28 July 2020

Public lecture, All Saints Centre

Christian Theology. Peter Scott gave the Annual Summer School lecture at All Saints Centre for Mission and Ministry, entitled 'Political Theologies in the Anthropocene: Thinking Theologically about Ecology in a Lockdown'. 28 July 2020. Further information.

Graduation celebration, 2020

Time to celebrate! The virtual celebration of the successful completion of this year's studies in the Department of Religions and Theology at The University of Manchester took place on Tue 28 July 2020. See Ketan Alder’s tweet and the wonderful poem 'Twenty Twenty Vision' by Alan Williams, specially commissioned for the occasion.  Watch again.

27 July 2020

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 such as the Whitley Lecture 2020 entitled 'Finding a Friend: The Baptist Encounter with Judaism' (14 Sept 2020). 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. Further information.

23 July 2020

Student prizes 2019-20

Undergraduate excellence in Religions & Theology. Congratulations to Georgia Slater for the Bishop Lee Junior Greek Testament Prize for the best examination result in New Testament Greek and also for the Wellington Scholarship for Hellenistic Greek or Greek Testament; Sarah Adams for the Brandon Memorial Prize (Undergraduate) for the best work in Comparative Religious Studies and also for the Philip Alexander Prize in Jewish Studies for the highest undergraduate grade in Jewish studies (dissertation title: 'The Halakhic Question: Defining Jewish Identity in Reform Judaism in the UK'); Laura Curzydlo for the Undergraduate Dissertation Prize for Religious Studies (dissertation title: 'Gate No.2 and Beyond: Locating Religion in Gdansk’s Solidarnosc Landmarks'); Victoria Turton (dissertation title: 'Construction of Identity by Means of the Discourse of Homeland: Does Visual Media Help Form South Asian Diasporic Subjectivities and at what Cost?') and Javaria Rajput (dissertation title: 'Rationality Culture and Religion: A Critical Analysis of the Representation and Experiences of Mental Health Amongst UK Pakistani Muslims') share the Dastur Kutar Prize for best undergraduate dissertation in Non-Western religious studies; Alice Berkeley (dissertation title: 'Sacred or Safe? A thematic analysis of the #MosqueMeToo Movement') and Emily Bell (dissertation title: 'A Minority Within A Minority: Are Being Homosexual and Being a 'Good' Muslim Mutually Exclusive in Modern Islam?') share the Religion and Social Responsibility Dissertation Prize for the best undergraduate dissertation in R&T that explores a social or ethical challenge at the intersection of religion and social responsibility.

22 July 2020

Book review

Biblical Studies. 2020 SBL review of Jessica M. Keady, Todd E. Klutz, and C. A. Strine, eds., Scripture as Social Discourse: Social-Scientific Perspectives on Early Jewish and Christian Writings, T&T Clark Biblical Studies (London: T&T Clark, 2018). Further information.

New publication

Holocaust Studies. Hon. Research fellow of the Centre for Jewish Studies: Ion Popa, 'Nationalism, Conspiracy Theories, and Antisemitism in the Transylvanian Greek Catholic Newspaper Dumineca on the Eve of the Holocaust (1936–1940)' in Holocaust and Genocide Studies 34:1 (Spring 2020), 63–79. Further information.

Paper, Vienna Wiesenthal Institute

Holocaust Studies. Hon. Research fellow of the Centre for Jewish Studies: Ion Popa presented a paper entitled 'Experiences of Conversion to Christianity in the Fortunoff Video Archive of Holocaust Testimonies' at the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies, Austria. 31 Jan 2020. Further information.

European Association for Biblical Studies, presidency

Biblical Studies. Congratulations to George Brooke who has been nominated by the Committee of the European Association of Biblical Studies to be President of the Association for 2021-2024. If the nomination is approved, on the EABS Committee he will join Secretary of the Association, Paul Middleton (Chester), who is an honorary research fellow of our Centre for Biblical Studies.

New publication, pre-order

Biblical Studies. Peter Oakes, Andrew K. Boakye, Rethinking Galatians Paul’s Vision of Oneness in the Living Christ (London: Bloomsbury, 2020). Further information.

Blog, Armchair Philosophers

Philosophy and Religion. Hon. Research Fellow in the Centre for Jewish Studies: Dan Garner has contributed an entry on 'Is nothing something?' 3 July 2020. Further information.

New appointment

Jewish Studies postdoctoral researcher. The Centre for Jewish Studies and the Department of Religions and Theology are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz (PhD UCL, MA Hebrew University, BA Cambridge) as a Rothschild Foundation Europe postdoctoral fellow for 2020-22. Her project is called '"One Step Further on your Jewish Journey": An Ethnographical Study of the History of Limmud.' We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Taylor-Guthartz on her appointment and look forward to welcoming her to the Centre and the Department in September.

New publication

Ancient Judaism. Hon. Research Fellow in the Centre for Biblical Studies: Helen R. Jacobus, “Horoscopes” (Vol. II, 345–347) and “Mishmarot,” (Vol. II, 510–511) in T & T Clark Encyclopaedia of Second Temple Judaism, Vols. I and II, ed., Daniel M. Gurtner and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, London: Bloomsbury, 2019. Further information.

New publication

Biblical Studies. Peter Oakes, ‘Galatians and Romans’, The New Cambridge Companion to St Paul, Bruce Longenecker, ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 92-118. Further information.

Public Lecture, Chester Cathedral

Dead Sea Scrolls and Biblical Studies. George Brooke gave a talk entitled "On the Way: The Gospel of Mark and the Dead Sea Scrolls" as part of a series at Chester Cathedral on Mark's Gospel. 1 July 2020. Watch on YouTube.

New publication

Ancient Greek medicine and translation. Kamran Karimullah, 'Hippocrates transformed: Crafting a Hippocratic discourse of medical semiotics in English, 1850–1930' in Humanities and Social Science Communications 7:27 (2020). Further information.

16 July 2020

NSS results

Top score for student satisfaction. It is with great pleasure that we can report that Religions and Theology at Manchester achieved a 100% student satisfaction score in the annual National Student Survey for 2019-20. We are the only religious studies department with publishable results in the Russell Group, and also within the top 20 such departments listed in the most recent Guardian League Table, to have achieved a 100% satisfaction score. Special thanks to our graduating students and congratulations to Dr Ketan Alder, R&T's Undergraduate Programme Director. The NSS is completed by final-year undergraduates at universities across the UK. Universities and students' unions use student feedback to help ensure the delivery of high quality teaching, and future students can see the results to help them make degree choices. R&T's lecturers are regularly nominated for or win teaching awards.

Blog entry, 50 Jewish Objects

Jewish Studies. As part of the activities of the 50 Jewish Objects project, creative pieces are commissioned for contemporary artists in response to selected artefacts from the John Rylands Library and the research produced by Dr Stefania Silvestri. The second blogpost by artist Leo Mercer has now been published. Leo is creating poems inspired by the 50 Jewish Objects. Further information.

10 July 2020

Poem: Twenty Twenty Vision

As part of the departmental graduation celebration, Alan Williams was commissioned to write a poem. Alan is Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Religion, a recent recipient of the prestigious Wolfson Fellowship, and the author of, among other things, the Masnavi of Rumi 2 vols (2019). The poem is reproduced here with permission as a print version (pdf) and audio recording (mp3).

TWENTY TWENTY VISION

Go forth and germinate your mind. Don’t stop
to ruminate forever, but be grateful
for what you’ve found here in these past few years.
Religions and Theology’s a subject
that can expose the things religion hides:
the academic keys we shared with you
were meant to give you access to all spaces
religion may have tried to close off, kept
as esoteric, secret, not for public
consumption by the uninitiated.

We taught you that this world is all a text,
and you can learn to read the codes, the language
in which that text was written (is still written).
It may be called a narrative or story,
a mystery, myth, a ritual formation,
a socio-economic situation,
a built environment of public private
enclaves, whose architecture is designed
in blueprints drawn from pre-conceptions
spawned... back in theology. This world’s a text.

Once we ‘went up’ to university
to ‘read’ Theology, to read Religions – what?
How funny those reactions friends and uncles
and fellow students had: ‘So you’re religious?’
‘You’ll only need to buy one book: the Bible!’
(It is the general attitude, not libel)
They did not know that we were cracking codes,
the secrets some would wish we did not know.
The secret is not always to oppress us,
sometimes what’s hidden most is what’s most precious.

The symbols, artefacts and ways of being
from cultures distant both in time and place
appear like deep-sea pearls exposed to sunlight,
brought up by plunging far below the surface.
The heroism of the human spirit,
alive and well but struggling for existence –
I have not mentioned poetry yet or beauty –
the codes not lost but found in a translation,
ideas that give us hope and consolation,
philosophies of life and liberation.

To see all ‘in a Grain of Sand... a Wild Flower...’
Can such infinities be seen and held?
What blinds our sight as darkness seems to fall?
Man’s inhumanity to man is all.
Colonial cataracts of obfuscation
can be removed, codes of intimidation
of colour, gender, age, and of appearance
are broken in the laser light of knowledge.
If ever it were said we had a mission,
it was to give you Twenty-Twenty Vision.

© Alan Williams 2020

Graduation celebration

It’s time to celebrate! We’re delighted to invite you to join staff and friends from the Religions & Theology Department in a virtual celebration of the successful completion of your studies at the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at The University of Manchester. The virtual event will take place at 3pm on 28 July 2020. We will be sending out the YouTube links and further details in the coming weeks. Please save the date and join us to celebrate and share your achievements with your friends and family. 

Can’t make the date? The virtual celebrations will stay online, so you can revisit them at an alternative time that suits you. Get Involved: Follow us on our Twitter and Facebook @UoMSALC to share your memories of your time at The University of Manchester, using the hashtags #SALCGrad and #UoMGraduation. Please note that as part of our virtual graduation celebrations we may display your name and / or your image during the live event or as part of some pre-recorded content. In the event that you would prefer your name / image not to be used in this way please let us know directly by email to alex.shaw@manchester.ac.uk no later than 12pm on Monday 20 July 2020. Please use ‘SALC Celebration content’ in the email subject line. To complement our virtual graduation celebrations the University will produce and make available a digital programme. Your name and your award will be listed. Individual classifications will not be included. In the event that you would prefer your name and award to not be listed in the programme please let us know directly by email to: graduation@manchester.ac.uk no later than 5pm on Wednesday 22 July 2020. Please use ‘Graduation Programme’ in the email subject line.

09 July 2020

New publication

Islamic Studies. Youssef M. Choueiri, 'The Politics of Identity in the Middle East', in Routledge Handbook of Middle East Politics, ed. Larbi Sadiki, (2020), 494-506. Prof Choueiri is an honorary research fellow in Religions and Theology. Further information.

New publication

Islamic Studies. Tom Woerner-Powell (AMES) & R. Edmondson, 'Practical Wisdom and Islam: Reimagining Islamic law, From the Local to the Global' in Applying Wisdom to Contemporary World Problems, Sternberg, R. J., Nusbaum, H. & Glück, J. eds. (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), 201-236. Further information.

08 July 2020

Scriptural encounters

Reading challenging sacred texts. Scriptural Encounters bring together different faiths to debate and discuss controversial topics. This is a new series on the position of women in the Abrahamic faiths. The final session, with presenters Rabba Dina Brawer and Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen, will be via Zoom at 4pm-5:30 on Thu 16 July 2020. Further information.

02 July 2020

Religion in... BBC News

Ms Marvel: Trailblazing Muslim superhero goes gaming. "Marvel's Avengers are assembling once again, not on the big screen, but for a blockbuster video game. It features many of the superheroes you might expect, including Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America. But they are joined by a new addition: Kamala Khan. The Muslim-American teenager of Pakistani heritage, who has shape-shifting abilities, is the latest character to adopt the Ms Marvel moniker..." 2 July 2020. Further information.

01 July 2020

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 'Community Engagement: Building Communities of Shalom' (10 July 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 'Lay Preachers’ and Worship Leaders’ in Challenging Times 2020' (11-12 July, 16-17 July 2020). Further information.

Religion in... The New York Times

For Sale: The Hair of the Virgin Mary. "What does a supposedly secular world want with the creepy (and probably fake) remains of medieval saints? For a little more than $2,000, you can buy a small silver-plated case containing some hair of the Virgin Mary, a relic venerated by Catholic believers..." 15 June 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The Times

A spiritual release by the Dalai Lama. "The Dalai Lama could provide the surprise smash hit of the summer as he makes his first foray into the music business, releasing an album of teachings and mantras set to music..." 10 June 2020. Further information.

Religion in... Time Magazine

How Mormon Missionaries Are Proselytizing in the Wake of a Pandemic. "Wearing dress shirts, ties and name tags, three missionaries with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sit around the kitchen table inside a Utah apartment planning how they’ll spread their gospel that day. Seth Rather, a 19-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, reads aloud as he types on a smartphone: “During this time, we must put our faith in God to deliver us through these unprecedented times. How has putting your faith in God helped you in your life?..." 5 June 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The Telegraph

Saudi Arabia closes Hajj to foreign travellers for the first time in modern history. "Saudi Arabia has closed the annual hajj pilgrimage to foreign travellers for the first time in modern history, to try to halt the spread of Covid-19. More than a million Muslims hoping to perform the once-in-a-lifetime trip will now have to wait until next year after the kingdom said 2020's event would be 'very limited'..." 23 June 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The Guardian

C of E should rethink portrayal of Jesus as white, Welby says. "The Anglican church should reconsider the way statues and other representations of Jesus portray him as white in the light of the Black Lives Matter protests, the archbishop of Canterbury has said. Further information..." 26 June 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The Independent

London more religious and socially conservative than rest of UK, study finds. "London is the most religious and socially conservative place in the whole of the UK, new research has found. People in the capital were much more likely to attend religious services and pray regularly than in the rest of the country, according to the latest report by Christian think tank Theos..." 24 June 2020. Further information.

Religion in... The Religion News Service

How millennials make meaning from shopping, decorating and self-pampering. "Today’s millennials are in many ways caught between a rock and a hard place, at least when it comes to traditional religious observance. On the one hand, they’re disillusioned with their parents’ religious traditions, which have failed to provide them with a coherent account of meaning and purpose in the world..." 23 June 2020. Further information.