December 10, 2010
A New Academic
“Academic” is one of those words that reminds us about the importance of
context. It can refer either to the scholarly profession or to a
trivial enterprise. So when the Society of Biblical Literature’s
annual meeting is described as an academic conference, I find myself at
a vocational fork in the road. “Which kind of academic am I going to
be?” Never had I felt the weight of this decision more than last May,
when I had learned I would present at the November 2010 meeting.
With the help of my mentor and 2010 SBL president Vincent L. Wimbush, I came to learn that...
