2023 Global Virtual Meeting
Launching for the first time in 2023, SBL is planning a
brand new Global Virtual Meeting. As a meeting designed from the ground up for
a virtual environment, it can offer experiences, opportunities, mentoring
possibilities, presentation formats, and accessibility that are not possible in
an in-person meeting. This means emphasizing the possibilities of both live and
asynchronous participation, as well as exploring new modes of participation
that differ from those of past SBL meetings.
There will be many details updated here as the plans for
this new meeting progress. Be sure to continue to check this page for update.
For now, a timeline of major planning events and a description of how you can
start planning for proposals is available below.
Timeline:
September–October 2022: Open call for sessions and papers
December 2022: Notification of accepted proposals
January 2023: Schedule release
Mid-February 2023: Deadline to upload pre-conference
materials (video presentations, papers, handouts, etc.)
Late March 2023: Live sessions
April–May 2023: Post-conference availability of recordings and documents to
conference registrants
Types of Proposals for Presentations
Although the call will not open until September 2022, it is
not too early to be thinking about proposals you want to make. The
proposal structure for the Global Virtual Meeting will be different from
other SBL meetings. Proposals will be accepted for individual presentations or
pre-planned sessions. The Global Virtual Meeting will not have program
units for its inaugural meeting. Instead, proposers can select from some
predefined tracks that will be used to organize accepted proposals. A key principle for all proposals and presentations in this meeting is that presenters will be able to use a variety of tools to connect with attendees and showcase their work. In addition to live presentation times in session, the virtual platform with provide opportunities to utilize pre-recorded videos, upload presentations materials, and share full-text papers. The goal is not to create a standard presentation type for the meeting but to provide a variety of experiences and modes of presentation that enable creative academic exchange.
Individual proposals can be on any topic related to
biblical studies. For the Global Virtual Meeting, these presentations will look different. Rather than a roughly 25 minute lecture being read for the first time during a presentation,
individual proposals will work with the model of poster presentations. For the
proposal, you will still need only to send in an abstract and an optional,
longer proposal description. If accepted, you should plan on being ready to upload a digital poster, a presentation document, and/or a presentation video of 15 minutes or less with your formal presentation in February. You
can also upload full-text papers, etc. During the live session, you
can briefly summarize your work, but the bulk of the time should be devoted to
questions and discussion.
Pre-planned sessions are your chance to design a full
virtual session from the ground up. Proposals should include a list of the
participants and detailed description of the plans for the session. Preference
will be given to sessions that creatively explore the possibilities of digital
interaction, that actively include diverse groups of participants, and that
seek to bring in new voices to conversations.
Members will be limited to one individual proposal and one
pre-planned session proposal, and may be a formal participant (i.e., a participant listing on the program) in no more than one of each
type during the meeting.
Networking Sessions: In addition, the Global Virtual Meeting will present the
opportunity for networking sessions with opportunities for participants to
connect more informally. Details on how to apply to host a networking session will
be added in late 2022.