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LUNCHEON
MEETING with TALK Saturday, January 21, 2012 What Archaeology Can Tell Us About The Religion of Ancient Israel Presented by Steven Stark-Riemer Community
Adult Educator in Biblical Archaeology and Studies The primary purpose
of the writers and editors of the Hebrew Bible was not to tell history in the modern sense but to narrate what they thought should be the
orthodox or right relationship with their national
god. This brief look at the religion of Ancient Israel will provide a
glimpse not at what these priests and scribes thought their people should
have been doing, but what archaeology tells us they actually did. This will
be achieved by focusing upon the excavations —
mostly recent—of Israelite sacred spaces. The discussion will be very much about ordinary people in Ancient Israel, and their everyday religious lives, and not as much about the extraordinary few who wrote and edited the Hebrew Bible. Mostly, we will look at the practice of religion in Ancient Israel, and not at belief, much less theology. Though beliefs matter, archaeology is more at home with the things that past peoples made, used, and discarded or reused, and what these artifacts reveal about their behavior. Although archaeology is less at home speculating about what these people thought than what they were doing, by taking a modest, optimistic, functionalist approach, we may be able to venture a tentative conclusion or two about the ways Israelites worshipped their national god, and whether the Hebrew Bible presents a picture of Ancient Israel's religious reality or the advocacy for a theological ideal. Presenter. An attorney by profession, Steven Stark-Riemer studied anthropology and archaeology at the City College of New York. As an undergraduate, he conducted fieldwork in Israel at the Tell Gezer excavations under the direction of William G, Dever, today's preeminent American biblical archaeologist. Mr., Stark-Riemer graduated magna cum laude in 1972, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa and accepted into the Doctoral Program in Anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles on the strength of his senior thesis on the comparative origins of agriculture in the Nile, Indus, and Mekong River Valleys. Although he did not formally pursue this line of study, his interest in the archaeology, history, and religion of the Ancient Near East continues, and he is well read in these fields, and in biblical studies generally. Mr. Stark-Riemer has acquired a devoted following in his community adult education endeavors in the Capital District. He has taught courses on the archaeology, history and religion of Ancient Israel, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical authorship, and the anti-Semitism in the ancient world. Mr. Stark-Riemer and his wife live in Delmar, and are the parents of three grown children. 12:30 to 3:30 pm Century
House 997 New Loudon Road,
Latham NY |
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Upper Hudson Phi Beta Kappa Spring DINNER MEETING
Dr. John W.
Delano will speak on "NASA's search for life beyond the
Earth." Best Western Sovereign
Hotel 1228 Western Avenue,
Albany 5 pm bar / 5:30 pm dinner
/ 6:30 pm speaker |
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DINNER
MEETING with TALK Saturday, October 29, 2011 Understanding Pakistan
Pakistan appears to pursue policies, be they regarding Kashmir or
Afghanistan, blasphemy or education, which are to most Americans irrational
and contrary to the country's national interests. Professor Wright will
attempt to explain how these came about, why Americans find Pakistan so
unsympathetic compared to India and what the prospects are for bridging the
gap between the two. Presented by Dr. Theodore P. Wright, Jr. Professor
Emeritus Theodore P. Wright taught
graduate and undergraduate comparative politics, political development,
politics of South Asia and comparative ethnicity for 30 years. He has
published more than 80 journal articles on various aspects of Indian and
Pakistani politics. He is active in the Association for Asian Studies and
its regional affiliate, the New York conference on Asia; the annual
Wisconsin conference on South Asia; The European conference on Modern South
Asia; the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies; the South
Asian Muslim studies Association; and the Columbia University Faculty
seminar on South Asia. He is an officer of the Dutch settlers Society of
Albany and the New Netherlands Institute in Albany. Dinner at 5:30pm Program at 6:30pm Hilton Garden Inn -
Albany Airport 800 Albany Shaker Road Register by October 15,
2011 |
How to Join the Upper
Hudson ΦBK Association
Once you are initiated into Phi Beta Kappa—usually
in your senior year of college—you become a lifetime member of the Phi Beta
Kappa Society headquartered in
Membership in the national Phi Beta Kappa does not automatically enroll a person in a local Association.
About 60 local Associations across the nation
offer friendship and programs to members of Phi Beta Kappa and work to
support the aims of the society. Membership in the Upper Hudson Association
of Phi Beta Kappa is open to any person who was ever initiated into PBK.
Susan Plank (518-439-4028, plankdse@earthlink.net), Secretary of the Upper Hudson
Association would be pleased to welcome your membership. Annual dues of $35
support costs at our 3 dinner meetings, provide a modest stipend for our
speakers and cover office and mailing expenses.
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
UPPER
HUDSON ASSOCIATION OF PHI BETA KAPPA, 2010-2011
OFFICERS AND BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
President: Bob Schalit email
Vice President: Gloria Karin email
Secretary: Barbara Dennison email
Treasurer: Loretta
Parsons email
Past President: DeWitt Ellinwood email
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
Susan Plank email
Carolyn Darkangelo email
Malcolm
Sherman email
Advisor
to the Board
Frances
Allee email
The Upper
Hudson ΦBK
Scholarship Program: Process and
Guidelines
In January of 2012,
local high school guidance counselors will receive a letter similar to the
following:
For
over two hundred years, Phi Beta Kappa has championed outstanding academic
achievement and a liberal education.
The Upper Hudson Association of Phi Beta Kappa will be awarding our
twenty-first annual Scholarship. $750-stipends will be presented to
each of two 2012 high school graduates from the region planning to enter
college in the fall of 2012. We will
be grateful for your assistance in helping us do so.
I am enclosing a copy of our Scholarship Application Guidelines,
which should be given to high achieving students from your school. Application guidelines can also be found
on our web site at http://uhpbk.org.
We know that a $750 award will not
go far in meeting current tuition and living expenses at college. However, it is our hope that this stipend
will help defray some college costs, recognize outstanding academic
achievement in high school, and encourage future scholars of great promise from
the greater Capital District region.
We would appreciate it if you and the members of your faculty
would encourage worthy seniors to apply for this award. If you have questions, please feel free to
contact me via e-mail at reschalit@mindspring.com or via phone at (518)
346-7234.
Phi Beta Kappa has been dedicated
to nurturing scholarship and encouraging and recognizing high academic
achievement since its inception in 1776.
Thank you for your continued support of this important endeavor.
Completed
applications must be postmarked no later than March 5 2012.
Upper
Hudson ΦBK
Scholarship Winners for 2011
The
Upper Hudson Association of Phi Beta Kappa is pleased to announce the 2011
winners of its annual scholarships for senior high school students. They are Kelsey Roberts and Jason
Wan
Kelsey Roberts, a senior at Colonie
Central High School, considers her three-dimensional protein modeling project
for Science Olympiad one of the most significant intellectual adventures that
have inspired her. Through this experience, she developed a deep love for
science which she hopes to impart to others throughout her life. First in her
class of nearly 500 students and a National Merit finalist, Kelsey has taken
several AP courses plus courses at the college level at the University at
Albany, Hudson Valley Community College and the Rochester Institute of
Technology. Outside of class, she is active with her school’s theater program
and Family Players of NENY, president of the Art Club, and national and world
news editor of The Sandscript
student newspaper. Kelsey has
tutored students in math and science, and has participated in Moody’s Mega
Math Challenge. She has also volunteered for Proctor’s Theater, Colonie
Central’s Physical Education and Special Education departments, and the
Albany County Nursing Home.
Jason Wan is a senior at Bethlehem Central
whose enthusiasm for learning has driven him to accomplish many academic
feats including completing seven AP courses. His love of academics is rivaled
only by his love of filmmaking. Jason has studied filmmaking at SUNY Oswego’s
NYS Summer School of the Arts and filmmaking and graphic arts at Sage
College. He also studied Chinese language and culture at the Chinese
Community Center School in Albany for nine years. Jason has received numerous
academic awards including National Merit semi-finalist, AP Scholar with
Honor, and the Mayflower Compact Society Award for outstanding performance in
AP American History. He is president of the Student Senate, captain of the
Speech and Debate Club, president of Key Club, and editor of the Thinking Reed literary magazine. A
gifted musician, Jason is lead tenor sax of the Jazztic Measures band. He has
also volunteered for many community organizations including the Regional Food
Bank and American Cancer Society.
Phi Beta Kappa is considered the oldest honorary
academic society in the United States.
It was founded at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg,
Virginia in 1776. Its purpose is to
promote excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. Its distinctive emblem, a gold key, is
recognized as a symbol of academic achievement as no more than ten percent of
a college’s graduating class can be elected to a chapter. Union College’s chapter, founded in 1817,
is the fourth oldest in the country.
Regional associations, such as the Upper Hudson Association, are composed
of Phi Beta Kappa members who have graduated and who meet socially to encourage
scholarship and a lifelong love of learning in their local communities, while
providing support for the goals of the national organization.
Scholarship
Winners 2011
President
Robert Schalit and Kelsey Roberts
President Schalit with Jason Wan
Contributing to the Upper
Hudson ΦBK Scholarship
Fund
Donations to the Upper Hudson Phi Beta Kappa
Scholarship are most welcome from any source and are fully tax deductible.
Looking for unique birthday, or holiday gift? Looking for a donation to honor
the memory of a special educator? Donations may be sent to the Upper Hudson
PBK Treasurer (Loretta Parsons, 18 Majorca Lane, Clifton Park, NY 12065). A
letter will be sent to acknowledge the gift and your support for a liberal
education and outstanding scholarship.
History of the Upper
Hudson Association of ΦBK
Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest Greek letter
organization in the
At the initiative of the Alpha of New York Chapter
at
As early as 1920 the Upper Hudson Association had undertaken a scholarship program aimed at encouraging high academic achievement in local schools, and by 1922 had spearheaded a New York State Association of Phi Beta Kappa that tried to reach all the secondary schools of the state. Indeed, the success of this activity provided incentive and model for the National Phi Beta Kappa Society to promote similar programs nationwide. The original scholarship program was an unfortunate casualty of the Great Depression. Our present scholarship program was undertaken in the 1991-1992 academic year by a new generation of members. Although modeled on the successful strategies of other Associations, the scholarship program represents a full-circle return to a commitment whose original inspiration came from the Upper Hudson Association.
By 1934, when
The social and economic changes that followed
World War II led to the more casual atmosphere common at our dinner-program
meetings today. Nevertheless the impetus for and the character of our
meetings have remained unchanged since the Association’s inception in 1914.
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