation of the Oxford Handbook of the Hebrew Bible, Gender and Sexuality, which Dr Rooke is currently editing, and Steve Wiggins, Commissioning Editor from OUP New York, dropped in at the beginning to commend the volume to conference participants. The day’s seven speakers, all contributors to the Handbook, were as international as the audience, and were deliberately invited to reflect a range of gender, ethnicity, experience and academic/social context. Alongside Deborah Rooke were Sarah Nicholson (Glasgow), Brian Charles DiPalma (Fresno, CA), Rhiannon Graybill (Memphis, TN), Janice De-Whyte (Loma Linda, CA), Mercedes Garcia Bachmann (Buenos Aires) and Ken Stone (Chicago). The questions that they considered ranged equally widely: What is masculinity and how does it appear in the Hebrew Bible? How does our understanding of the body affect how we read the biblical text, and vice versa? What kind of ‘men’ were priests, according to the Hebrew Bible? How might the experiences of sex workers in biblical times and in the contemporary world illuminate each other? What was the cultural significance of virginity in the world of those who wrote the biblical texts? What do the family relationships in the book of Judges convey about gender constructions and sexuality? And in the books of Samuel, what are the inherent power dynamics in the portrayal of women’s ritual agency and of male-male affection? The number and range of queries put to all of the speakers, and the animated discussions that ensued, showed just how live and vibrant an area of study this is, particularly in the present climate where questions of gender identity and associated rights are very much at the forefront of the political agenda. If there was ever any doubt about the ability of biblical studies to speak to contemporary concerns, this conference quashed it definitively. Many thanks to all who took part, and to those who supported and worked behind the scenes to make it happen. Look out for details of the follow-up book launch in due course!
Groningen-Leuven-Oxford Network Conference
Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 March, 2021, Virtual
Apocalyptic Thinking
Monday 15 February, 2021, Virtual
Conveners: Hindy Najman (Oriel), Jenn Strawbridge (Mansfield), Elizabeth Stell (Oriel)
Download Programme Here
Book signing and wine reception
John Barton, Oriel and Laing Professor Emeritus, A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths (Penguin Books)
Tuesday 29 October 2019, 17:00-19:00, Large Senior Common Room, Oriel College
Codex Zacynthius: Retracing the Words of Scribes and Early Christian Writers
Tuesday 5 November 2019, 10.30-16.00, Oriel College
Conveners: Hugh Houghton (Birmingham), David Parker (Birmingham) and William Lamb (Oriel)
Hermeneutic Interventions and Practices of Reading: Between Modernity and Antiquity
Sunday 1 and Monday 2 December, Oriel College
Conveners: Yael Fisch (Oriel), Adriana Jacobs (St Cross), Hindy Najman (Oriel) and Daniel Weidner (Berlin)
Martyrdom on the Margins
Thursday 20 February 2020, MBI Al Jaber Building, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Conveners: Hindy Najman (Oriel) and Christian Sahner (St Cross)
British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS) Annual Conference 2019: What is Commentary?
22–24 July 2019, St Anne's College, Oxford
President: Hindy Najman
Protestant Bible Scholarship: Antisemitism, Philosemitism, and Anti-Judaism
26 - 27 May 2019, Oriel College
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Postgraduate Workshop: Exemplarity
11 - 12 March 2019, Oriel College
Lament, Reading and Therapy Workshop
5 November 2018, Oriel College
Co-organized with King's College London
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- Listen to lectures
Launch Conference
17 - 18 October 2018, Oriel College
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- Listen to lectures
Wisdom and Ethics Workshop
4 June 2018, Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Co-organized with John Barton.
Day-long workshop Created Male and Female. The Hebrew Bible, Gender and Sexuality. Organiser: Deborah Rooke (Regent’s Park). Speakers include: Deborah Rooke (Regent’s Park), Ken Stone (Chicago), Janice De-Whyte (Loma Linda), Mercedes Garcia Bachmann (Buenos Aires), Rhiannon Graybill (Memphis), Sarah Nicholson (Glasgow), Brian Charles DiPalma (California). Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-hebrew-bible-gender-and-sexuality-day...