Reflections on the Midwest Region of the SBL Meeting

By: Kristin E. Riegel
 
On Saturday, February 9, 2013, I traveled to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL for my first Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) meeting. In addition to it being my first SBL meeting, it was also my first time presenting a paper at an academic conference. The paper I wrote, "Queen Vashti and Issues of Power, Resistance, and Personal Agency in Esther 1:10-22," was one I developed in the Fall 2012 under the guidance of Dr. Kelly Whitcomb. The process of writing, revising and then writing and revising the paper again (and again) was one that was tedious, but also fun, as I saw my paper slowly take shape.

At the conference, I presented in the Gender, Sexuality, and Post-Modern Biblical Methodologies session. This section was interesting as many of the papers utilized critical theory, including post-modern and post-colonial theory, to approach, understand, and interpret biblical texts. Using these theories as lenses allowed for new and often liberative readings of texts to emerge. For my paper, I utilized an anthropological lens to examine Queen Vashti's actions in Esther 1. As my abstract states:

Through the lens of anthropological work on honor-shame societies, I examine Esther 1:10-22 and argue that Queen Vashti is a strong, countercultural female character, who by refusing to come at King Xerxes’ command, resists objectification, claims personal agency, and challenges the kingdom’s patriarchal honor-shame-based sociopolitical system. Queen Vashti as a character who disrupts, but is deposed by, power raises important questions about the intersection of the personal and political and the costs involved in challenging oppressive systems. A close literary analysis of the power dynamics in the text, with the aid of an honor-shame lens, sheds light on our understanding of Queen Vashti and challenges female readers to consider more closely the implications of their own acts of resistance as political.

After presenting my paper, there were questions from the audience. I appreciated this time as it allowed for dialogue with and between audience members. Many people shared their work on Esther and raised important questions, especially about the potential impact of this text on women and religious communities today. 

Preparing and presenting a paper at an academic conference was an encouraging experience and one that helped me in my discernment process about further study. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Kelly, to present this paper, and to hear about the work other scholars are doing in the field of biblical studies. I am also grateful to the student session for financially supporting my participation in this conference.