For now I will just quote the closing paragraph, and bask!
The digital revolution has altered the way people shop and interact. In this unique commentary, Bulkeley suggests that the revolution extends to the way people learn and that the organization of information ought to reflect that transformation. The field of biblical studies is in many ways a conservative endeavor. Scholars work with ancient and venerable things. This commentary, however, suggests that one need not work with them in ancient and venerable ways. With the rise of the internet, the landscape of learning is changing, and Bulkeley helps the reader explore the possibilities of this new terrain. With a vast array of sound files, photos, encyclopedic articles, and traditional commentary on verses, readers of various levels of training and expertise can browse the commentary and construct a rather different experience, based upon the links pursude or ignored. Because the internet permits learning to occur as controlled chaos, the person who searches on the webexercises a vaste amount of autonomy in the selection and utilisation of resources. Bulkeley's commentary puts the reader in a similar position.
Labels: amos, open.access.scholarship, open.biblical.studies, review
¶ 9:22 PM
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Congratulations for all that you are doing with the Hypertext Bible Tim, and the good review on Amos.
The fact that you are in an isolated refugee camp and was able to read the review adds another dimension to how the digital revolution must impact biblical studies and the theological world--by making these studies accessible to the sort of people you are teaching.
Keep staying in the forefront of this revolution of digital literature and distance education.
One day people will listen to you and it will set in motion an avalanche of interest and affirmation for all you are doing.
like this one Cornelius Reid — “That’s what kept him going.” It's a lovely, thought-provoking, post, but the short clip of Cornelius makes it come alive. Definitely a blog I'll subscribe to, who knows, one day I may comment, and one of my comments may help Ashton tweak some aspect of her ideas and so her book. Now that's a fine project: a worthwhile, valuable, interesting blog; where the comments and email correspondences that a blog attracts will assist the writer with her project, not only that but as the author explained to Ben in an email, it could even make commercial sense:
I also think i'll end up with a valuable platform for leveraging and disseminating my work over the long run — one that could radically revise conventional notions of shelf life. Cutting Loose, my book about women and divorce (HarperCollins, 1997) is still in print; imagine what sales would look like if it were at the hub of an ongoing social network, and what a rich site that would be?The early adopter in me, however, wonders - just a little - what the point of the print edition will be... especially in the light of all the rave reviews of Amazon's proprietary (lock you in to us as your supplier), pay as you go (even for "converting" your own PDFs), expensive (and not even available) Kindle over at Lifehacker ;)
Labels: age, audio, media, publish
¶ 5:43 PM
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I certainly perceive that the future will be a more open place, thanks to what is already happening online. I prefer to think, though, that we might achieve this alongside our 'professional thinkers' with academic tenure and, dare I suggest it, the ivory tower perspective. I question the extent to which ideas are currently 'closed', as I am free to examine others' ideas now - I just need to be careful not to pass them off as my own, or to misrepresent them.While I have much sympathy with what he says, I think also that it reflects a priviledged Western point of view. Ideas (in disciplines like education and theology - Nichthus' areas of professional interest currently) are open, because as he says "I am free to examine others' ideas now". What he does not say, but presumably assumes, is that this implies that I can either buy the book or journal in which these particular ideas are circulated, or have access to a library or online database (like EBSCO) from which I can access the material. In a Western academic context this is (more or less*1) true. Where I have been working recently access to these commercial databases is not available, even Colombo Theological Seminary, which has superb facilities and a good library compared to what is possible at KKBBSC. In such places the cost of a subscription even to a minimal Journal database is simply not affordable.
A scholar or student here is limited to those ideas which are available locally, or freely online - since both sites have Internet access. Any other idea, even when published in a Journal like JBL*2 which is very widely available is not "open" here! Ideas which must be bought are not "open" but restricted, access is determined by priviledge or wealth!
As long as most publication is in books and closed-access journals, Western education and scholarship is fundamentally something which is bought and sold, and not something which is "open". Theological (and educational) ideas are only "open" to the rich or priveledged, or if their author has chosen to publish them in an open journal!
1. It is more true in well-endowed institutions, like large public universities, or "rich" private colleges, it is less true in other places. Access to journal articles outside the "normal" theological disciplines is for example much less easy and quick for me now that I have access only to the Carey library resources, than it was last year when the University of Auckland library offered a much broader collection for my use. Even in the West many theological training institutions can not afford to offer the level of access that Carey does. [RETURN]
2. As an example of this a Google search for "Journal of Biblical Literature" leads directly to the JSTOR page - I no longer have access to JSTOR, so I can see the journal details, but not the article for which I was searching - it is NOT "open" to me. By contrast anyone with an Internet connection can read Philippe Guillaume, "The Unlikely Malachi-Jonah Sequence (4QXIIa), Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 7: Article 15 (2007) [RETURN]
Labels: open.access.scholarship
¶ 4:21 PM
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Hi Tim,
True, true, true! Let me dig deeper into my rationale. What concerns me in part is that 'open' does not reward effort in the same way that 'closed' does, nor does it have the same degree of filtering (peer review). I am still wrestling with what this means epistemologically, even anthropologically. For example, is 'free' valued? To a point, yes - beyond that, no. I'm not trying to suggest that we should somehow secretly guard knowledge to the point of elitism. I just wonder - aloud, as you've seen in the blog post - what we actually stand to lose by all of this openness. Also, in my post my issue was with maintaining the ivory tower "perspective". Abstract theory - which tends to result from the (metaphorical) ivory tower - is still an important element of scholarship, and it is my conviction that those who provide this theory should be rewarded for it. If this means an element of 'closedness', well, that's what I fear the trade-off might be. So, at the heart of it, I guess I see the potential for the disestablishment of the professional academic... a jump too far? I am yet to see any theory of open (Web 2.0-BASED) education that does not allay this concern. I am not yet convinced that 'openness' is disruptive to distribution but not to the professionalism of academia. Now, there's another interesting topic for discussion - why do we need to pay people like you? If we do, where will the funding come from? How will your ivory tower perspective - and I do not intend the term to be understood as devaluing academia, not at all - be reimbursed in this new economy?
;o)
By 
Nichthus, at
March 21, 2008 5:03 PM
Tim, do you know if there will be any SBL Biblioblogger gathering at the SBL international meeting in July?Oh, yes Stephen, there will, the hereby announced, but as yet undated (since it was your comment that reminded me of the need to get something organised ;) Great, First Ever?, SBL International Bloggerfest. International (and indeed national, of any and all nationalities) bloggers with an interest in academic study of the Bible and/or Theology in any other of its (subsidiary? ;) forms are invited to share a meal and chat. All you will have to do is get yourself to Auckland at the time of the International SBL meeting this July. If anyone has a suitable microphone system we'll also tag on a meeting of the International Society for Theological Podcasting (and related disciplines) and do a podcast... Minor details like exact date, and location (our house, or some suitable eating house in walking distance of the conference...) to follow. But please (and seriously, folks) book the concept, and once it is announced book the date too!
PS: If you plan to be in Auckland in July and are potentially interested, please indicate this in a comment below, and say if there are particularly bad or good times for you. This may help plan the event!
Labels: biblical.studies.online, blog, podcast, sbl
¶ 1:33 PM
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I will be at SBL Auckland - I am presenting a paper in the Psychological Hermeneutics of Biblical Themes and Texts uni, but have no idea when. Assuming the plane is on time, I land in Auckland 4.45 pm on Saturday, 5 July, so will be around on the morning of the day the conference starts. I am staying for a few days afterwards, but will be in South Auckland with my brother and sister-in-law.
By Judy Redman, at
March 17, 2008 9:39 PM
Um - that would be "unit", not "uni", but I will be there.
By Judy Redman, at
March 17, 2008 9:46 PM
I will be there for the entire conference - overseeing the BibleWorks booth along with conducting demos, etc. I am sure I could be free for something.
I blog because I am a n introvert who enjoys communicating with people. Put me in a room with more than one stranger, and unless I have a function to perform I'll be silent and sitting (or standing) in a corner trying to look inconspicuous. However, put me online with just a keyboard and screen in front of me and offer me the words, thoughts and ideas of loads of other interesting people and I'll first read avidly (c First Semester 2004) then timidly start to comment (c Second Semester 2004) when these comments are appreciated, and I begin to get a glimpse of the community (fragile and thin though it admittedly is) of bloggers and I'm hooked, I'll play with Blogger (for anyone starting today I recommend Wordpress - it is easier and more flexible, and who can resist 3GB of free space?), and start a blog (Jan 31st 2005). It's as simple as that.
I continue blogging because I enjoy meeting new people, as long as they can be kept for a while at least (I have enjoyed the SBL Biblioblogger get togethers when I have been able to get to "foreign parts" to be there) at a "safe" distance. I also continue because people read and seem to appreciate my words :) bliss for a writer.
I am not blogging here much at the start of 2008, not because I have lost my "call" to blog but because I am too busy travelling, and meeting new people in new places (see here and here for more info.).
Labels: blog, introversion
¶ 1:15 PM
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Hi Tim,
I've started a new blog over the Christmas break, so have basically stopped blogging at 'by-default'...
And yes, the reason is that I (like you) prefer the wordpress format...
See ya!
-d-
By 
fruitfulfaith, at
March 11, 2008 9:48 PM
Hi, Dale,
Thanks for the link to the new blog, you don't seem to have stopped, so much as moved, after subscribing I now have another ten new posts to read in Bloglines ;)
By Tim, at
March 12, 2008 12:35 AM
Tim, do you know if there will be any SBL Biblioblogger gathering at the SBL international meeting in July?
By Stephen G, at
March 14, 2008 10:22 PM
Dear Sir,
Thanks for dropping by to my blog. I am very honored you've given a comment for my post.
By 
Hans, at
March 17, 2008 8:53 AM
