Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins (1963-), learned society
The Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins (PSCO), founded in 1963 by Robert A. Kraft and John H.P. Reumann, is a colloquium on the origins and development of early Christianity, promoted by the University of Pennsylvania.
Overview
"The PSCO is a colloquium on the origins and development of early Christianity. The seminar has met about five times per year since its inception on October 8, 1963, when 16 teachers of biblical and early church studies from the Philadelphia area gathered at the University of Pennsylvania at the invitation of Robert A. Kraft (University of Pennsylvania) and John H.P. Reumann (Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia).
Sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, its active membership includes teachers and research scholars in the study of early Judaism and early Christianity from a variety of institutions of higher learning in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. The usual format of the seminar is a presentation of up to an hour in length by an invited speaker followed by extensive discussion with members of the seminar."--from the PSCO website.
PSCO Meetings
1 (1963-1964)
The Greek Old Testament in the Early Christian World
Chairs: R. Kraft and J. Reumann (J.T. Townsend, secretary)
2 (1964-1965)
Gnosticism
Chairs: R. Kraft and J. Reumann (J. T. Townsend, secretary)
3 (1965-1966)
Gospel Tradition in the Second Century
Chairs: R. Kraft and S. Benko (P. M. Peterson, secretary)
4 (1966-1967)
"Orthodoxy" and "Heresy" in Early Christianity
Chairs: R. Kraft and J. Reumann (E. Magalis, secretary)
- See the English edition of W. Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971).
5 (1967-1968)
Jewish Christianity (apart from Paul)
Chairs: R. F. Evans and D. Hay (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
6 (1968-1969)
The Political, Social, & Economic Setting of Early Christianity
Chairs: S. Benko and J.J. O'Rourke (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
- These studies are collected in Benko and O'Rourke, eds., The Catacombs and the Colosseum (Valley Forge: Judson, 1971), also published as Early Church History (London: Oliphants, 1972).
7 (1969-1970)
Apocalyptic Thought in Early Christianity
Chairs: S. Laeuchli and J.T. Townsend (R.V. Hotchkiss and P. G. Maurer, secretaries)
8 (1970-1971)
Jewish-Christian Relations
Chairs: D. Hay and S. Isenberg (R.V. Hotchkiss and P.G. Maurer, secretaries)
9 (1971-1972)
Melito of Sardis and his Paschal Homily
Chairs: R.F. Evans and D.F. Winslow (R.V. Hotchkiss and P.G. Maurer, secretaries)
10 (1972-1973)
Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John
Chairs: Howard Kee and Elaine Pagels (R. V. Hotchkiss and P. G. Maurer, secretaries)
11 (1973-1974)
Creation: Images Old and New
Chairs: P. Henry and D. Winslow (R. V. Hotchkiss and P. G. Maurer, secretaries)
12 (1974-1975)
Early Christianity in North Africa
Chairs: S. Laeuchli and D. Efroymson (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
13 (1975-1976)
Current Approaches to Christian Origins
Chairs: Robert Kraft and Ross Kraemer (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
14 (1976-1977)
Magic: The Phenomenon and the Issue in the Graeco-Roman World
Chairs: David Efroymson and Howard Kee (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
15 (1977-1978)
Heavenly Ascent in Graeco-Roman Piety
Chairs: Ross Kraemer and John G. Gager (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
16 (1978-1979)
Ancient School Activity in Alexandria and Rome
Chairs: W. Adler and R. Kraft (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
17 (1979-1980)
Philo of Alexandria in Relation to Ancient "School Tradition"
Chairs: John Gager and M. Himmelfarb (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
18 (1980-1981)
Marcel Simon's Verus Israel
Chairs: D. Efroymson and J. C. White (R. V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
19 (1981-1982)
Verus Israel (continued)
Chairs: David Efroymson (R.V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
20 (1982-1983)
The Nag Hammadi Library and Gnosticism
Chair: Anne McGuire (W. Adler, asst.; R.V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
21 (1983-1984)
Syrian Christianity up to the Fourth Century
Chair: William Adler (R.V. Hotchkiss, secretary)
22 (1984-1985)
Origen Against Kelsos (Celsus)
Chair: David Efroymson (Theodore Bergren, assistant)
23 (1985-1986)
The Mani Codex and Manichaeism
Chairs: J. Gager & Martha Himmelfarb (J. Pastis, asst.; David Utz, secretary)
24 (1986-1987)
Evidence for Diaspora Judaism Outside Egypt
Chair: Ross S. Kraemer (Jacqueline Pastis, asst.; David Utz, secretary)
25 (1987-1988)
Principalities and Powers: Demons and Angels in the World of Late Antiquity
Chair: Martha Himmelfarb (David Frankfurter, program coordinator; David Utz, secretary)
26 (1988-1989)
Translation and Interpretation in the World of Late Antiquity
Chair: Benjamin G. Wright III (David Utz, secretary)
27 (1989-1990)
Rethinking Social Description of Jewish and Christian Communities in Late Antiquity
Chairs: Howard Kee & Ross Kraemer (David Rech, secretary)
28 (1990-1991)
Christian Transmission of Jewish Pseudepigrapha
Chairs: Robert A. Kraft & Benjamin G. Wright (David Rech, secretary)
29 (1991-1992)
Aseneth Texts and Traditions
Chairs: Robert A. Kraft & Ross Kraemer (David Rech, secretary)
30 (1991-1992)
Adversus Judaeos Literature in Context
Chairs: David Efroymson & Jacqueline Pastis (M. Grossman, secretary)
31 (1993-1994)
Origins and Early Development of the Synagogue
Chairs: Lynn Cohick and Howard Kee (M. Grossman, secretary)
- Revised versions of these presentations (with additional articles) are collected in Evolution of the Synagogue: Problems and Progress, edited by Howard Clark Kee and Lynn Cohick (Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1999).
32 (1994-1995)
Ethnicity, Identity, and Alterity in Early Judaism and Early Christianity
Chairs: Ross Kraemer and David Sandmel (Allen Kerkeslager, secretary)
33 (1995-1996)
Current Research on the Historical Jesus
Chairs: David Efroymson and John Reumann (Brad Kirkegaard and Beth Pollard, secretaries)
34 (1996-1997)
The Apocryphal Acts
Chairs: Jon Marshall and Leigh Gibson (Brad Kirkegaard and Beth Pollard, secretaries)
35 (1997-1998)
Textual Commentary as Social Practice
Chairs: Jay C. Treat and Megan Williams (Brad Kirkegaard and Beth Pollard, secretaries)
36 (1998-1999)
Religious Identities in Asia Minor in the First through the Fourth Centuries CE
Chairs: Susan Marks and Beth Ann Pollard
37 (1999-2000)
Ethnicity, Regionalism and Religious Developments in Late Antique Egypt
Chairs: Kirsti Copeland and Ra'anan Abusch
38 (2000-2001)
The Wild Wild West: Religious and Societal Transformations on the North African Frontier
Chairs: William Gruen and Shira Lander
39 (2001-2002)
On Location: How Do Martyrdoms Take Place?
Chair: Sigrid Peterson (T.J. Wellman, secretary)
40 (2002-2003)
Parabiblical Literature
Chairs: Robert Kraft and Annette Reed (T.J. Wellman and Todd C. Krulak, recording secretaries)
41 (2003-2004)
"Parabiblical Prosopography (in the footsteps of Lost Apocrypha by M. R. James)"
Chairs: Robert Kraft (Harry Tolley and T. J. Wellman, recording secretaries)
42 (2004-2005)
"The Impact of Astrological (and Related) Traditions on Early Jewish and Christian Perspective"
Chairs: Todd C. Krulak and Sarah Schwarz (Harry Tolley, recording secretary)
43 (2005-2006)
Redescribing the Holy Man: Theoretical Frameworks and Specific Applications
Chairs: T.J. Wellman and Harry Tolley (Douglas Finkbeiner, recording secretary)
44 (2006-2007)
Re-thinking History, Theory, and Texts: New Theoretical and Methodological Endeavors
Chairs: Debra Bucher and Sarah Schwarz (Douglas Finkbeiner, recording secretary)
45 (2007-2008)
Tracing the Patterns, (Un/Re-)Weaving the Threads
Chairs: Annette Yoshiko Reed and Robert A. Kraft (Harry Tolley, recording secretary)
46 (2008-2009)
Food, Self, and Community: Tradition and Transformation in Jewish and Christian Eating
Chairs: Moriah Hazani and Virginia Wayland (Tammie Wanta, recording secretary)
47 (2009-2010)
Revealing the Divine: From Greco-Roman Palestine to the Persian Empire
Chairs: Sevile Mannickarottu, Tammie Wanta, & Virginia Wayland
48 (2010-2011)
Beyond Scare Quotes: Rethinking Words and Things in the Study of Ancient “Judaism” and “Christianity”
Chairs: Phillip Fackler and Phillip Webster
49 (2011-2012)
Memory and Forgetting
Chairs: Christine Luckritz Marquis, Phil Webster, and Todd Berzon
50 (2012-2013)
"PSCO at Fifty: Christian Origins in Retrospect and Prospect"
Annette Yoshiko Reed and Robert Alan Kraft
51 (2013-2014)
"Rethinking Josephus’ Antiquities"
Alex Ramos, Jae Han, and Jacob Feeley
52 (2014-2015)
"Formative Figures and Paths Not Taken: The Study of Ancient Judaism and Christianity between History and Historiography"
Annette Yoshiko Reed, Matthew Chalmers, and Natalie Dohrmann
53 (2015-2016)
Beyond “Greco-Roman Context”: Persian & Other Perspectives on Judaism & Christianity
Jae Han and James Shackelford