Podcasts, Manchester confererence

Jewish Studies. Podcasts now available for the two-day international conference on 'Jewish Dissidents in the Eastern Bloc', co-hosted by Cathy Gelbin and including participants Katja Stuerzenhofecker and Ion Popa. 14-15 April 2021. Watch day 1 and day 2 on the CJS YouTube channel.

Paper, Nazarene Theological College

Christian Theology. Clare Radford (University of Manchester), ‘Unruly Embodiments in Practical Theological Research’. NTC Research Seminar on Wednesday 28 April from 16:00 to 17:00 via Zoom.

Teaching excellence, student community

Postgraduate teaching. Michael Hoelzl's work with postgraduate students has been highlighted by the Humanities Teaching Academy. Michael's activities have been focused on fostering student connection and involve a ‘Business Lunch’ and 'the Tandem scheme'. Further information.

Careers event, Meet the R&T Graduate

For all R&T students. On 28 April we hosted a Meet the R&T Grad event with Sarah Cooper, who is Service Lead for Manchester based charity, DRIVE, which works with perpetrators of domestic abuse, and who also manages a project called ‘Make A Change’, which seeks to improve early intervention in communities to prevent criminality. Sarah talked to us about the fascinating career journey she has been on in order to make her way into the charity sector, from her BA in Religions and Theology (graduated 2017), through her role as a Prison Officer and beyond. Sarah is a brilliant example of the varied and interesting ways a Religions and Theology degree can support you in the world of work, and she shared with us how her experiences at the University of Manchester have prepared her for her career. Watch again on YouTube.

Public event, Jewish-Muslim forum

Jewish Studies. Alex Samely will be giving a personal account of how he came to England for The Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester. The 'Migration Stories' event will host three Jews and three Muslims who will relate how either they or their parents came to Britain. Sun 23 May 2021 at 7pm. Free online event. Register here.

New publication

Religion and Politics.  Michael Hoelzl & A. Zwitter, 'The Augustinian Legacy of Divine Peace and Earthly War' Hoelzl, M. & Zwitter, A., in Peace and war: Historical, Philosophical, and Anthropological Perspectives. Morgan, J. & Guilherme, A. (eds.). 1 ed. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd 2020, pp. 49-69. Further information.

Conference Papers, Society for the Study of Theology

Christian Studies. The Department and the Lincoln Theological Institute (LTI) were well represented at the annual conference of the Society for the Study of Theology, which took place online 12-14 April 2021. The theme of the conference was Borders. Manchester PhD students Siobhán Jolley and Caleb Gordon both presented short papers on the theme, as did Charlie Pemberton, a former PhD student in the Department. The present LTI postdoc, Dr Clare Radford responded to a plenary paper and in addtion presented some of her work on the embodied everyday as a short paper. Previous LTI postdocs also contributed: Dr Susannah Cornwall (now at the University of Exeter) contributed a plenary paper and Dr Scott Midson chaired a session. A former lecturer in the Department, Dr Chris Shannahan (now at Coventry University), presented on his research in the ESRC-funded project, Life on the Breadline. Further information.

Workshop discussion, CIDRAL

Philosophy. As part of the CIDRAL programme, Alex Samely will lead a workshop on ‘Merleau-Ponty, Embodiment and Neuroscience’. 2-4pm Wed 5 May 2021. Further information.

Podcast, Tradition

Jewish Studies. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz took part in a panel discussion on why Rabbi Jonathan Sacks read and quoted the books that he did and the role those works played in his leadership and philosophy. 6 April 2021. Listen again.

Postgraduate award

Biblical Studies. Congratulations to Mr Martin (Lev) Eakins for the award of the postgraduate Wellington Scholarship 2021 (which was originally endowed in honour of a visit to the University by the Duke of Wellington!). The award is made for excellence in the study of Greek New Testament or Hellenistic Greek and provides funding towards PhD study. In September, Lev is due to begin his PhD project on redating the canonical gospels.

Doctoral and ECR training workshop

For UK-based Jewish Studies research postgraduates. The Centre for Jewish Studies at Manchester University is pleased to announce the fifth doctoral and early career research training event of the Northern UK Jewish Studies Partnership. PhD students and post-doctoral researchers from the Jewish Studies Partnership institutions and other Universities in the UK are invited to participate in a range of online training and information sessions on 10-11 June 2021. The event will include advice on how to interview for a Lectureship position, teaching Jewish Studies during and after Covid, and creating and running a Jewish and Muslim Studies research network, as well as a session on 'Current Trends' in defining anti-Semitism and questions about academic freedom. There will be a practical exercise involving the design of a larger research grant application, and an opportunity for one-to-one confidential discussions of your work or your career situation with experienced academics. For details including the programme and online registration form, see further information.

Religions & Theology Research Seminar

Christian Theology. Dr Isaac T. Soon (University of Durham) “Medicine to the Weak: Disability, Ecclesia, and Healing in Irenaeus' Adversus Haereses” 16:00 - 17:30 13 May 2021. Further information.

R&T Film Screening

For all R&T staff and students. Holly Morse has organised a special showing of  the documentary Hail Satan? (2019).  This is an opportunity to watch the film together and to talk informally about the fascinating issues raised, including religious freedoms, religion and politics, and what constitutes a religion. The Zoom chat function will be live throughout the screening to faciliate debate. After the film there will also be a discussion board open in the R&T BlackBoard Community space. Thu 22 April at 5pm on Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/98659539502 - a passcode will be issued to all staff and students by email on the day of the event).

Ehrhardt (Biblical Studies) Research Seminar

New Testament Studies. Dr Holly Morse (University of Manchester) ‘Falling for the Devil: Eve and the Witch’ 14:00 - 16:00. 6 May 2021. Further information.

From the Archive... Podcast, Israel Studies seminar

Literary representations of Jewish-Arab marriage.  Yohai Hakak (Brunel), Forbidden Love and Moral Panic: Jewish-Arab Couples in Contemporary Israel. Originally presented Thu 21 April 2016. Further information.