Baylor to Host Symposium on Psalms May 18-20

Scholars from around the world, including renowned theologian Walter Brueggemann, will gather at Baylor University this week to discuss the Book of Psalms. The symposium, which is sponsored by Baylor's department of religion, will run from Thursday, May 18, to Saturday, May 20, at various locations on campus.
The symposium will begin with a dinner and lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center. Dr. Adele Berlin, the Robert H. Smith Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Maryland, will discuss Psalm 114.
On Friday, the conference sessions will take place in the Piper Great Hall at George W. Truett Theological Seminary beginning at 9 a.m. The morning session will feature Carleen Mandolfo speaking on "A Generic Renegade: A Dialogic Reading of Job and Lament Psalms" and William P. Brown discussing "The Psalms and 'I': The Dialogical Self and the Psalmist."
After a lunch break, the symposium will resume at 1 p.m. with talks by W. Dennis Tucker Jr., who will discuss "Exitus, Reditus, and Moral Formation in Psalm 90," J. Clinton McCann, who will lecture "On Reading the Psalms as Christian Scripture: Psalms 11-12 as an Illustrative Case," and Susan Gillingham discussing "Psalm 8 Through the Looking Glass: Exploring the Reception-History of Psalmody through a Multi-Faceted Psalm."
Saturday's sessions will feature two internationally renowned religion scholars. Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary, will focus on "Psalms as Subversive Practice of Dialogue," while Erhard Gerstenberger, retired professor of Old Testament at Marburg University in Germany, will discuss "The Psalms: Genres and Life Situations."
A prolific author, Brueggemann's recent publications include The Book That Breathes New Life: Scriptural Authority And Biblical Theology and Worship In Ancient Israel: An Essential Guide. Gerstenberger, who retired in October 1997, is the author of Psalms, Part 1 (Ps 1 - 60) with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry and Psalms, Part 2 (Ps 61 - 150) with Lamentations, both in the Forms of the Old Testament Literature series.
Both lectures, along with a discussion on "Reading from the Beginning (Again): The Shape of Book I of the Psalter" given by religion department chairman William Bellinger, will take place in the afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Building.
During the morning session beginning at 9 a.m. at Cashion, Peter Flint will talk on "The Book of Psalms and the Dead Sea Scrolls" and Joel S. Burnett will lecture on "The Elohistic Psalter as Psalm Collection."
For more information, call (254) 710-6309.