In the “news you probably haven’t heard yet” department, I was recently nominated to serve on the board of the North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature (NASSCAL, website, Twitter) as the “Independent Scholars Representative.” I happily accepted and have since been confirmed to the position. The appointment runs through 2023.

The NASSCAL board created the position because they wanted the interests of independent scholars represented within the society. As an independent scholar, I’m thrilled the board acted in this way to support the work of independent scholars in the area of Christian Apocrypha.

But this all causes me, the person to directly represent these interests to the society, to wonder what your specific interests and needs of a professional academic society like NASSCAL might be.

So I’m asking: Do you consider yourself an independent scholar? Do you research or work in Christian Apocrypha or an adjacent area? I would enjoy talking with you further, particularly if you have insight, direction, or requests for ways in which NASSCAL can support independent scholars working in the area of Christian Apocrypha. You can comment here or use the blog contact form to reach me. I’m happy to email, chat by video over Zoom or Meet, or whatever else might work.

About NASSCAL

The North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature is a scholarly organization 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.

The society is currently involved in two projects: e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha (a comprehensive database featuring manuscript listings and bibliographical resources for each apocryphal text) and Early Christian Apocrypha (a series of pocket-size texts-in-translation published in conjunction with the Westar Texts and Translation Series).

(Taken from nasscal.com and slightly modified)