Critical thinking conference

The 38th critical thinking conference will be held in California in July 2018

In a previous blog I already spoke about the venue and format of the next conference on critical thinking in July 2018 in the USA. The early bird registration is still open. 

Dr Linda Elder reminded us in a recent e mail about the crucial importance of the ability to really think about issues and the perceptions regarding technology: "We are reminded daily that there are many pressing problems facing humans. One of these is that technological advancement has given rise to the pedestrian belief that technology is the answer to all human ills. Technology seems now to be something akin to a holy grail we humans collectively worship, without entirely knowing why. For many, technology is treated as the whole, or nearly the whole, of human life. Digital reality has replaced actual reality, so that humans now frequently have difficulty differentiating the two. In the meantime, we are losing sense of family, of community, of connection to one another as human beings and sentient creatures. This can only lead us away from the principles embodied in fair-minded critical societies.

At this point in history, technology is treated in much the same way as early science and math were treated by the majority of Greek intellectuals more than 2,400 years ago - as the most important subjects to study for the advancement of human civilization. But neither math, nor science, nor any individual field or sub-specialty can be the whole of human thought or life. Each of these is merely a part of human experience. And it is clear that we do not always benefit from technological inventions and "improvements."

A rich conception of critical reasoning has seemingly little room in today's conversations; people are too buried in their cell phones (or other technology) to notice. The open exploration of ideas is not something most people feel comfortable with, because they have little experience with it."

She then conclude that the foundation of critical thinking is dedicated to advance human thought and understanding.  This conference is an opportunity to develop this crucial skill and is open to all levels of the community and academic world. 

SBL conference in Denver for theologians

The sun is setting and we are on our way to the next academic conference with SAA

The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), in partnership with the American Academy of Religion (AAR), will co-host their 2018 annual conference from 17 to 20 November in Denver, Colorado, USA. This huge conference, large exhibition of books and other resources and gathering of theologians on global scale is not to be missed. The call for papers is open until the end of June and the large selection of topics make this a conference that will spark the interest of all theologians and lay enthusiasts.  

The three main segments of this conference are sections, seminars and consultations. The Sections category offers more than one hundred topics to link papers for presentation. Seminars have limited membership and papers are discussed, not read. The seminars are structured around twenty pre-defined topics and projects. Consultations are exploratory program units focused on new areas of interest. The five current focus areas that are, according to the SBL, ‘new’ are: Animal studies and the Bible; Biblical exegesis from Eastern Orthodox perspectives; the book of Samuel: narrative, theology and interpretation; Racism, pedagogy and Biblical studies and the Historical Paul. Just wondering are these really 'new'?

The SBL as a society that is devoted to the critical investigation of the Bible was established in 1880. The AAR is a society and association of teachers and research scholars that has about 9000 members. 

The conference fee is $200 and the venue is not yet announced. Both associations have options on their web pages to keep you updated and informed, if needed. 

Unfortunately I cannot speak from personal experience as this is one of the conferences that is always on my wish-list but the date at the end of November is again during the exam marking time for our universities in South Africa, but a large number of my colleagues do manage to go annually and they say that this conference in definitely not to be missed.