This Consultation encourages papers on Coptic, Armenian, Melkite, Maronite, Syrian Orthodox, Chaldean, Assyrian, and other relevant communities living inside the Middle East or in lands of immigration. Proposals in any historic period, including the modern era, are welcome. Successful proposals will reflect theoretical and methodological sophistication, engagement with existing scholarship, along with innovative examination of practices and texts. We welcome submissions dealing with theology, religious practice, ritual, leadership, monastic practices, gender and sexuality, modernity and globalization, visual art, and other areas of general interest. This year, we also invite panels on the particular theme of religion and identity-formation within and outside the homelands.