Iliff at the 2026 AAR/SBL Annual Meeting | Nov. 21–24
Iliff at the 2026 AAR/SBL Annual Meeting | Nov. 21–24
Iliff faculty and scholars will bring their work to the 2026 AAR/SBL Annual Meeting at the Colorado Convention Center, joining scholars from around the world in conversations shaping the future of religion, theology and public life.
Across papers, roundtables and special sessions, Iliff scholars will engage with questions in ecology, decolonization, emerging spiritualities, death and the Anthropocene, artificial intelligence, biblical scholarship, theological education and justice.
Presenters and participants (listed below) topics range from BlackAI and algorithmic disenfranchisement to mushroom churches, contemporary witchcraft, public biblical scholarship, Latina leadership and new approaches to teaching theology.
If you’re attending AAR/SBL in Denver, look for Iliff throughout the program—and join the conversations our faculty and scholars are helping move forward.
Papers:
- Amy Erickson: Ecology without Nature: Distributed Vitality and Ritual Mediation in the Priestly Tradition.
- Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi: Who Gets to Say They’re Decolonizing? Theological Education, Rhetorical Performance, and Abyssal Thinking
- Sho McClarence: Reclamation of the Witch: An Exploration of 21st Century Witchcraft
- Kimberly Melgoza: Neoshamanism: Mushroom Churches in the United States
- Josh Perez (co-author): Deferring or Denying Death: Upload, Black Mirror, and Mickey 17 as sites of Anthropocene Lament
- Philip Reed-Butler: Entering Black Time: Internal Galaxies, Self Knowledge x BlackAI
- Eric Smith: Public Biblical Scholarship in an Authoritarian Age
Roundtable:
- Philip Reed-Butler participating in Digital Hush Harbors: Black and Womanist Practical Theology in the Age of Artificial Intelligence An Experimental Multimodal Roundtable on Algorithmic Disenfranchisement, Digital Care, and Ecclesial Futures
- Boyung Lee and Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi participating in: Celebrating and Honoring the Work of Carrie Doehring
- Amy Erickson participating in: The Hot Hope Debate: Teaching the Bible with Beal’s Palliative Vision
- Kristina Lizardi-Hajbi presiding: Presente: Futuring Latina Scholarship, Teaching, and Leadership
AAR Special Event: Thinking Teaching: Strategies, Stories and Insight to Improve Teaching featuring Katherine Turpin and Boyung Lee.