New resource, Hebrew Digital Collection

Online library. The University of Manchester Library holds over 400 Hebrew manuscripts dating from the 14th century to the early 20th century. The Hebrew manuscripts are among those featured in the new Manchester Digital Collections. The work on cataloguing the collection began under Philip Alexander and Alex Samely in 1989, a project which Stefania Silvestri and Renate Smithuis enhanced and took forward with the digitization of many of the manuscripts. The project continues under Philip Alexander's direction. Further information.

In the media...

Jewish Studies. The work of the University's Agunah Research Unit on the problem of 'chained women' is covered in an article in The Jewish Chronicle, 24 Jan 2020. Further information.

Call for papers, Manchester Wesley Research Centre

Methodist studies. Ecclesia, Academia et Mundus: 300 Years of Methodism and Higher Education (June 2020) The MWRC is one of the sponsors of this conference, which will be held in Oxford from 17-20 June 2020. In the tercentenary year of John Wesley’s matriculation at Oxford, the conference will review 300 years of Methodist engagement with university-level education, with a focus on themes of accessibility and diversity in Methodist higher education. Paper proposals are being accepted until 31 January. Further information.

New publication

South Asian Studies. John Zavos, 'The aura of chips: material engagements and the production of everyday religious difference in British Asian street kitchens', Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review (2019), 1-23. Further information.

Call for papers, Manchester Wesley Research Centre

Christian pietism. The MWRC and Center for Evangelical United Brethren Heritage at United Theological Seminary (UTC) in Dayton, Ohio are co-sponsoring this conference, which will be held at UTC from 4-5 June 2020. The conference will explore the development and definitions of Pietism, as well as Pietist impulses within World Christianity from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. Papers proposals are being accepted until 14 February. Further information.

New Journal index

Methodist studies. The General Index for volumes 1 to 10 (2009-2018) of the journal Wesley and Methodist Studies, a publication of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre, is now available as a free open access document. The index is an electronic only part of volume 12/1. Further information.

Research Seminar, Departmental

Christian Studies. Dr Sarah Thieme (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) presents 'Contested Communities?  Churches in the De-industrialized Cities of Manchester and Essen, 1960–1990'. February 6 2020, 4pm. Further information. 

Funding, postgraduate

Jewish Studies. PhD student Lawrence Rabone received funding from the NWCDTP (a consortia of AHRC) to undertake a week of study in libraries in Amsterdam. The trip included research on unpublished manuscripts in the Ets Haim Library, which is the oldest Jewish Studies library in the world, as well as spending time at the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, University of Amsterdam, and the Jewish Historical Museum. This fieldwork allowed Rabone to explore the rich cultural, theological and social history of Dutch Jewry during the Dutch Republic's Golden Age in the seventeenth century and to trace the footsteps of the converso Jewish community which first settled alongside the River Amstel over three hundred years ago.

Study skills workshop, level 1

Cake and referencing. R&T’s second semester academic skills workshops for undergraduates kicks off with our ‘cake and referencing’ session for level one students. We’ll be joined by SALC’s writing tutor and the topics that we’ll cover include quoting, summarising, paraphrasing, using sources, referencing and much more. Plus Cake. Co-ordinated by Ketan Alder. Thu 6 Feb, 3-4pm, Sam Alex A116. Further details.

BBC One, The Big Questions

Invitation from BBC. The Big Questions, BBC One’s religious, moral and ethical debate programme, will be broadcasting from Oasis Academy in Salford on Sunday 9 February 2020. Students and staff in the department of Religions and Theology have received an invitation to attend. Come sit in the audience, see the show in action, and engage in the debates if you wish. To reserve a place, see further details.

Guest lecture, Trinity College Dublin

Jewish Studies. As part of her work on the 50 Jewish Objects project, Stefania Silvestri presented a talk on 'Jewish material culture' to students of the department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Trinity College Dublin. 1-2pm, 23 Jan 2020.

New publication

Early Judaism. Manchester-affiliated contributions to the T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism, ed. D. Gurtner and L.T. Stuckenbruck, vol 1 (London: Bloomsbury, 2019), include entries by: Maria Cioată on the Testament of Job, Ariel Feldman on the Books of Judges, Kings, and Samuel; Dwight D. Swanson on the Temple Scroll, and Todd Klutz on the Testament of Solomon. Further information.

Visiting scholars from Utrecht University

Gender, sexuality and religion. Three Dutch visiting scholars will be hosted by R&T, 15 Feb - 15 April 2020, working on a project funded by the Dutch Research Council at Utrecht University, entitled: 'Beyond "Religion versus Emancipation": Gender and Sexuality in Women’s Conversion to Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Contemporary Western Europe'. Lieke Schrijvers' project is ethnographic, as she combines interviews and fieldwork in her study of women’s giyur/conversion to Judaism and Evangelical Christianity (and, to a lesser extent, also Islam). Nella van den Brandt's project takes a cultural studies perspective on conversion as it is represented in film, documentary and literature. Mariecke van den Berg's project is focused more on theologies of conversion, for instance in exploring the Biblical and cultural significance of ‘exemplary converts’ such as Jethro, Ruth, and Naaman. Further information. 

New publication

Islamic Studies. Alan Williams, The Masnavi of Rumi: A New English Translation with Explanatory Notes, 2 vols (I.B. Tauris, 2019). Further information for Book One and Book Two.

Opportunity for journalism

Student newspaper. My name's Tom, and I'm the Assistant Editor of The Manchester Tab. We're a university news site which helps students publish original journalism about life in Manchester. We are now recruiting students at Manchester to join the team for next term. We're looking for anyone who is interested in writing, Instagramming and meme-making. Last year, we helped students across the UK publish exclusive stories, such as New Zealand Wines being shut for selling laughing gas, and that UoM makes over £200,000 a year from students who want their grades printed. Our student reporters have gone on to get jobs at companies like BuzzFeed, The Times, The Guardian and Vice - and everyone who works at our HQ office in London was a Tab writer at university. If you want to get writing straight away, this is our sign-up form. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at tom@thetab.com. We’re having an open meeting at 7pm on the 3rd of February at Bar Fallowfield - come along if you’re keen to find out more.

New publication

Dead Sea Scrolls.  Hon. Research Fellow in the Centre for Biblical Studies: Helen R. Jacobus, 'Reconstructing the Calendar of 4Q208-4Q209 (and a response to Eshbal Ratzon)' in Revue de Qumran 31(2), no. 114 (2019): 251-273. Further information.

New publication

Islamic Studies. Kamran I. Karimullah, 'Editions, translations, transformations: refashioning the Arabic Aristotle in Egypt and metropolitan Europe, 1940–1980' in Palgrave Communications 6:3 (2020). Further information.

Presidency, SOTS

Biblical Studies. Congratulations to Walter Houston, Hon. Research Fellow in the Centre for Biblical Studies and tutor in Biblical Hebrew, who will be President for this calendar year of the Society for Old Testament Study. He was installed at the SOTS meeting in Nottingham in early January, and will be presiding at the SOTS summer meeting in Manchester, at Hulme Hall, 20-23 July.

BBC-Manchester workshop for teachers

Online resource project. Holly Morse organised a workshop with Amanda Hancox (BBC producer), R&T colleagues, teachers from local colleagues schools and the Head of Curriculum for Religious Studies at AQA. The project is developing a set of online resources that allow academics at the University of Manchester to curate the BBC’s Beyond Belief archive on subjects close to their research. The workshop offered advice and guidance as to what will be of particular use and interest for Religious Studies A-level students. 20 Jan 2020.

Panel and plenary discussion, CJS and JMRN

Jewish Studies. The Centre for Jewish Studies and the Jewish-Muslim Research Network are hosting a panel and plenary on “Belonging and alienation in academic practices: Jewish studies and Jewish identities in comparative perspective”, with Aaron Hughes (Rochester University), Sami Everett (Cambridge) and Alex Samely (Manchester). 12 February 2020, 3–6 pm, Room 3.204 University Place, Manchester. Further information.

Conference on Disability

Christian theology. This conference, a collaboration between NTC and Manchester, is on 'Theology, Disability and the Body of Christ'. It brings together 70 Church leaders, theologians, and lay people to discuss the ways that disability opens up new patterns for Christian thought and practice. Prof Brian Brock  (Aberdeen) is one of the leading voices working on disability and Christianity today and will guide this conversation. 9am Fri 31 Jan – 1pm Sat 1 Feb 2020, Nazarene Theological College. For details, see further information.

New publication

Popular Culture. Scott Midson with Justin Donhauser, 'Metalhead and Technophobia: How Dangerous Will Robots Be?' in Irwin and Johnson, eds, Black Mirror and Philosophy: Dark Reflections (Wiley-Blackwell, 2019), 177-186. Further information. 

Spotlight on Andy Boakye

Humanities eNews. Our own Andy Boakye, recipient of a Faculty teaching award, is the subject of the StaffNet spotlight. Among other things, Andy talks about teaching in the area of New Testament Studies and Admissions. Further information.

Announcing new degree

Joint honours with Philosophy. A new BA(Hons) in Philosophy and Religion has been approved, with an expected start date of Sept 2020. Further information.

New Publication

South Asian Studies. John Zavos, 'Ethical narratives, street kitchens and doing religious difference amongst post-migrant communities in contemporary Britain' in Culture and Religion 20:1 (2019), 39-64. Further information.