Innovation: 2026 Emerging Scholars Conference
An international event for postdoctoral scholars and graduate students.
Call for Papers
Innovation: 2026 Emerging Scholarship Conference
November 19–20, 2026 | Denver, Colorado, and Online
The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) invites proposals for the fourth annual Innovation: Emerging Scholarship Conference, an international hybrid event for Ph.D. candidates and postdoctoral scholars. Held online and in Denver, Colorado, the conference provides emerging scholars with a collegial setting in which to present innovative research, receive substantive feedback, and develop their ideas through sustained scholarly discussion.
The conference will begin at 10:00 am MT on Thursday, November 19, and conclude at 12:00 pm MT on Friday, November 20. Meals and refreshments throughout the conference, as well as housing for the night of November 19, will be provided for in-person participants.
Rather than following a conventional presentation format, the conference is designed to foster sustained conversation about emerging research. Participants will read the submitted papers in advance, allowing each session to focus on the papers’ arguments, methods, implications, and potential for further development. Each two-hour session will feature four emerging scholars and two senior scholar respondents. Following brief, five-minute introductions from each presenter and respondent, the remainder of the session will be devoted to extended discussion among all participants. Those accepted to the conference are expected to attend and participate actively in every session of the event.
The conference welcomes proposals from doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers working in biblical studies and related fields, including Tanakh and LXX, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran studies, New Testament and early Christianity, Rabbinic literature, or other related areas of ancient Judaism and Christianity. Scholars from all backgrounds are welcome to attend the conference and participate in its discussions.
Proposals of 250–500 words must be submitted by September 28, 2026. Applicants will be notified of acceptance by October 9, 2026. Completed papers, not exceeding 6,000 words including notes, must be submitted by November 9, 2026 so that participants have sufficient time to read them before the conference. Applicants do not need to be CBA members to apply or present.
Selected papers may be invited for publication in the conference proceedings, extending the conversation and making this emerging research available to a wider scholarly audience.
For registration information and instructions for submitting proposals and papers, please contact the organizing committee through Dr. Joshua Scott, Conference Secretary, at (events@cba-site.org).
Registration Options
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Registration Options
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Price |
|---|---|
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Registration In-Person
Registration Ends 11/18/26 at 8:00 AM MST
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$20.00 |
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Registration - Virtual Participation
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$20.00 |
Agenda
| November 19 | |
| 9:00 AM - 9:10 AM | Welcome and Opening Remarks |
| 9:10 AM - 10:40 AM |
Session I: Narrative and Character in the Hebrew Bible
Kimberly Dickson — What Does Hannah Mean for the Community of Israel?: 1 Samuel 1–3 Matty (Matthew) Weber — Jonah Dies Hard: Reading Jonah 2 Sarcastically |
| 10:40 AM - 11:00 AM | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
Session II: Poetry, Prophecy, and Theological Imagination
Emily Otto — My Case is Passed Over by My God: A New Rhetorical Analysis of Isaiah 40–48 Peter Shaffo — Rehoboam vs. Jeroboam in Chronicles: A Narrative-Character Analysis Fr. Pencer Xavier R. — Father, Rock, and Inheritance: The Convergence of Divine Security Metaphors in the Psalms |
| 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Lunch |
| 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM |
Session III: Scripture across Texts, Traditions, and Communities
Jiihn Ahn — Characteristics of the Spirit and the Remnant Plant Imagery in Qumran and the NT Gill Le Fevre — Reassessing the Authenticity and Intertextual Influences of “Hippolytus, Interpreter of the Targums” Wildan Muhammad — From Psalter to Tafsīr: al-Biqāʿī and the Circulation of an Arabic Septuagintal Psalter |
| 4:00 PM - 4:20 PM | Coffee Break |
| 4:20 PM - 5:30 PM | Round Table: "Beyond the Paper: Developing Arguments, Methods, and Research Agendas" |
| 5:30 PM - 6:45 PM | Dinner |
| 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
Plenary Panel: "The Scholarship Behind the Scholarship: Archives in a Digital Age"
CBA is pleased to welcome presentations from Todd Hanneken, Esther Brownsmith, and Angela Zautcke for this public-facing panel discussion on Archives in the Digital Age. Registered participants of the Emerging Scholars Conference will automatically be registered for this Zoom webinar. A separate Zoom registration is required for non-Emerging Scholars Conference Registrants: https://tinyurl.com/bdddcdcf |
| November 20 | |
| 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM |
Session IV: Spirit, Ethics, and Social Identity in the New Testament
Justin Ahn — Reading Acts Filled with the Spirit: Reading Acts’ Visions in Light of Spirit Possession T. Emmanuel Engulu — From Imitation to Liberation: Ephesians 4:32–5:2, Apophatic Restraint, and the Black Christ Wilson S. Adaikalasamy — The Politics of Visibility at the Dinner Party: A Dalit Revisiting of Luke 7:36–50 |
| 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM | Programmatic Session and Closing: "Building a Scholarly Life: Research, Publication, and Intellectual Community" |
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