After getting married and finally becoming ABD in the last year of the “naughties,” 2011 will be radically different from the years that have preceded it. After seeing a few bloggers posting their intentions for the new year on their blogs, I figured I’d follow suit, if for no other reason than to be able to look back at my progress at the end of the year.

The first priority obviously pertains to my dissertation (and its proposal, which I hope to defend within the next couple months). I’m also aiming to be at least 70% done with the dissertation itself by SBL 2011 (that I have been researching and thinking about this topic since 2003 should help speed my progress). I’ll be putting myself on the job market this fall (meaning I’ll have to put some other materials together), so the closer I am to being done at that point, the better. Before focusing on the dissertation, however, I still have to finish editing the teacher materials for the new edition of Bart’s New Testament textbook and write another review (this time of the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”) for the Journal of Religion and Film. I will also be presenting a paper on the parable of the prodigal son at SECSOR this March and have three articles that I desperately need to finish and submit to journals ASAP—they’re close to done and just need to be finalized. I won’t be teaching this semester (will be in the summer and hopefully fall and spring of next year), so research and writing will be on overdrive these next few months.

In terms of the blog, I hope to post a bit more often in 2011 (though certainly not as often as many do; I’m thinking three times a week), even if it simply involves linking to other posts and articles I think are worth noting. This blog will be undergoing a major design overhaul, as I’m still unsatisfied with the theme I’m using. I’m also planning on introducing a few new sections to the blog: starting with pages where I’ll post syllabi and various bibliographies, which should hopefully help others working in the field. I don’t see upping my blogging output as counterproductive for my dissertation goals, as I’m convinced that those who write a lot tend to be able to write more, while those who are stingy with their writing struggle to get anything written at all.

I also have three side projects I’m trying to get off the ground, but I can’t really mention those at this point, since they’re not far enough along …