Best way to spend a summer:

For my fellow Duke MAs who might be considering a course over the summer to acquire or ameliorate your language skills, I would like to point out some programs that are offered to us here.

Newest Student Group on Campus

The day has finally arrived. After three months of waiting around in the shadows, Duke's Graduate & Professional Student Council (GPSC - pronounced "gypsy") announced the approval of a new student group for us religion geeks: The Society for the Study of Religion at Duke (SASRD). This group is particularly designed for the MA student of the Department of Religion to increase interaction between the first and second year MAs as well as provide logistical and -- hopefully -- some financial support for those of us who must pay out of pocket for tuition and still have to find ways to travel and participate in annual regional and national academic conferences. Future plans of the group are to host an end of term colloquium where certain students can present rough draft summaries of their term papers for feedback and to share their learning with fellow MAs, as well as hosting an informal Q&A with the next year's incoming students to help organize travel plans for the joint AAR and SBL conference in San Francisco in the fall. Any comments or suggestions for the group and its role in serving the students, the department and the university are welcome and appreciated.

Inaugural Post

Well, here I am. I've been thinking of starting up one of these blogs and I seem to have finally caught the fever. For some six months or so I have been visiting and reading numerous "biblioblogs" -- as the blogs of biblical scholars and students are often called -- and felt that I should try my hand at it at the start of this new year.

I am not a professional scholar, only a graduate student who dreams of one day entering the guild as an expert on the NT. I intend this endeavor to serve three purposes: One, to connect with other scholars and students who share my enthusiasm for the study of the biblical texts and their history. Two, to expose myself to the wide range of voices and opinions that are out there in the blogosphere. And three, to share my journey and experiences with friends who are interested in what goes on behind the walls of academia. I hope this is an enjoyable and profitable experience for myself as well as for those who are kind enough to drop by and take the time to read the stuff I write. All questions or comments are welcome and appreciated. If you want, you can zap me an email at charles.schmidt@duke.edu.

Some additional information that might be pertinent for those who do not know who I am. I am a first year MA student in the Department of Religion at Duke University studying the NT and Christian Origins. This term I am taking courses on the Synoptic Gospels (with a strong focus on the Synoptic Problem) taught by Mark Goodacre, Attic Greek II taught by Peter Burian -- both at Duke -- as well as Methods and Problems in the Study of the NT with Bart Ehrman at UNC-CH. It looks to be a busy, but very exciting semester. I greet it with open arms and an open mind.