AAR-HCS

Greetings on behalf of the executive committee of AAR-HCS.

The Chicago meeting concluded almost two weeks ago. In my perhaps biased opinion, we had a very successful set of sessions. This year's meeting included a panel discussion on problems in teaching the history of Christianity; a roundtable on the "state of the field" in Reformation research; paper sessions on African Pentecostalism, Indian spirit possession, and global Lutheranism; and a set of papers on the history of visual culture in Christian practice. Average attendance at our sessions was about sixty, with the most heavily-attended session, the Reformation panel, attracting an audience of around one hundred. After some real concern about the effects on AAR-HCS of the SBL split, it was a relief for those of us involved in planning and administration to see that our programming continues to enjoy a positive reception and a sizeable audience.

This year's programming reflects an effort on the part of the AAR-HCS executive committee to experiment with formats more conducive to interaction and discussion than the traditional two-and-a-half-hour paper session. The teaching session, planned and facilitated by AAR teaching honoree Patricia Killen and with the help of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Religion and Theology (http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu), was built around short, practical presentations of problematic "teaching moments" in History of Christianity courses, and used the ensuing discussion to develop a broader sense of key themes and issues in such courses. The Reformation session was conceived of as an informal conversation between four well-known figures in the field, all representing different methodologies, themes, and institutional locations, with ample time for responses and input from the audience. I was especially happy that both of these sessions were well attended and sparked vigorous and fruitful discussions (despite some logistical problems with room layout and noise). One might even go so far as to say they were fun. Again, on behalf of everyone involved in planning these sessions, I want to thank everyone who attended and participated. Many thanks to the participants in the other sessions as well, which, although structured more formally, also generated lively conversation.

We are already beginning our planning for the 2009 meeting in Montreal (Nov. 7-10). The Call for Papers should be posted to the website and listserv in a matter of days. We are sorry to be losing one of our longtime steering committee members, Edwin Aponte, who has now served for six years, the maximum allowed by AAR rules. Thank you, Edwin, for all your contributions. A number of people expressed interest in filling the vacancy he will leave; we plan to announce his replacement in a few days as well.

If you are interested in being part of the planning process for future meetings, please consider attending our business meeting in Montreal (the date and time will be announced during the summer). In addition, for a while we have been collecting names of people interested in serving on the steering committee. If you would like your name added to that list, please contact Nathan Rein or Martha Finch (co-chairs) directly. In addition, if you have suggestions for topics you would like to see covered in the future, don't hesitate to get in touch; we are often particularly interested in suggestions for book panels.

Lastly: I am interested in making the listserv and the website into more effective tools than they currently are for fostering community and discussion among people in our field. If you have suggestions or ideas as to how this might work best for you, I would love to hear them. (We have discussed setting up a more interactive website with a discussion board, or possible methods such as wikis for sharing teaching strategies, and the like.) I have recently updated the website with some resources for people considering submitting paper proposals, as well as other current information. Feedback is always welcome.

I can be reached via email at nrein at ursinus dot edu. You can also contact me, as well as finding more general information about AAR-HCS, at http://AAR-HCS.infogami.com.

On behalf of my co-chair, Martha Finch, the AAR-HCS steering committee, and myself, thank you.

Posted:
Nathan Rein, Ursinus College
AAR-HCS co-chair
November 16, 2008

last updated 10 months ago # fine print   nathan rein 2006

I'm preparing to leave for San Diego tomorrow morning. In the last few days, the website's been updated to include current session information, and an update was sent to HISTOC-L subscribers, as follows:

Greetings from the History of Christianity section of the American Academy of Religion (AAR-HCS).

The annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion begins in San Diego this Saturday, November 17th, and AAR-HCS has five sessions scheduled. Three are panel discussions. One panel (A18-208) will deal with recent work on the topic of superstition. Another (A20-105) will discuss the intellectual and pedagogical challenges associated with the creation and use of textbooks and general histories, and will feature contributions from past AAR president Margaret Miles and AAR teaching award honoree Patricia O'Connell Killen. We are also pleased to be co-sponsoring a panel (A17-105) with the North American Religions section on the theme of "war and religion in North America." We are also sponsoring two paper sessions, one on the topic of sainthood (A17-304), the other on the history and significance of exegesis (A17-208). A full schedule is attached at the bottom of this message.

All interested AAR members are encouraged to attend our business meeting. This will be held immediately following session A17-208, which is scheduled for Saturday, 1 p.m. through 3:30 p.m. in the Carlsbad room at the Marriott. The business meeting should begin between 2:45 and 3:30 p.m. and will be devoted, among other things, to discussing possible topics for the 2008 Call for Papers.

For more general information about AAR-HCS, please visit our website, http://AAR-HCS.infogami.com.

On behalf of the AAR-HCS steering committee, my co-chair Teresa Shaw, and myself, thank you for your interest in our programs. We hope to see you in San Diego.

Nathan Rein, AAR-HCS co-chair

See you in San Diego!

last updated 1 year ago # fine print   nathan rein 2006

This is the update that went out over HISTOC-L wires today:

Hello, and greetings from the History of Christianity section of the American Academy of Religion (AAR-HCS).

As you are probably aware, the AAR has extended the deadline for submitting proposals to the 2007 Annual Meeting until March 7. This means that if you were considering submitting a proposal to AAR-HCS, you still have a few days, and we encourage you to do so!

The call for papers reads as follows:

"The History of Christianity Section seeks to present innovative and engaging research on the history, culture, and development of Christianity from its origins to the present, while at the same time promoting interdisciplinary dialogue among the fields of history, ritual studies, art history, anthropology, and historical theology. We seek proposals for individual papers or entire panels on the following topics: saints and sainthood; exegesis in the history of Christianity; the history of Christianity in China and the Chinese diaspora; and 'folk' belief and 'superstition.' We will consider proposals on other topics as well. Papers should be conceived for an effective 20-minute presentation. All proposals must be submitted online via OP3 and will be evaluated in anonymous peer review by the section steering committee."

It's worth underscoring that we will seriously consider proposals on topics not listed in the CFP; sometimes, these end up comprising some of our best sessions. Also, AAR-HCS has traditionally sought to provide a forum for scholars at all levels and stages of their careers. If you have questions about the submission procedure or other aspects of AAR-HCS's work, please contact one of the section co-chairs, Nathan Rein or Teresa Shaw.

Please post and/or forward this message as appropriate. Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you.

Nathan Rein

Pass it on!

last updated 2 years ago # fine print   nathan rein 2006

The AAR meeting in Washington, DC, concluded just before Thanksgiving. AAR-HCS held its allotted five sessions without any major glitches. Thank you to all who attended. Watch this page for the new CFP, which is currently being hammered out by the executive committee in response to suggestions received at the open Business Meeting. We also had a surge of signups for our listserv. Finally, AAR-HCS had its five-year external review this month; we'll post a brief summary of the results online when we get them.

(Posted 11/27/2006 by Nathan)

last updated 2 years ago # fine print   nathan rein 2006

This afternoon I finished setting up the [listserv]] (hosted by [Ursinus College, my gracious employer) and sent out an email to 180 or so people inviting them to join. Only about fifteen of the emails bounced back. Looks like about a dozen people immediately visited the website. So far, though, only one has actually responded to my message. We'll see how it goes over.

Yesterday I puzzled out how to upload a paper to a filehosting site and then how to link to it from the upcoming meetings page. Other than that, I haven't added much else to the website. Our unit is up for it's five-yearly review this fall and I've mainly been working on that.

(Posted 10/9/2006 by Nathan)

last updated 2 years ago # fine print   nathan rein 2006

Just launched the site yesterday. It's still quite incomplete. So far, I've posted the following information:

• An "about us" page that includes a 200-word overview of our work and a list of personnel;
• a schedule of papers for the D.C. meeting;
• a form for contacting us; and
• a page with our mission statement and brief history (taken from a past self-study).

Please let me know if you see anything that needs changing or want to see something added. Thanks!

(Posted 8/31/2006 by Nathan)

last updated 3 years ago # fine print   nathan rein 2006