New appointment, AHRC Project

Jewish Studies. Congratulations to Dr Ion Popa who has been appointed as Research Associate (Feb 2021-Jan 2022) for the AHRC-funded project 'Stefan Heym: A 20th Century German Life project,' led by Prof Cathy Gelbin. He will conduct archival research in Germany, USA, Israel and the Czech Republic, contribute to impact and dissemination events, including the forthcoming conference, and support the compilation of a co-edited special journal issue. He will also contribute a relevant single-author conference paper and research article on the topic of Jewish dissidence in communist Romania.

Religions & Theology Research Seminar

Jewish Studies. Dr Katja Stuerzenhofecker (University of Manchester) “An Act of Compassion? Normalizing Online Delivery of Jewish Orthodox Rituals and Female Participation Under COVID-19” 16:00 - 17:30 29 April 2021. Further information.

Blog entry, Rylands

Jewish Studies. Zsofia Buda writes 'A Passover Haggadah painted by an Englishman? Follow us on the trail of a Christian English painter, and discover some unusual iconographical elements in an eighteenth-century Passover Haggadah. The story starts in Northern Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. This is the area where Joseph ben David, a Jew from the Moravian town of Lipník...' Further information.

Ehrhardt (Biblical Studies) Research Seminar

Hebrew Bible Studies. Dr Kirsi Cobb (Cliff College) ‘“Look at what they’ve turned us into”: Reading the Story of Lot’s Daughters through the Lens of Trauma with a Little Help from the Handmaid’s Tale’. 14:00 - 16:00 29 April 2021. 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, incuding the annual Whitley Lecture on 'Does this cross have disabled access?' (27 April 2021).  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 a short online course on Church History. Further information.

Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism

Jewish Studies. The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is a tool to identify, confront and raise awareness about antisemitism as it manifests in countries around the world today. It was developed by a group of scholars in the fields of Holocaust history, Jewish studies, and Middle East studies to meet what has become a growing challenge: providing clear guidance to identify and fight antisemitism while protecting free expression. Daniel Langton was among the signatories.  Further information.

New publication

Christian Studies. The latest issue Wesley and Methodist Studies 13.1 (Jan 2021). Contents: Gregory P. Van Buskirk, 'Stewardship and Response: The Moral-Theological Heart of John Wesley’s Economics'; Mark R. Teasdale, 'The Language of Salvation in William Booth’s In Darkest England Christy Mesaros-Winckles, Why Not Now?: The 1890 and 1894 Free Methodist Debates on Ordaining Women Philip'; Stanley Turner, 'A Vocation of Holiness: A Practitioner Rereads the Doctrinal Standards of the British Methodist Church.' Further information.

Scriptural encounters

Reading challenging sacred texts. Scriptural Encounters bring together different faiths to debate and discuss controversial topics. This is a new series on interpersonal relationships in the Abrahamic Faiths. This third session will be led by Rabbi Lee Wax (New North London Masorti Synagogue and Jewish Women’s Aid) on Domestic Violence from a Jewish perspective. Zoom at 12:00-1:30pm, Thu 15 April 2021. Further information.

 

 

International appointment, Czech Republic

South Asian Studies. Belated congratulations to Dr. James Madaio who was appointed as a fellow at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. James received his PhD from the Dept of Religions and Theology at the University of Manchester and has held research positions at New Europe College in Bucharest and at the University of Maryland, USA. Further information.

New publication

South Asian Studies. Alan Williams, 'South Asian Studies in Britain: Remembering Roger Ballard (20 April 1943–30 September 2020)', South Asia Research 41:2 (2021), 1-16. Further information.

Ehrhardt (Biblical Studies) Research Seminar

New Testament Studies. Professor Loveday Alexander (University of Sheffield) ‘“Down in the forest something stirred”: Reflections on Genre and Structure in Acts’. 14:00 - 16:00. 22 April 2021. Further information.

Public lecture, Africana Studies

Church of England and race relations. As part of the Africana Studies Lecture Series Fr. Azariah France-Williams will deliver a public lecture entitled ‘The Church of England’s Anti- Anti-Racist Taskforce’. France-Williams is the new Priest at Ascension Church, Hulme and author of Ghost Ship: Institutional Racism & the Church of England (SCM Press, 2020). 5:30-6:30pm, Wed 24 March 2021. Further information.

New publication

Biblical Studies. CBS Hon. fellow Walter J. Houston, 'The Political Economy of Peasant Poverty: Response to Marvin Chaney' on academica.edu. Further information.

Public event, Bible, Gender and Church Research Centre

Biblical Studies and gender. 'Lies Abusers Tell: Weaponisation of the Bible in the Home' is an upcoming online seminar run by the Bible, Gender and Church Research Centre, co-directed by Holly Morse and Kirsi Cobb (Cliff College). The speaker for the event will be Revd Dr Helen Paynter, with a response from Natalie Collins. This event is free to attend, but booking is required. Tue 20 April at 7:30pm. Further information.

Public event, BRIC-19

Judaism and gender. Dr Katja Stuerzenhofecker will be presenting preliminary findings of her study of Jewish Orthodox women-only online prayer services. This study is part of the research project Social Distance, Digital Congregation: British Ritual Innovation under Covid-19 (BRIC-19) led by Manchester Metropolitan University. Free online event, Mon 29 March at 7pm. To register, see further information.

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. In the fifth blogpost by artist Leo Mercer he discusses the collaborations and creative processes behind his 'Scroll' series of animated Twitter poems. Further information.

New course on Theology and Literature, available next year

Religion and literary studies. This new year-3 course Theology and Literature will be taught by Clare Radford. It will cover theological texts as well as novels, short stories, and poems and consider how and why contemporary theological movements have turned to literature as a key source, especially when engaging with race, gender, sexuality, global location, and traumatic experiences. Whether discussing The Hunger Games or The Handmaid’s Tale, Andrea Levy or Alice Walker, we will be thinking about the role that particular texts have played in shaping our own worldviews and learning.

New course in Chinese religions, available next year

Chinese religions. This new year-3 course in Religious and Political Ideologies of Modern China, taught by Gregory Scott (Chinese Studies), will be available to our students from next year. It examines the religious and political history of China in the modern era from the early nineteenth century to the present day, exploring the role of major systems of thought, doctrine, and practice in the making of contemporary China. Amongst the traditions it will cover are Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and folk religions. Further information.

Parliamentors scheme for students

Working with an MP on religion. ParliaMentors is a UN award winning interfaith leadership programme, run by the Faith and Belief Forum, which has been running at the university of Manchester for about 10 years. Each year 5 students of different faiths and beliefs are given training on interfaith and social action, they then run a project in the community to address local issues. They are also mentored by a local MP to help them continue their leadership journeys. Applications will close 5 April 2021. Further information.

Post doctoral Fellowship opportunities

Open to Religious Studies. The University of Manchester offers up to two Simon Postdoctoral Fellowships, 3 years fixed term, £32,816 to £51,034 per annum. These fellowships are for Social Sciences broadly defined, and are open to those working in religious history and culture, especially if the project engages with social or socio-political history. Deadline: 19 April 2021. For details on eligibility and on how to apply, see further information.

International conference, online

Jewish Studies. Katja Stuerzenhofecker and Ion Popa will be contributing to an online international conference on 'Jewish Dissidents in the Eastern Bloc', co-organised by Cathy Gelbin (CJS) and co-hosted with Emory University. 14-15 April 2021. Further information.

Book review

Review of Lawrence Shapiro, Embodied Cognition, 2nd edition (Routledge, 2019). MA student Adam North writes: "Lawrence Shapiro’s second edition of his incredibly successful 2010 book, Embodied Cognition, is both philosophically and scientifically engaging. Shapiro does an excellent job in orientating the field of embodied cognition in relation to standard cognitive science and specifying the research area..." Further information.

Ehrhardt (Biblical Studies) Research Seminar

Hebrew Bible Studies. Professor David Clines (University of Sheffield) ‘Genesis 1: A Critique’. 14:00 - 16:00. 15 April 2021. Further information.

Religions & Theology Research Seminar

Christian Theology. Dr A. Scott McPeak (University of Manchester) “A New Frontier for Liberation Theology? Attention Colonisation in an Advanced Technological Age” 16:00 - 17:30 15 April 2021. Further information.

From the Archive... Podcast, British Library

Digital Humanities and Hebrew manuscripts. Renate Smithuis' presentation on 'The Crawford and Gaster Hebrew Collections at the John Rylands Library: Creation of an Online Catalogue' at the British Library's conference on Digital Humanities (Nov 2016) is now available as a podcast. Further information.

Reading group, Jewish-Muslim

Jewish-Muslim Research Network. CJS hon research fellow and founding member of the JMRN, Adi Bharat, announces the next event to be JMRN Book Launch & Conversation 'The Arab and Jewish Questions: Geographies of Engagement in Palestine and Beyond' with Moshe Behar in conversation with Leila Farsakh, Bashir Bashir and Nadia Fadil. Co-sponsored by CJS and AMES. 5 May 2021 5pm (BST). Further information.

Christian Chaplaincy, University of Manchester

Why not find out more about the university's Christian chaplaincy? “We are the Christian chaplaincy team for the Manchester Universities and RNCM, and we’re based at St Peter’s House. We have a simple but challenging vision: ‘Everything is Connected’, believing that God is at work before us in all things and that our task is to journey with people as they explore what this may mean. We believe that people, place, faith and spirituality, wholeness and the search for understanding interweave. Everything flourishes when one things leads to another The chaplains and St Peter’s House team are explorers, pioneers and do-ers. We are building an inclusive, vibrant and diverse community of fellow wonderers – come and journey with us.” For a programme of events and more, see further information.

Careers stats

Employability for students of religions and theology. The British Association for the Study of Religions has recently published a report that aims to correct certain misconceptions about our subject. Amongst other things, they write: "Religious Studies and/or Theology students are highly employable. More than 82% go on to employment or further study, and 29% go onto professional jobs — more than any other Humanities and Social Science subject except architecture and languages — with an average graduate starting salary of £21,421 at present." Further information.

Workshop report, LTI

Christian Studies. The Lincoln Theological Institute hosted a workshop entitled ‘Reconsidering Methods and Methodologies in Theology’ on 5 Feb 2021, organised and facilitated by Dr Clare Radford, with presentations from Professor Heather Walton, Dr Dawn Llewellyn, and Dr Sanjee Perera. To read a reflection on the event see further information.

Public lecture, Jewish Muslim Forum

Jewish Studies. CJS PhD student Robert Kanter will be giving a presentation for The Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester on 'Anglo-Jewry’s interactions with converts to Islam 1900-1920' on 21 March at 7pm. Free online event. To register, see further information. 

New publication, online

Holocaust Studies. Hon research fellow of the Centre for Jewish Studies Ion Popa, 'Critical Edition of Hans Frei Testimony (HVT 0170),' in Yale University's Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies (2021). Hans Frei was born in Germany in 1922 to Jewish parents who converted to Christianity. He emigrated with his family to the US in 1938. After the war he became a respected Professor of Religious Studies and, for a brief period (1983-1986), Chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at Yale University Divinity School. The critical edition consists of an introduction, which examines the testimony, especially the dilemmas posed by conversion and hybrid identities, and an annotated commentary of the interview's transcript. Further information.

New publication

Biblical studies. CBS honorary research fellow Mary Mills and Janet Speake, 'Spaces of Affectivity: Innovating Interdisciplinary Discourse in Open "Free" Space' in Kritika Kultura 36/1 (2021). Further information.