RESEARCH TEAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS
A
Association pour l'Étude de la Littérature Apocryphe Chrétienne (AELAC). This research organization “founded in 1981, aims at the critical edition, translation and commentary of all pseudepigraphic or anonymous texts of Christian origin which have as their center of interest characters appearing in the biblical books, or which relate to events narrated or suggested by these books.”
B
Beyond Canon Collaborative Research Group (CRG). This research groupat the Universität Regensburg in Regensburg, Germany, “focus on literary traditions beyond the biblical canon, on their diverse, often material forms of expression and starting points in “lived” and “popular” religion, and on their underestimated significance in the ritual life of the churches. The concept of the “intellectual space of late antiquity” is thereby expanded in the sense of a discourse space that also includes things and practices. This interdisciplinary approach not only promises insights into the rather implicit mechanisms of religious communication and the making of theological knowledge, but it can also make an innovative contribution to general questions of canonical processes and alternative authorities as they are explored in cultural sciences and humanities.”
N
North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature (NASSCAL). This research organization is “dedicated to the study of the Christian Apocrypha, a vast assortment of texts that feature tales of Jesus, his family, and his immediate followers but, for various reasons, are not included in the New Testament. These texts were composed as early as the first century, and the creation of apocrypha continues even to today. The society was founded in 2014 with the goal of fostering collaboration between scholars in the field and cognate disciplines, both within North America and abroad. It welcomes participation from scholars at all stages of their careers, including graduate study.”
RESEARCH PROJECTS
A
Apocrypha Project. This research project of the Faculty of Theology at the university of Oslo in Oslo, Norway “operates with a broad definition of apocrypha as texts and traditions that develop or expand upon characters and events of the biblical storyworld, and employs a multi-methodological approach in analyzing them, combining Coptology, literary theory, media studies, cognitive science, and digital humanities.”
E
E-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha Database. This research project prepares and provides “a comprehensive bibliography of Christian Apocrypha research assembled and maintained by members of the North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature (NASSCAL).”
N
NASSCAL First Fridays Workshops. This “online workshop series is a forum for discussing new and in-progress work on apocryphal Christian texts. The workshop meets on the first Friday of every month during the North American Fall and Winter semesters (September, October, November, December, February, March, April, May).”