Perkins and GPRS Scholars Presenting at AAR–SBL 2025

The following list highlights Perkins School of Theology and Graduate Program in Religious Studies (GPRS) faculty, students, and alumni participating in the 2025 Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) in Boston, MA.

Please note: session times, rooms, and participants are subject to change. For the most current schedule and updates, visit the AAR–SBL Annual Meeting website.

Friday, November 21

Session ID: M21-108 | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM | Sheraton, Gardner (Third Floor)

• Theme: Individuals and Institutions: Intersections of Gender, Culture and Historiography
• Presenter: Emily Nelms Chastain
  Paper: Institutional Gatekeeping and Gendered Agency: How American Methodist Women Navigated Ecclesial Patriarchy, 1880–1980

Session ID: P21-205 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Hilton Back Bay, Belvidere A (Second Floor)

• Theme: Relational Forms
• Panelist: Isaiah Ellis, Southern Methodist University

Saturday, November 22

Session ID: S22-121 | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Sheraton, Huntington (Third Floor)

• Theme: Non-Hollywood Film and the Bible
• Presiding: Robert Kranz, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: P22-115 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Marriott Copley Place, Arlington (Third Floor)

• Theme: Niebuhr, Nations, and Nationalism
• Panelist: Dallas Gingles, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: S22-144 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Hynes Convention Center, 104 (Plaza Level)

• Theme: The Synoptic Gospels and Greco-Roman Phenomena/Practices
• Presiding: Abraham Smith, Perkins School of Theology, SMU

Session ID: A22-213 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Sheraton, The Fens (Fifth Floor)

• Theme: Liturgy, Song, and Theology
• Panelist: Fernando Berwig Silva, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: A22-324 | 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Marriott Copley Place, Fairfield (Third Floor)

• Theme: Governance, Infrastructure, and Urban Activism
• Respondent: Isaiah Ellis, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: S22-340 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hynes Convention Center, 109 (Plaza Level)

• Theme: The Bible, Poverty, and the Minoritized Peoples
• Presenter: Kenna Curry, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: S22-311 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Marriott Copley Place, Harvard (Third Floor)

• Theme: Foundations for Critical Carceral Studies and the Bible
• Presenter: Abraham Smith, Perkins School of Theology, SMU

Sunday, November 23

Session ID: A23-234 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Sheraton, Liberty C (Second Floor)

• Theme: Teaching Tactics
• Presenter: Marie Olson Purcell, Southern Methodist University
  Paper: Adapting the Fishbowl Discussion: Reducing the Hot Seat, Elevating Content, Including More Voices
  • Theme: Book of Samuel: Narrative, Theology, and Interpretation

Session ID: S23-109 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Marriott Copley Place, Vermont (Fifth Floor)

• Theme: Methodological Considerations for Commentary Writing on 1 Samuel: A Conceptual Feminist Proposal
• Presenter: Susanne Scholz, Perkins School of Theology, SMU

Monday, November 24

Session ID: S24-105 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Sheraton, Huntington (Third Floor)

• Theme: Biblical Characters in Film
• Presenter: Robert Kranz, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: S24-127 | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Hynes Convention Center, 109 (Plaza Level)

• Theme: Bible in America
• Presiding: Mark Chancey, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: A24-215 | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Hynes Convention Center, Room 105 (Plaza Level)

• Theme: Evangelical Inerrancy: From the Bible to Politics
• Presiding: JT Martin, Southern Methodist University
  Presenter: Michaela Calahan, Southern Methodist University
  Respondent: Susanne Scholz, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: M24-200 | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM | Hilton Back Bay, Belvidere A (Second Floor)

• Theme: Open Topics in Transreligious Exploration
• Presenter: Ruben L. F. Habito, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: S24-225 | 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Hynes Convention Center, 102 (Plaza Level)

• Theme: Ritual in the Biblical World
• Presenter: Silas Vermilya, Southern Methodist University

Session ID: S24-203 | 2:40 PM – 3:05 PM | Marriott Copley Place, Vermont (Fourth Floor)

• Theme: Conflicts and Identity Discourse in the Book of Twelve Prophets
• Presenter: JinRi Kim, Perkins School of Theology, SMU