The English Department at The Ohio State University will host an international conference in 2011 on the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James (or Authorized) Version of the Bible. Held in Columbus, Ohio from May 5-7, 2011, the conference will focus on the making of the KJV in the context of Reformation Bible translation and printing as well as on the KJV's long literary and cultural influence from Milton and Bunyan to Faulkner, Woolf, and Toni Morrison. Events will include plenary lectures and discussions, scholarly panels, and readings by contemporary writers. An accompanying exhibit will be mounted by the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.

Unlike traditional conference panels in which each participant delivers his or her entire paper at the conference, these seminars will focus on guided roundtable discussions of the issues raised in a group of 8-12 position papers. To that end, participants must submit materials well in advance of the conference, so seminar leaders can read them, formulate discussion questions, and circulate the papers and questions to participants. Individual seminar leaders will determine more precise schedules and seminar requirements, once enrollments have been reviewed and approved.

Possible seminar topics include (but are not limited to) the Bible and particular authors/works (Milton, Melville, Morrison, et al), the Bible and periods or genres (e.g., Reformation, 19th century, 20th century, African-American Lit, American literature, postcolonial studies), the Bible and narrative/poetic style, biblical allusion, and the Bible in popular culture (film, graphic versions, music).
Please submit questions or project titles & statements of interest to kjvconference@osu.edu by July 1, 2010.

Contact: kjvconference@osu.edu, see also http://kingjamesbible.osu.edu.