Jonathan Z. Smith on his Lifetime of Learning

Professor Jonathan Z. Smith (d. December 30, 2017) delivered the plenary address at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, “Reading Religion: A Life in Scholarship” (October 31, 2010). The lecture is available on YouTube.

I am far from insensible to the honor, interest and – yes – forbearance you have extended me by your invitation to speak with you on this occasion, under the general rubric of a lifetime of learning address. I take some comfort from the implication of the first element in that assignment, that the chief criterion for your selection is a measure of longevity.

The lecture begins at 7:00.

In addition, J.Z. Smith’s  presidential address at the 2008 Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, “Religion and Bible” is available on the SBL website:

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The Bible in Contemporary English Politics

From Sheffield Biblical Studies, three lectures by James Crossley:

The following three audios (mp3) are full length lectures are from the William Temple Association lecture series (Jan./Feb. 2014)

Lecture 1: The Bible in Contemporary English Politics; or, Tony Benn and the decline of the Radical Bible. This looks at the assumptions of what the Bible ‘really means’ in English (and broader) political discourse and the decline of politically radical interpretation of the Bible in English politics with particular reference to Tony Benn.

Lecture 2: Margaret Thatcher’s Religion. This is, incidentally, a bit different from a previous lecture on Thatcher’s Bible, though with some overlap towards the end (on her biblical exegesis). It looks at Thatcher’s Methodist upbringing, her ‘rediscovery’ of Methodism in the 1970s, the Cold War and her understanding of Marxism in to religion, her understanding of Judaism, her conflicts with the CofE, and her biblical exegesis.

Lecture 3: Tony Blair and the End of the Radical Bible. This lecture looks at how Blair developed Thatcher’s Bible and her understanding of religion during the war on terror. It will further look at Blair’s reinterpretation of Labour’s more radical heritage to now concern liberal interventionism. Blair represents the final victory of Thatcher’s Bible in parliamentary politics.

Biblical Studies and the Modern Invention of “Religion”: AAR Roundtable

A roundtable at the 2011 American Academy of Religion Conference discusses the disciplinary genealogies of Biblical Studies and the modern category of Religion.

A19-314 Biblical Studies and the Modern Invention of “Religion” from American Academy of Religion on Vimeo.

Saturday, November 19, 2011
American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting
San Francisco, California

Panelists:
Elizabeth A. Clark, Duke University
Karen L. King, Harvard University
Suzanne Marchand, Louisiana State University
Halvor Moxnes, University of Oslo
Brent Nongbri, Oberlin College
Yvonne Sherwood, University of Glasgow

Tomoko Masuzawa, University of Michigan, Presiding

Daniel Boyarin: “No ‘Judaism’ in Josephus”

Prof Daniel Boyarin examines the uses and limitations of the term “Judaism”, with reference to Josephus.

The Fern & ManFred Steinfeld Program in Judaic Studies presented a 20th anniversary lecture by Daniel Boyarin, Professor of Talmudic Culture and Herman P. & Sophia Taubman Chair, University of California at Berkeley called “No ‘Judaism’ in Josephus.” The lecture was given on October 24, 2013 in the McClung Museum Auditorium.