2014 Annual Meetings, San Diego - Archived Web Content

The following content was originally published under the main Annual Meeting section of the AAR website during 2014 for the AAR/SBL Annual Meetings in San Diego:
2014 Registration and Housing
2014 Hotel and Local Transportation Information
2014 Dates and Deadlines
2014 Workshops
2014 Accessibility Information

2014 Registration and Housing

All rates expire at 11:59 pm Eastern Time, except the Regular Rate, which expires at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.

*Student rates are available to AAR and SBL student members only.
**Accompanying person rate is applicable only to spouses, partners, and family members. It is not valid for colleagues.

2014 Hotel and Local Transportation Information

After a long day of attending sessions at the Annual Meeting, it is good to have a haven to relax and recharge for the next day. AAR has negotiated special conference rates at fifteen luxurious and convenient hotels for the convenience of meeting attendees. Please note that you can only get the special conference rate by booking through the AAR. Hotel room rates do not include the average of 12.5% percent hotel room tax. The single/double/triple/quadruple room designation denotes the number of room occupants, not the number of beds. A triple room means three people are sharing two double beds unless a rollaway bed is requested at an extra charge.

Hotel reservations are available from November 19 through November 26. Registration and the exhibit hall will be held in the San Diego Convention Center, and the Employment Center will be held in the Grand Hyatt. Sessions will be held in the Convention Center, as well as nearby hotels: Grand Hyatt, Hilton Bayfront, Marriott Marquis & Marina, and the Omni.

Hotel Locator Map and Rates
Hotel Amenities Chart

You must be registered to secure housing.

There will not be any hotel shuttles this year.

TRAVEL DISCOUNTS

American, United, and Delta Airlines are the official carriers of the AAR & SBL Annual Meeting and Hertz is the preferred rental car supplier. For the benefit of our conference attendees, a discount is available and is valid a few days before and after the Annual Meeting ends, depending on carrier. To take advantage of these special discounted fares, you can call or make reservations directly through their respective websites listed below. Discounts do not apply to certain restricted fares and exclude sale fare inventories.

If you book through your own travel agency, be sure to give them the appropriate discount code above.

TRANSPORATION FROM SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (SAN)

Metro bus service is available to go downtown, but your hotel might not be along the direct route. Many passengers will have to walk up to a mile after riding the bus. Please refer to the Online Trip Planner for reference below and contact your hotel if you have any questions. 

Metro Bus
Public transit is available to and from the airport and downtown San Diego on the Metropolitan Transit System's Route 992, which stops at Terminals 1 and 2 and the Commuter Terminal. To find the bus stop, walk directly outside of your terminal by baggage claim and look for the bus sign. The bus operates between 5:00 a.m. and 11:30 p.m., every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends and holidays. A single ride is $2.25, and the bus service is wheelchair accessible.
 
Plan your trip by using the MTS Online Trip Planner. For more information on the Metropolitan Transit System, call 619-557-4555 or visit www.sdmts.com.

Taxis
If you need a taxi, simply follow the signs leading to the Transportation Plazas. A Transportation Coordinator will place you with the first available taxi—unless you specify a particular taxicab company. For cab service to the SAN Airport, one suggestion is Airport Yellow Cab of San Diego, which can be reached at 619-444-4444. An approximate fare to the Convention Center is $22.

Shared-Ride Vans
The AAR and SBL are partnering with Prime Time Shuttle this year.  Shared shuttle service is available 7:00 am–11:00 pm for arriving flights. Shuttle service for departing flights is available 24 hours a day. They are offering a discount price of $6 per one way trip. There are two ways to book Prime Time:

• Call 1-800-733-8267, hit 1 for reservations, and give the discount code 592216
• Go to http://primetimeshuttle.hudsonltd.net/res?USERIDENTRY=SBLAAR&LOGON=GO. You will most likely select Arrivals. On the next page, select the correct airport (note that it defaults to LAX) and input your flight information. Note that only AAR & SBL hotels are listed on this link.

PARKING AT THE SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER

The Convention Center is located at 111 W. Harbor Drive. On-site parking is available at the underground parking garage located below the building. Enter the parking garage on Harbor Drive between First Ave. and Fifth Ave. The daily rate is typically $15, although on special event days (within downtown San Diego) you will have to tell the parking attendant you are here for AAR & SBL to receive the $15 rate. Payment is due upon entry and there are no in and out privileges. No overnight parking is permitted.

SAN DIEGO TROLLEY

MTS’ San Diego Trolley is San Diego’s light rail transit network. Its three lines serve many popular areas and attractions, such as Downtown, the Convention Center, SDSU, Old Town, and the Mexican border. The Trolley does not stop at the Airport. However, the Trolley’s Blue and Orange Lines make convenient transfers with MTS Bus Route 992 at America Plaza station.

2014 Dates and Deadlines

2014 Workshops

Workshop Descriptions and Reservation Form  

THATCamp
The Humanities and Technology Camp
Friday, November 21, 9:00 am–5:00 pm

Chris Cantwell, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Presiding

The advent of digital technology and social media has not only transformed how today’s religious communities function, but also how scholars teach and research religion more broadly. If you are interested in how technology is changing—or can change—the work of religious studies scholars, then we invite you to attend the AAR’s second annual THATCamp! THATCamp stands for “The Humanities and Technology Camp,” and they exist to bring scholars and technologists of every skill level together to learn how to integrate digital technology into their teaching and research. THATCamps are unconferences, which means this learning and building occurs not through formal presentations but in hands-on workshops or sessions proposed on the spot by participants. Topics we will cover could include academic blogging, social media in the classroom, digital research methods, web-based class projects, online publishing, and countless others.

The cost for the workshop is $25, which includes the entire day of sessions and coffee. There will be time for lunch on your own. Registration is limited to the first 100 participants.

Religion and Media Workshop
The History and Materiality of Religious Circulations
Friday, November 21, 11:00 am–6:00 pm

Jenna Supp-Montgomerie, Quest University, Canada, Ann Burlein, Hofstra University, and Kathleen Foody, College of Charleston, Presiding

The Religion and Media Workshop, one of the most popular sessions at the AAR annually, is a day-long seminar designed to foster collaborative conversation at the cutting edge of the study of religion, media, and culture. In 2014 the Workshop will explore the history and materiality of religious circulations. 

Our topic will be religious circulations. What makes it possible for particular forms of religion to become popular? How do obstacles, such as secrecy, silence and censorship, block the circulation of religion (as compared to the role of gossip, scandal, and threat)? What are some good ways of thinking about networks? Most generally, how do media increase contact between diverse religious expressions, even enabling them to circulate globally, while obscuring, obstructing, or enhancing specific religious understandings?

The workshop will not be structured as traditional paper sessions, but rather as a master class in religious circulations, their possibilities and limits. Three to five readings will be circulated to participants before the event. Because of the nature of this year’s workshop, it is essential that all participants commit to doing the readings ahead of time and prepare to participate in seminar-style conversation. We invite you to join us for a master class on the possibilities and impossibilities of religious circulations.  

The cost for the workshop is $70, which includes lunch and the entire afternoon of sessions. Registration is limited to the first 75 participants.

Leadership Workshop
Best Practices in an Era of Contingent Labor:  A Workshop for Chairs of Religious Studies Programs and Departments
Friday, November 21, 12:00 pm–5:00 pm

Toddie Peters, Elon University, and Theodore Trost, University of Alabama, Presiding

According to the American Association of University Professors, more than half of all faculty members across the United States hold part- or full-time, non-tenure-track teaching positions. What can departments and institutions do to improve the working conditions of these contingent faculty colleagues? In plenaries, panels, and breakout sections, participants in this workshop will explore concrete ways for chairs and departments to help contingent faculty members thrive.  Contingent faculty members and experts who have studied the circumstances surrounding "contingent labor" will lead the workshop. A best practices document for contingent faculty drafted by the Academic Relations Committee will focus our discussions. 

The cost for the workshop is $75, which includes lunch and the entire afternoon of sessions. Registration is limited to the first 75 participants.

Participants will include:

Courtney Bender, Columbia University
Edward Curtis, Indiana University
Christine Gudorf, Florida International University
David Watt, Temple University

Rethinking Islamic Studies Workshop
Teaching Islamic Studies: Key Topics and Best Practices
Friday, November 21, 1:00 pm–5:00 pm

Danielle Widmann-Abraham, James Madison University and Omid Safi, University of North Carolina, Presiding

The 2014 Rethinking Islamic Studies workshop will continue to explore best practices for teaching undergraduates foundational topics in Islamic Studies. This year, we will look at conceptual and pedagogical strategies for teaching four topics: law, Shi’ism, ritual practice, and violence.

Our focus will be pedagogical, exploring the practical aspects involved in enhancing student learning and critical thinking regarding essential topics in the study of Islam. Our goal is to enhance the integration and mutual enrichment of Islamic Studies and the broader field of Religious Studies. Through both presentations and conversation, we will collectively explore such questions as: How can we help students grasp both the historical formation and contemporary practice of Islamic law? How do we situate the authority of law in terms of the various practices that characterize the lived religion of Islam? What resources does the broader field of Religious Studies offer in terms of thinking about law/jurisprudence as a comparative category that can enrich inquiry about Islam? In teaching about Shi’i traditions, how do we facilitate the exploration of distinct interpretive traditions of Islamic history and theology without reifying sectarian differences? How can we build students’ appreciation for the multiple effects of ritual performance, as it embodies tradition, forms ethical subjects, and structures temporal human life? Finally, violence remains one of the most crucial questions in religious studies inquiry. How do we shape classroom conversations about violence as an intellectual topic of profound ethical import? To put it another way, how can we orient analysis of violence in the past so that it contributes to reflexive analysis of violence in the present? What conceptual frames help students think critically about violence in relation to Islamic tradition and in terms of universal human phenomena? And as a corollary, what implicit parallel practices of nonviolence can we excavate for students in the humanities?

The format will consist of presentations by experienced instructors combined with interactive small group discussion. Our aim is to provide an opportunity for reflection on effective teaching and student-centered learning. The workshop is intended both for graduate students and professors of Islamic studies, as well as scholars from other fields in religious studies who are looking to incorporate Islamic materials in their courses. 

The cost of the workshop is $35, which includes the entire afternoon of sessions and a coffee break. Registration limited to the first 70 participants.

Religion and Ecology Workshop
Religious Environmentalism and Environmental Activism
Friday, November 21, 1:45 pm–5:00 pm

Roger S. Gottlieb, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Presiding

The Religion and Ecology Group invites you to examine the fusion of religion and politics in religious environmentalism. Many people of established faiths and of eclectic spirituality are engaged in environmental activism for explicitly religious or spiritual reasons. Simultaneously, many secular environmental organizations define themselves as seeking to protect the “sacredness of life.” What are the theoretical and practical implications of these hopeful connections? And should this fusion of religion and politics radically alter our understanding of each?

This workshop will offer:

• An overview of religious environmental activism and the spiritual dimensions of secular environmental groups.
• A theoretical framework to conceptualize types of political activism.
• Case studies of activist religious environmental activism; e.g., civil disobedience by religious leaders over Keystone XL, interfaith reforestation efforts in Southern Africa, indigenous resistance to fracking.
• A chance to join with thoughtful colleagues in examining questions such as:
  • Do progressive movements (for democracy, racial and gender equality, workers’ rights, etc.) hold significant lessons for religious environmentalists about political strategy, the role of leadership, and alliances with non-environmental and secular groups?
  • Can explicitly political organizations learn from the religious or spiritual stress on humility, compassion, and self-understanding?
  • Is significant environmental change possible in the face of capitalism or the bureaucratic state (e.g., China)?
  • As scholars are we like engineers studying metallic strengths aboard the Titanic or a Jewish historian studying anti-Semitism in 1938 Germany? How do we combine academic objectivity/professionalism with the fact that we are all affected by and contribute to the environmental crisis?
  • What are the possibilities for environmental activism in our own lives?

The cost for the workshop is $35, which includes the entire afternoon of sessions and a coffee break. Registration is limited to the first 100 participants.

2014 Accessibility Information

Getting Around San Diego

Primary Meeting Location

AAR and SBL sessions will be held in two locations—the San Diego Convention Center and the Hilton Bayfront. The Employment Center will be located in the Grand Hyatt. Additional meetings and receptions will be held in the Marriott Marquis & Marina and the Omni Hotel.

Distances within and between Buildings

The primary meeting hotels occupy just over a mile-long stretch along the San Diego Bay. The distances correspond with the map below, along East Harbor Drive.

Grand Hyatt (A) to Marriott Marquis & Marina (B) – 0.3 miles

Marriott Marquis & Marina (B) to the first door of the Convention Center (C) – 0.2 miles

The Convention Center is 0.36 miles long and 304 feet wide. (C) to (D)

The last door of the Convention Center (D) to the Hilton (E) – 0.2 miles

There are two ways to move to and from point (A) and point (E)—on the Boardwalk by the Bay or the sidewalk along West Harbor Drive. Both routes are wheelchair accessible, over flat terrain on a smooth concrete surface. The Boardwalk is a slightly longer distance, but offers a wider passage than the city sidewalk.

Attendees can enter the Convention Center via the multiple main entrances on West Harbor Drive, or from a side entrance near the Hilton Bayfront. There is NO entry to the Convention Center from the Boardwalk along the Bay. To get from the Marriott Marquis & Marina to the Convention Center on side (C), you must use West Harbor Drive. There is an accessible ramp on this side as well.

No Shuttle Service between the Convention Center and Other Hotels

Unlike previous years, there will NOT be AAR shuttles available to any conference attendee. 

Taxi Reimbursement

For attendees with mobility limitations, AAR will reimburse you for the cost of a private taxi or ride-share service to travel between official AAR meeting locations. To receive the reimbursement, please submit all receipts with a letter detailing the nature of your physical disability and the Annual Meeting locations that were inaccessible. Only travel between official Annual Meeting locations (i.e., hotels and convention center) will be covered. Questions may be directed to SShahrak@aarweb.org.

Wheelchair or Electric Scooter Rental

Attendees who wish to rent a wheelchair or electric scooter for use during the Annual Meeting are welcome to contact the following provider to arrange for service:

Alternative Mobility (http://alternativemobility.net/home.html) is offering attendees a special rate for the Annual Meeting. Please be sure to tell them that you are with the AAR & SBL. Manual wheelchairs are $75 for your entire visit and power chairs are $150. Alternative Mobility will deliver the wheelchair or scooter to your hotel the night before you arrive and will pick up the scooter from the front desk at your hotel once you depart. Please call Alternative Mobility at 619-427-2525 to make individual arrangements. They suggest that you make your reservation as soon as possible to ensure availability.

Annual Meeting Program Accessibility

ASL Interpreter Services

AAR provides interpreter services for attendees who request ASL interpretation in advance of the meeting. To request interpreter service, contact AAR at annualmeeting@aarweb.org no later than September 1 to ensure that AAR has sufficient time to arrange for appropriate interpreters. If members inform AAR about their anticipated attendance at particular sessions, AAR staff will coordinate with presenters and session presiders to secure advance copies of papers for interpreters.

Assisted Listening System

We can equip any room in the Convention Center or the Hilton Bayfront with an assisted listening system. AAR will provide receivers to attendees who request them in advance. If you would like to make use of this service, please email Soraya Shahrak at SShahrak@aarweb.org by November 14.

Assisted listening services will be available in Convention Center 26, which is designated for sessions sponsored by the Religion and Disability Studies Group and the Committee on the Status of People with Disabilities. Advance notice is needed to provide assistive listening device support in other convention center rooms. If you would like to use the system, please provide us with a schedule of sessions and their room numbers as soon as possible so that the technology can be set up in advance for the sessions.

Materials in Alternative Format

Attendees who need materials in alternative formats should contact the presenters directly. If you need contact information, please email annualmeeting@aarweb.org. If members inform AAR about their needs and their anticipated attendance at particular sessions, AAR staff will do their best to coordinate with presenters and session presiders to facilitate the availability of handouts or other session materials in alternative formats.

Accessibility for Presenters

The room format at AAR sessions commonly includes a podium with a microphone designed for standing presentations. Convention Center Room 20D has a riser for the head table. The rest of the head tables will be on the floor. Presenters who need an alternative format (such as a tabletop microphone or podium) or who anticipate a problem with the riser should contact annualmeeting@aarweb.org to arrange for appropriate presentation technology. 

Meeting Room Accessibility

All sessions at the AAR are accessible to attendees using wheelchairs. Meeting room chairs will be arranged to ensure two open spaces for attendees using wheelchairs.

Designated Room for Religion and Disability Studies Group Sessions

AAR has scheduled all sessions sponsored/cosponsored by the Religion and Disability Studies Group and the AAR Status of People with Disabilities in the Profession Committee in the same room at the Convention Center, #26.

Sighted Guide or Mobility Assistance

Attendees who need a sighted guide or other mobility assistance to navigate the annual meeting should email Soraya Shahrak at SShahrak@aarweb.org by November 14. 

Volunteer to Assist Your Colleagues

Are you able to devote a few hours of your time at the annual meeting to assist a colleague? Please contact Soraya Shahrak at SShahrak@aarweb.org if you are able to serve as a sighted guide or to provide mobility assistance during a portion of the meeting. 

Employment Center Accessibility

AAR is committed to maximizing accessibility for employers and job seekers who are making use of the Employment Center. AAR can arrange for a quiet booth, to minimize noise or distraction from adjacent booths, or may be able to arrange for a private interview room if space is available. If you need a quiet room or have other accessibility needs, please contact careers@aarsbl.org by October 27 so that we can adequately accommodate you.

Status of People with Disabilities in the Profession Committee

In 2013, AAR established a Committee on the Status of People with Disabilities in the Profession (PWD), which works to assure the full access of people with disabilities within the Academy and to advance their status within the profession. This year, the PWD Committee will sponsor two special topics forums:

• “Negotiating Disclosure” on Sunday 9–11:30 a.m. in Convention Center 26, cosponsored with the Status of LGBTIQ Persons in the Profession Committee and the Status of Women in the Profession Committee
• “Invisible Disabilities and Hidden Illnesses in the Academy: Fostering Cultures of Accessibility” on Monday 9–11:30 a.m., cosponsored with the Theological Education Committee

The committee will also host a luncheon, “Connecting Conversations,” on Monday 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. in Convention Center 6C, immediately after the session on "Invisible Disabilities and Hidden Illnesses." Registration for the lunch costs $13 and is limited to 100 people. Advanced registration is required and can be done while you are registering online. If you have already completed registration, contact reg@aarweb.org.

Additional Information about Accessibility in San Diego

City of San Diego Accessible Travel Guide, including information on accessible tours, beach wheelchairs, accessible performing arts, and accessible shopping:
http://www.sandiego.org/plan-your-trip/travel-guides/accessible-traveling.aspx

San Diego International Airport:  
http://www.san.org/sdia/passenger_services/accessibility.aspx

Metropolitan Transit System:
http://www.sdmts.com/MTS/accessibility.asp