I've been somewhat of a procrastinator in getting my thoughts up about the CSBS, in part because Tyler did such an excellent job blogging each day of the conference. He started with an opening report, then continued with reports for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and finished up with some final thoughts. So, rather than duplicate his excellent work, I'll just offer a few quick observations:
First, I really enjoy the CSBS conference. It is more laid-back and yet still intellectually stimulating. There are an excellent group of OT/HB scholars that attend this conference and, interestingly, many of them share similar research interests in Persian Period Yehud. This makes the social aspect of the conference a lot of fun.
Second, in general, the papers were interesting and, more than in previous years, many were funny too, including David Hawkin's Presidential Address.
Third, Paula Fredriksen's Craigie Lecture reminded me why I prefer OT/HB to NT; I just find the OT/HB a whole lot more intriguing. That said, I'm sure NT scholars greatly enjoyed her excellent presentation and I thought she was especially interesting, not to mention displaying a sharp wit, when answering questions.
Fourth, one of the unofficial themes of this conference seemed to be anachronistic language. Paula Fredriksen suggested several ideas/words that needed to be "retired"; John Van Seters suggested the same for the OT concept of a redactor. The charge of anachronism also came up in other papers too. Finally, one of my good friends at the conference suggested in exasperation, "Perhaps we should just stop doing scholarship in English because that's anachronistic. No English back then!" Touche!
Fifth, I'm proud to announce that the CSBS Executive approved my proposal for a three-year seminar on historiography. I'm very much looking forward to this addition to the conference's schedule. An official website will be going up soon!
Thoughts on CSBS Annual Meeting, 2005
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