Religion in... Time Magazine

Coronavirus Is Upending Traditions for Passover and Easter—But Traditions Have Adapted for Past Pandemics, Too. 'This week is one of the holiest of the year on many religious calendars, with Passover beginning on Wednesday night and Easter taking place on Sunday. But, though those socially distant holidays may look very different from what celebrants are used to, they are themselves part of a long tradition. Just as disease is not a new part of human life, religious rituals and celebrations have adapted to past pandemics too.' 8 April 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The New York Times

Does the Pandemic Have a Purpose? 'Many religious people see something benevolent in nature, or at least see purpose dimly grasped in the interworking of biology. But there’s something even deeper than religious optimism. There is a broader conception of nature — shared by monotheists, polytheists, Indigenous animists, and now politicians and policymakers. It is the mythopoetic view of nature. It is the universal instinct to find (or project) a plot in nature.' 16 April 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The Times

Women’s role in history censored for Jewish girl pupils. 'A Jewish girls’ school has been heavily criticised by the Ofsted chief inspector for airbrushing out a “large chunk of history” in the reign of Elizabeth I by gluing together pages of textbooks.' 28 April 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The Guardian

Blasphemy to be decriminalised in Scottish hate crime bill. 'The Scottish government has published a bill that would decriminalise blasphemy, more than 175 years after the last case was prosecuted. The new law will also offer wider protection against race, sex, age and religious discrimination.' 24 April 2020. Further information.

Religion in... the Religion News Service

Wartime Vatican archive shows how much Pius knew about the Holocaust, says researcher. 'The long-awaited opening of Pope Pius XII’s wartime records only lasted a week before the coronavirus shut the Vatican archives down again, but that was long enough for documents to emerge that reflect badly on the pontiff accused of silence during the Holocaust, according to published reports.' 27 April 2020. Further information.

Event programme, Luther King House

Christian theology. Luther King House is one of our partner institutions and is located in nearby Fallowfield. It represents Baptist, Methodist, United Reformed and Unitarian traditions. See their programme of activities, including public events on 'Spirituality in contemporary society' (22-25 June). Further information.

Event programme, Nazarene Theological College

Christian theology. The Nazarene Theological College is one of our partner institutions and is located in nearby Didsbury. Associated with the Church of the Nazarene, which emerged in the nineteenth-century, NTC belongs to the World Methodist Council. See their programme of activities, including 'Another Look at the Methodist/Wesleyan Love Feast: Reception, Adaptation, and Emerging Possibilities' (16 June). Further information.

The Browser, free subscription for R&T students

Good reading on the internet. The nice people at The Browser have agreed to a six-month free subscription (worth $30) for each student in the Department of Religions and Theology. 'Every day we read hundreds of articles and select the very finest, so you'll always have something to read and interesting things to share with your friends. Our aim is to surprise and delight you with pieces you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. In a world consumed by bots, noise and breaking-news, The Browser gives you carefully-curated writings (and listenings) of lasting value.' To sign up for your free subscription, please email your Head of Department at daniel.langton@manchester.ac.uk and you'll be sent the simple weblink; you'll need to sign up (with just your name and email address) within the next 14 days.

Library's online resources for Religions and Theology

Electronic resources. The best place to start is the Library's Religions & Theology subject guide and in particular the databases section which lists the majority of subscribed relevant material; this includes new resources such as the MUP platform, Manchester Hive, which incorporates full text access to the Manchester Religious Studies collection. A number of other publishers have been offering temporary access to online resources, and, since these are added to daily, it's worth periodically revisiting the alphabetical listing of resources opened for COVID 19. Collections of relevance include Theology & Religion Online (Bloomsbury), a number of collections tucked inside Gales's 19th Century Collections Online ('Religion, Society, Spirituality, and Reform' & 'Europe and Africa: Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, and Conquest') together with useful general reference resources such as the Cambridge Companions series which incorporates over 200 titles in its Philosophy, Religion & Culture category. Given that the publishers' resources may not be around for long, we'd recommend that you take advantage of their availability now. Library staff can work with staff/students to obtain additional purchases; contact them by library chat or email uml.eresources@manchester.ac.uk

From the Archive... Podcast of Sherman Lectures 2013

Jewish Studies. We are delighted to announce that the 2013 Sherman Lectures by Derek Penslar on 'What is Israel Studies?' are now available to see online. The lectures are entitled: 1. Writing Israel's History: Between Myth and Counter-Myth, 2. Theodor Herzl:  Charisma and Leadership, 3. Rethinking the Diaspora-Israel Connection: The Case of the 1948 War, 4. The Invention of Israeli Nativity. Further information.

Social responsibility, OxNet

Congratulations to student essay winners. Niall Hall, Abbas Abid, Matilda Miller, and Wiktor Mazurenko were participants in OxNet 2020 and were asked to write a 2000 word essay on 'Philosophy and World Religions' during the Easter break, with questions set by lecturers in our Dept who taught the series 'Religion and Knowledge' this year. The OxNet programme, which partners the Dept of Religions & Theology with Oxford University, is designed to attract A-level students located in the North of the UK, selected by Pembroke College, Oxford, with the aim of encouraging the study of religions and theology at university, among other areas in the humanities. One winner was selected per category and special Commendations were also awarded for work which was especially strong. Further information.

Journal of Semitic Studies

Jewish Studies related. Congratulations to George Brooke who completed 28 years as co-editor (with John Healey) of the Journal of Semitic Studies, from 1991 until 2019. The journal was founded in 1955 and is owned by Manchester University and published by Oxford University Press. It has established a reputation as one of the leading international academic journals in its field, with a focus on the Semitic languages of all periods. It is now edited by Geoffrey Khan (Cambridge), with Holly Morse recently joining the JSS team as Treasurer. Further information.

New publication

Christian Studies. Philip Alexander, “Matthew Henry: An Annotated Bibliography.” In Matthew Henry: The Bible, Prayer, and Piety: A Tercentenary Celebration, edited by Matthew A. Collins and Paul Middleton (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 245-274. Further information.

Online resource

Religion and Gender. The 'Religion, Culture and Gender Guides' site was created by Katja Stuerzenhofecker, Lecturer in Gender Studies in Religion, in collaboration with students on her undergraduate course unit Religion, Culture and Gender. It explores different aspects of gender issues in Jewish and Christian communities in contemporary Britain, with contributions from individual students who have produced electronic Guides for inclusion in the archive as part of their course work. Further information.

Curation of exhibition, Chester Cathedral

Christian Studies. George Brooke has curated an exhibition at Chester Cathedral Library to mark the 100th anniversary of the Very Revd Frank S. M. Bennett as Dean of Chester. The catalogue, for which Philip Alexander was a major contributor,  addresses Bennett as a significant national figure in his time for, amongst other things, being the first to open up a cathedral free of charge (without fences or fee). Visits to the Library are suspended at the moment, but there are plans to have a Manchester R&T postgraduate field trip in October. Further information.

Blog entry, 50 Jewish Objects

Jewish Art. Stefania Silvestri has published the final blogposts by artist Helena Tomlin. Helena has created an art piece and has delivered a workshop as part of the 50 Jewish Objects project (focusing on a highly decorated marriage contract and a scroll telling the story of Esther). Further information.

New publication

Political Theology. Michael Hoelzl, ‘Dispositives of Political Theology. Analyzing non-discursive elements of the Josephinian dispositive of pastoral power.’ In: Past and Present Political Theology, edited by Dennis Vanden Auweele and Miklos Vassányi (London: Routledge, 2020), 154-175. Further information.

From the Archive... Podcast of Sherman Lecturers 2012

Jewish Studies. We are delighted to announce that the 2012 Sherman Lectures by Philip Alexander on 'The Messianic Idea in Judaism Revisited' are now available to see online. The lectures are entitled: 1. What is Jewish Messianism? 2. Messianism as an Historical-Political Process. 3. The Messiah as a Spiritual Redeemer. 4. “Neutralizations” of Messianism, Summary and Conclusions. Further information.

TV documentary, Channel 5

Biblical Studies. Andy Boakye has contributed to a TV documentary on the topic of 'The Crucifixion Mystery'. The episode was aired as part of the series Secrets on the Smithsonian Channel (US) at 8pm on 23 Dec 2019, and of the series Ancient Mysteries on Channel 5 Select (UK) at 8pm on 11 April 2020. 

New undergraduate programme for 2020

Over the last year we have refreshed our undergraduate course programme in general and strengthened our connections with Manchester's Philosophy Department in particular. The full list of R&T courses is given below. We retain our most popular courses but introduce exciting new ones such as End of the World and Apocalypticism, Truth-Telling and Heresy, or replace one, such as Western Philosophy, with another, such as World Philosophies. We already have a joint degree with the Department of Anthropology, allowing our students to take courses such as Anthropology of Religion and Anthropology of Ethics. With the launch of the new degree in 'Philosophy and Religion', students gain even easier access to courses in the Department of Philosophy, such as Philosophy of Religion, Critical Thinking, and Philosophy of Mind.

First-year courses taught in our Department, 2020.

• What is Religion? Historical, Literary, and Anthropological Approaches NEW
• Truth and Truth Telling NEW
• Being Human(e): Theological Studies in Philosophy and Ethics  NEW
• Introduction to Christianity NEW
• New Testament Greek
• Introduction to Judaism
• Religion in Modern South Asian History
• Religion, Ethics and the Environment
• Bible in Ancient and Modern Worlds
• Standing on The Shoulders of Giants: Foundations for Study in The Arts

 

Second-year courses taught in our Department, 2020.

• End of the World and Apocalypticism  NEW
• World Philosophies: Ethics and Ideas in the History of Religious Thought NEW
• Evil as a Problem in Theology, Philosophy and Ethics NEW
• God at the Movies NEW
• Goddesses, Demons and Stories in South Asian History NEW
• Religion, Culture and Gender
• Biblical Hebrew
• New Testament in Greek II
• Interpreting Religion
• Jewish Philosophy and Ethics
• Jesus: From Jewish Messiah to Hollywood Idol
• Ethical Issues and the Bible
• All About Eve: Encountering the  First Woman from Antiquity to Today

 
Third-year courses taught in our Department, 2020.

• Science and Islam NEW
• Heresy and the Birth of Christian Controversy NEW
• Religions, Migration and Globalization NEW
• Dissertation on a topic of your choice
• Holocaust Theology and Ethics
• Radical Theologies
• Women and Gender in the Biblical World

 
Depending upon your degree programme...

• BA(Hons) in Religions and Theology
• BA(Hons) in Theological Studies in Philosophy and Ethics
• BA(Hons) in Philosophy and Religion
• BA(Hons) in Comparative Religion and Social Anthropology

... you can take other course unit options from outside our Department, such as Introduction to Islam, History of Religion in Japan, Women and Gender in the Middle East and North Africa, History of Modern Islamic Thought, and Contemporary Debates in Islam. (Note: Course unit availability is provisional and subject to change, and not all details of the curriculum changes are up online yet.) If you want to learn more, see our online Visit Day.

Course unit selection fair

R&T's course unit selection fair has moved to here: https://manchester-religions-and-theology.blogspot.com/p/course-unit-selection-fair.html

Research funding, ESRC

Christian political theology. 'Life on the Breadline' is a three year multi-disciplinary ESRC-funded project led by Coventry University analysing the nature, scope and impact of Christian engagement with urban poverty in the UK in the context of austerity since the 2008 financial crisis. Peter Scott is a co-investigator on the team, with interests in developing approaches from political theology in response to the condition of austerity. Further information.

Online conference papers, University of Exeter

Biblical Studies. PhD student Siobhan Jolley on '"I can’t be physical with you": Reimagining John 20:17 through Fleabag (S2)’ (9:40-10:30am) and Dr Holly Morse on 'Serpentine Saviours and Woke Women: Twenty-First Century Television Goes Back to the Beginning’ (keynote lecture: 3:30-4:30pm). Conference theme: 'Popular Visual Media and the Bible'. Register for free attendance online. Mon 6 April 2020. Further information.

Blog entry, The Office Essentials

Gender and Religious Studies. See Phoebe Abbott's short piece 'Finding the Goddess within the Mother-Daughter relationship' on the blog The Office Essentials. Phoebe is a masters student and is currently studying  Religious Identities and Ethnic Minorities and Religion and Gender course units. Further information.

Podcast, 50 Jewish Objects artist

Arranged in Time and Space. Artist Nicola Dale introduces Arranged in Time and Space – an expanded book, comprising written, sculptural and photographic responses to several of the objects from the 50 Jewish Objects project. Further information.