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The AAR's inaugural Online June Sessions of the Annual Meetings will be held on June 25, 26, and 27, 2024. The online meeting will be held within the EventPilot mobile app, with Zoom integration. More information on that soon!

This is the most up-to-date schedule for the 2024 online June sessions of the AAR Annual Meetings. If you have questions about the program, contact annualmeeting@aarweb.org. All times are listed in Eastern Time.


	AO27-501 Mahabharata and Classical Hinduism Seminar Theme: Heaven and Earth in Mahābhārata Interpretations Thursday, 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM (June Online Meeting) Online June Session Arti Dhand, University of Toronto, Presiding The three papers to be discussed in the online meeting of our Seminar consider in various ways the interactions of divine and earthly realities in the _Mahābhārata_. The text presents a divine plan for intervention in earthly struggles, a theme of enduring interest in later texts; might it have been patterned on Greek literary antecedents? The _MBh_ also orients the audience to the setting of that struggle by describing the land in both geographical and cosmological dimensions. All three papers share themes of the interconnectedness of heavenly and earthly realms in the _Mahābhārata_. Adam Bowles, University of Queensland Before the Gītā: Battlefield, bhūmi, and and the cosmographs of the Mahābhārata Abstract Prior to the Bhagavadgītāparvan (6.14–40) in the Mahābhārata’s book 6 (Bhīṣmaparvan), which itself contains the BhG proper (6.23–40), there are two sections referred to as the Jambūkhaṇḍavinirmāṇaparvan (6.1–11), the 'book on the measuring out of the continent of the rose-apple tree' and the Bhūmiparvan (6.12–13), the ‘book of the earth'. Much of the scholarly attention on these parvans has been concerned with matters of source criticism of the so-called “cosmographical episode” from Mbh 6.6 to 6.13, which bridges the two sections (e.g., Hilgenberg 1934; Belvalkar 1939, 1947). In this paper I propose to consider both these parvans within the context of their narration, especially as a preamble to the war (and the intervening episode of the BhG), where they work to develop and anticipate the human, earthly, and cosmological consequences of the battle, and emphasise the land over which the battle will be fought. Christopher Austin, Dalhousie University The aṃśāvataraṇa Intervention: from the Ādiparvan to Kṣemendra Abstract The Mahābhārata's Ādiparvan description of the descent of the gods (aṃśāvataraṇa, MBh 1.58-61) is retold in the Harivaṃśa (HV 40-45), which expands significantly upon the epic's plan of and rationale for divine intervention. The first task of this paper is to underscore how and why the Harivaṃśa modifies and amplifies the Mahābhārata aṃśāvataraṇa. Secondly, however, I treat a number of sources which refine the aṃśāvataraṇa intervention account. Some of these have been treated already by Paul Hacker (e.g. the Rāmopākhyāna within the Mahābhārata, MBh 3.258-260 and Brahma Purāṇa 180-181). My chief focus, however, will be the Bhāratamañjarī of Kṣemendra (ca. 11th century), whose handling and retelling of the original Ādiparvan and Harivaṃśa materials may help to attest the impact of the Harivaṃśa on the popular reception and understanding of the epic story itself. Roberto Morales-Harley, Universidad de Costa Rica The Unburdening of the Earth: The Greek Structure of the Mahābhārata Abstract This paper focuses on the motif of the Unburdening of the Earth by reviewing five relevant passages structured as a form of Ringkomposition: MBh. 1.58.3 – 59.6 narrated by Vaiśaṃpāyana, MBh. 1.189 narrated by Vyāsa, MBh. 2.33.10–20 narrated by Nārada, MBh. 11.8.20–38 again narrated by Vyāsa, and MBh. 18.5.7–25 again narrated by Vaiśaṃpāyana. Then, those texts are compared with five Greek passages dealing with the same motif: Iliad 1.1-5, Iliad 2.1-6, Iliad 12.3-33, Odyssey 8.71-82, and Cypria fr. 1. Against more accepted explanations like Folk origin or Indo-European origin, and after dealing with the main methodological problems that such proposal would entail, the paper argues for a Greco-Indian origin (understood as a Greek influence in India) of the motif, along the lines of Wulff Alonso (2008, 2014, 2019a, 2019b, 2020).
	AO27-503 Martin Luther and Global Lutheran Traditions Unit Theme: History, Society, and Practice: New Perspectives on Global Lutheran Traditions Thursday, 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM (June Online Meeting) Online June Session Marit Trelstad, Pacific Lutheran University, Presiding This papers session for the June Online Meeting focuses on recent and emergent scholarship. From baptismal practices under transformation in Scandinavia to new perspectives on comparative theology and indigeneity, from deep histories of colonialism to the urgent challenges of responding to White Christian Nationalism, the papers in this session point to cutting-edge questions and offer new directions for scholarship on Global Lutheranisms and society. Harald Hegstad, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society Steinunn Arnþrúður Björnsdóttir, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland Baptism in times of change: Exploring new patterns of baptismal theologies and practices in Nordic Lutheran churches Abstract In the Nordic countries, most infants have traditionally been baptized in the Lutheran majority churches. For the last decades the percentage of infants baptized has showed a steady decline. In a joint research project, the five Nordic folk churches have studied reasons for this development and analyzed the churches’ responses. A forthcoming book is the result of this project and looks at empirical research, churches' responses, liturgy, and theology, focusing on themes such as Lutheran theology, ecumenical and interfaith issues, and ecology. The book is the result of a two years' research process and with its combination of empirical data (quantitative and qualitative), and practical and systematic theology it is a valuable contribution to theological discussion. Laura Gifford, Fortress Press The Freedom of a Christian Education: Oregon Lutherans, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Compulsory Education Bill of 1922 Abstract World War I brought significant challenges for American Lutherans who had remained closely connected to German or Scandinavian language and cultural practices. While politicians proclaimed a “return to normalcy” following the war, white nativists seized upon post-war anxiety about immigration and radicalism. The state of Oregon became a hotbed of the Ku Klux Klan. Voters approved a “compulsory education” bill in 1922 requiring all children aged 8-16 to attend public schools. As northern European Protestants, Lutherans could opt to blend into the “100 percent American” mainstream. However, rather than acceding, the Lutheran Schools Committee organized in opposition. Despite the discrimination they had faced during WWI, freedom to pursue Lutheran education for their children overrode any desire to conform. This project illustrates how Lutherans negotiated ever-present tensions between assimilation and distinctiveness during the 1920s—a story with grave relevance for people of faith grappling, theologically and strategically, with Christian nationalism today. Steven Rizzo, Harvard University Luther and Las Casas: Coloniality, Theology, and the Concept of the Human Abstract This paper proposes to examine the theologies of two theological contemporaries, Martin Luther (1483-1546) and Bartolomé de Las Casas (1484-1566), in order to explore possibilities for foregrounding colonial discourses as transcending denominations and therefore constituting broader intra-European theological concerns. Such a conversation reveals similar concerns regarding the theological and political status of non-Christians, the rhetorical and political strategies for projects of conversion and catechesis, and shared conceptions of the human more generally. This paper seeks to contribute a fuller understanding to the extent to which Protestant reformers such as Luther, despite their apparent historical remove from projects of colonialism, might have contributed to the broader epistemological, political, and indeed, theological conditions for Protestant coloniality in the 17th century and later. Sigríður Guðmarsdóttir, University of Iceland Ground, Singularity, Relation: Thatamanil, Indigenous Storytelling and the Hidden people of Iceland Abstract In Icelandic folklore, cliffs and stones are inhabited by invisible people called álfar, or huldufólk (e. the hidden people).These narratives have many things in common to the cultural heritage of Norse and Sámi religious traditions, and share resemblance to Celtic folklore. However, each tradition is also unique to time, context and place. In the book Circling the Elephant: A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity (2020), John J. Thatamanil proposes trinitarian formulations of God as ground, singularity and relation for a theology of religious diversity. For Thatamanil, the trinitarian connects function both to connect the dwelling and otherness of the divine life to itself and to creation. The paper uses narrative insights from Indigenous perspectives as well as scholarship of Norse and Sámi folklore and literature to ponder the question what the stories of álfar can contribute to ecological theology of ground, singularity and relation, and vice versa.
	AO27-502 Regions Committee Theme: Regions Committee Meeting and Info Session Thursday, 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM (June Online Meeting) Online June Session Matthew Vaughan, Columbia University, Presiding Join the Regions Committee leadership to explore how you can get involved with your Region of the AAR.
	AO27-500 Status of LGBTIQ Persons in the Profession Committee Theme: LGBTIQ+ Status Committee Meeting Thursday, 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM (June Online Meeting) Online June Session Melissa M. Wilcox, University of California, Riverside, Presiding This is the online summer meeting of the LGBTIQ+ Status Committee. AAR members interested in bringing a concern to the committee should reach out to the committee chair, Melissa Wilcox, at melissa.wilcox@ucr.edu. Anyone interested in learning more about the LGBTIQ+ Status Committee, or any of the AAR Status Committees, should plan to attend the status committee roundtable and the subsequent committee chat rooms during the June meeting. Panelists Jessica Vazquez Torres, Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training Eziaku Nwokocha, University of Miami Teresa Smallwood, United Lutheran Seminary Daniel Ballon-Garst, Emory University Siobhan Kelly, Harvard University
	AO27-504 American Academy of Religion Theme: AAR Inaugural Online Annual Meeting Closing Session Thursday, 6:15 PM - 6:45 PM (June Online Meeting) Online June Session Claudia Schippert, American Academy of Religion, Presiding Amy Defibaugh, American Academy of Religion, Presiding Join the American Academy of Religion to close out our Online June Sessions of the Annual Meeting. Celebrate with us and give us feedback on your experiences of the online meeting. Find out ways to engage with the AAR, join leadership positions, and participate in our year-round programming.