WARNING: This is being updated today (Feb 25, 2010)

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SPRING ISSUE: FEBRUARY 2010

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Regional Meeting
May 7 - 9, 2010
University of Victoria
Victoria, BC, Canada

The 2010 Regional Meeting of the Pacific Northwest AAR/SBL and ASOR is a bit more than two months away! In this newsletter you will find important information about the meeting. We look forward to seeing you in Victoria!

Photo request

We would like to use a photo of First Nation totem poles in Thunderbird Park in Victoria for the cover of the program pamphlet. If you have an appropriate photo not governed by copyright, please send it to Doug (dougm@willamette.edu).

University of Victoria: Victoria, BC – Our Host Institution

The University of Victoria, one of Canada's leading universities, is widely recognized for leadership in research, inspired teaching and community engagement. UVic provides innovative programs and real-life learning experiences in a diverse and welcoming West Coast environment and ranks consistently among the top comprehensive universities in Canada.

The University of Victoria celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2003, having received degree-granting status in 1963. The origins of UVic, however, can be traced back to 1903 and the establishment of Victoria College, the university's predecessor institution.

The University has a student enrollment (2008/09) of 19,432 (including 2,593 graduate students); 70% of undergraduates come from outside Greater Victoria. There are 4,679 employees, including 850 faculty, 716 sessional instructors, 822 specialist/instructional staff, 39 librarians, and 2,252 administrative, professional, research and support staff.

University of Victoria: Centre for Studies in Religion and Society

The Centre for Studies in Religion and Society is an interdisciplinary research centre located at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia. Its mission is to foster the scholarly study of religion in relation to any and all aspects of society and culture, both contemporary and historical. Since its formation in 1991, the CSRS has established itself as a leading centre in Canada for research at the intersection of religion and public policy. It has been especially engaged in policy research related to the environment, health care, science and technology, ethics, ethnicity, globalization, and religious culture in Canada. The CSRS hosts several national public policy research networks; sponsors graduate student, faculty and sabbatical fellowships; and produces a dynamic annual program of public lectures and seminars. For more information, especially if you are interested in a Visiting Fellowship, please see the website:

http://www.csrs.uvic.ca/

Future Meetings

• 2011 : Eastern Washington University (Spokane Campus)
• If you and your institution would be willing to host a regional meeting, please contact DougMcGaughey, Executive Secretary; dougm@willamette.edu. Thank you!

If you and your institution would be willing to host a regional meeting, please contact Doug McGaughey, Executive Secretary; dougm@willamette.edu. Thank you!

Registration: Deadline: Monday, April 26, 2010, at 12:00 noon

Registration will be on-line again this year. Your gateway to registration for the meeting is:

http://www.aarweb.org/Jump/Reg/PN

While the host for this system is the American Academy of Religion in Atlanta, all participants (AAR, SBL, ASOR members and nonmembers) can use the system. On-line registration is now available and will be operative until midnight of April 15th. Pre-registering will allow you to purchase meal tickets for the luncheon and banquet on Saturday. You will also be able to register (by CHECK OR CASH - no credit cards) on-site at PLU. There will be no meal tickets for the luncheon and banquet available on site - only by pre-registration.

Important Note: Once you have registered, you should receive confirmation of your registration by email. If you register and do NOT receive a confirmation email, please notify Doug immediately!

If you are not able to use the on-line system to register, please contact Doug: (dougm@willamette.edu).

Program

The preliminary program is available on-line under the Program tab on this website (here, or within the program listing itself (here).

Program Highlights

Linda Schearing from Gonzaga University will be delivering our annual Presidential Plenary address on Friday evening, May 7th. Join us after dinner to hear our esteemed president and meeting host!

Our Banquet Speaker this year (Saturday evening, May 8th) will be Ted Peters from the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary at the GTU in Berkeley.

Housing

The conference center at UVic is opening for its summer season with our conference. Attendees will not be able to arrive before Friday, May 7th. However, if you wish to stay longer than Sunday, May 9th, you may at our conference room rates. Housing registration is available on-campus at UVic by going to the following website:

http://housing.uvic.ca/visitor/visitoraccom.php

Go to the bottom of the page to "Dormitory or Cluster Rooms" and click "click here" in order to make your reservation! Those staying in Dorm rooms will receive a breakfast voucher redeemable for a hot breakfast in Cadboro Commons dining room from 7am - 10am each morning. The Cadboro Commons dining room is open for cash sales from 7am to 7pm each day.

There are also small food outlets available around campus for cash sales.

http://www.hfcs.uvic.ca/food/outlets.php

Check the housing registration website for links to the Tourist Bureau in Victoria!

Meals

Reservations for Saturday lunch (the annual business meeting) and Saturday banquet are to be made and paid for on the pre-registration site for the meeting. No meal tickets for these two meals will be available on site.

REGION'S AUTHORS' BOOK DISPLAY TABLE

We have a table reserved in the Book Display area for the region's authors to place their works on display. Encourage your publisher to rent a table, as well.

Any suggestions for publishers who might welcome an invitation to display at our meeting are warmly received. Contact: Ardy Bass (bassa@gonzaga.edu)

BREAKFAST WITH REGION AUTHORS:

We have a limited number of tables reserved in an extra room for breakfast Sunday morning for region authors to host a discussion of their work with interested persons. Tables will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis.

Procedure for the breakfast:

One will take one's tray from the dining room in Cadboro Commons into the authors' table room. Meal costs are covered by room registration or by the individual wishing to have breakfast over the discussion. You are welcome to participate even if you don't wish to have breakfast.

Authors should provide the following to Doug (dougm@willamette.edu) ASAP: Name of author, book title, publisher, and a one-paragraph abstract of the book that one proposes to be discussed.

Snail Mail and Email Addresses

The region does not keep its own list of snail mail and email addresses. We obtain them from our respective national offices. If you or someone you know is a member of AAR, SBL, and/or ASOR but do/does not receive notices by snail mail or email from the region that is because your/her/his addresses are not up-to-date in the respective national office. Please, forward this email on to them and have them contact the organization to make the appropriate corrections.

SBL REGIONAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM

SBL members presenting a paper at the meeting may wish to be considered for the Regional Scholars Program. To qualify as a candidate for this award, the applicant must be either ABD or no more than 4 years past receipt of the PhD. The applicant must present a paper at the SBL regional meeting, and then submit the paper and a complete CV (both in electronic and hard copy) to the Regional Coordinator after the meeting. Applicants should inform the Regional Coordinator prior to the meeting that he or she intends to apply for the award. If selected as a winner by the National Society's Regional Scholar Award Selection Committee, the winner receives $1000 in support of attendance at the Annual SBL Meeting, and will be honored at the Regional Scholars Dinner at the Annual Meeting. The winner is also strongly encouraged to submit a proposal to the Annual Meeting in the year following his or her selection.

For more information, contact: Ardy Bass (bassa@gonzaga.edu)

Pacific NW Region 2010 Call for Papers University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia

The Call for Papers and Electronic Submission of Paper Proposals are found at the following urls http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/Regions/Pacific_Northwest/call.asp Electronic Paper Proposal Submissions: http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/Regions/Pacific_Northwest/Call/default.asp Although these urls are provided for us by the AAR in Atlanta, you do not have to be a member of the AAR to access these pages. Call for Nominations and Volunteers: The work of our region is done entirely by volunteers, and I am particularly grateful for all of the work done on the part of the Program Unit Chairs, the Student Paper Competition Committee, the SBL al Scholars Regional Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Executive Committee! We have a constant need, however, for new faces and new ideas. If you know of someone whom you would like to nominate or if you yourself would like to be considered for service in the region, we would be delighted! For the Executive Committee (e.g., this year we will be electing a new Vice-President from our SBL membership), please contact Priscilla Pope-Levinson ( Sorry, but a Javascript-enabled browser is required to email me. ) SBL Regional Scholar Program SBL members presenting a paper at the meeting may wish to be considered for the Regional Scholars Program. To qualify as a candidate for this award, the applicant must be either ABD or no more than 4 years past receipt of the PhD. The applicant must present a paper at the SBL regional meeting, and then submit the paper and a complete CV (both in electronic and hard copy) to the Regional Coordinator after the meeting. Applicants should inform the Regional Coordinator prior to the meeting that he or she intends to apply for the award. If selected as a winner by the National Society's Regional Scholar Award Selection Committee, the winner receives $1000 in support of attendance at the Annual SBL Meeting, and will be honored at the Regional Scholars Dinner at the Annual Meeting. The winner is also strongly encouraged to submit a proposal to the Annual Meeting in the year following his or her selection. For more information, contact: Ardy Bass PNW SBL Regional Coordinator 502 E Boone Ave Religious Studies Gonzaga University AD Box 57 Spokane, WA 99258 (509)313-6785 2010 STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION AAR/SBL AND ASOR Awards for Outstanding Student Papers in the Field of Religious Studies: (2) $100 awards for winning graduate papers (2) $100 awards (1st Place) and (2) $50 awards (2nd place) for winning undergraduate papers Submissions must meet the following criteria to be considered: no more than 5,000 words (including footnotes) for undergraduate papers no more than 7,000 words (including footnotes) for graduate papers in 12 point font and double spaced formatted according to either JAAR or JBL guidelines free of clerical or grammatical errors Submissions should include: one paper copy one electronic version in standard word processing format, without author information. Submit author information in a separate file. a brief letter of support from a Pacific Northwest Region AAR, SBL, or ASOR faculty member; name, social security number/social insurance number, educational institution, graduate or undergraduate status Submit by March 15, 2010 to: Dr. Robert Hauck Religious Studies Department, AD 57 Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 99258-0057 E-mail: Awards will be announced at the Pacific Northwest AAR/SBL and ASOR Regional Meeting, University of Victoria, May 7-9, 2010. Students need not be present to win. - TOP