New Publication

Theology. Scott Midson has published "Technology: Cybernetics and Creation" in the T&T Clark Handbook of the Doctrine of Creation, edited by Jason Goroncy. Further information.

International Conference Paper

Theology and Technology. Scott Midson gave a paper "Theological Foundations and Problematisations of Lovotics" at the Theology, Technology and Human Flourishing conference, Carlow College, St Patrick's, Ireland, on 13th April.

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

 

Religion & Theology. 2nd May,  Enoch Adekoya (University of Manchester) will give a paper "Eschatology and the Politicality of the Church". University Place 6.208 and Online. 4-5.30pm. For access, please email Wren Radford.

New Publication

Biblical studies. George J. Brooke has published “The Bible and the Humanities and the Social Sciences” in Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions: Methodological Encounters and Debates, edited by Martti Nissinen and Jutta Jokiranta, Resources for Biblical Study 106 (Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2024), 547–60.

SST Conference

Theology. The Society for the Study of Theology annual conference was well attended by our students and staff this year. Finlay Malcom and Charlotte Bray presented papers, and Peter Scott and Charlotte Gargett also attended. LTI member Jenny Daggers chaired a session. Former PhD student Caleb Gordon co-chaired a new seminar stream on Ecotheology. And Scott Midson as SST Secretary organised the whole event for the first time with over 200 people attending. The conference ran at Warwick, 8th-11th April 2024, and the theme was Prayer. Further information.

Ehrhardt Seminar in Biblical Studies

 

Biblical Studies. On 25th April, Jane Heath (Durham University) will give a paper "Clement of Alexandria and the Judgement of Taste." University Place 6.208 and Online. Please contact Lev Eakins if you are interested in joining.

Theological Educators’ Conference

Theological education. On 10 July, Eve Parker will be a speaker at Durham University at the Annual Theological Educators’ Conference on the subject of Theological Education and Mental Health. The conference will take place 10 – 12 July. Theological educators can find out more and sign up here.

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

  

Religion & Theology. 18th April, Holly Morse and Peter Scott will be in Conversation on the topic of Community. University Place 6.208 and Online. 4-5.30pm. For access, please email Wren Radford.

New publication

Atheism and Jewish Studies. Daniel R. Langton, "The Non-Believing Jew: A Historical Survey of Judaism’s Engagement with Atheism." International Journal for the Study of Skepticism (published online ahead of print 2024), 1-19. Further information.

New podcast series, Centre for Jewish Studies

Jewish Studies and New Testament Studies. 'What would Jesus the Jew do?' is new podcast exploring key questions that will help readers of the New Testament to better understand Judaism at the time of Jesus. In each episode, scholars from the Centre for Jewish Studies and Centre for Biblical Studies at the University of Manchester talk listeners through a topic. The companion website provides links to all of the episodes as well as additional resources to deepen your understanding. Further information.

SALC research showcase: Environment

Environment and religion. Finlay Malcom will be speaking at the SALC research showcase. The theme is Environment. Tue 14 May 2024, 12:00-5:30 PM at Kanaris Theatre, Manchester Museum, M13 9PL. Further details.

Ehrhardt Seminar in Biblical Studies

 

Biblical Studies. On 11th April, Dan Batovici (KU Leuven/University of Cambridge) will give a paper "Clement of Rome in Syriac Biblical Manuscripts." University Place 6.208 and Online. Please contact Lev Eakins if you are interested in joining.

International Conference Paper

Political philosophy and religion. Samuel O'Connor Perks will present a paper "Simone Weil, the Catholic Worker Movement and contested readings of Marx" at the workshop "The Politics and Ethics of Labour" at the American Weil Society colloquium, April 26-27th, Université of Montréal.

Film event, Drama with Centre for Jewish Studies and German

Holocaust Studies. You are invited to the screening of Farewell, Herr Schwarz (Germany/Israel, 2014) followed by filmmaker Q&A session. Yael Reuveny’s documentary attempts to answer for the filmmaker herself why her great-uncle, a Holocaust survivor, chose to resettle in East Germany after the war and start a family there; a life her family in Israel only learned about after his death in the late 1980s. The event takes place on Monday 15 April 2024, 12:00 – 15:00. Please email katja.stuerzenhofecker@manchester.ac.uk for venue details.

Rylands Lunchtime Seminar

Digital humanities. On 30 May, Kamran Karimullah, Hammood Obaid & Charlotte Hoare will give the lunchtime seminar at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library on "Translation, Teleology and Technology: Digital Humanities Studies of the Ancient World". 1pm. All events are online and free for anyone to attend! Booking here.

National Student Survey (NSS)

Help your department! The National Student Survey is completed by final-year undergraduates at universities across the UK. It runs from Mon 29 January to Tue 30 April 2024 and there's a prize draw for an iPad and vouchers. Universities and students' unions use student feedback to see how we can keep delivering high quality teaching, and future students can see the results to help them make degree choices. Please take the survey!

Podcast, Bible and Beyond

Biblical studies. Sarah Parkhouse spoke about a possible new fragment of the Gospel of Mary on the popular podcast Bible and Beyond. Listen here.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Workshop

Jewish studies. HRF Ion Popa has been working in the last few years as a historical consultant for the Programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust (PERH) at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). This summer they are hosting a research workshop, with Ion as leader, titled: "Finding Religion in the USHMM Collections: New Methods for Archival Research" (July 29-August 2). This in-person workshop will allow participants to explore a recently developed research guide that highlights the diversity and scope of the USHMM’s archival collections that relate to religion (broadly defined); conduct independent research, and discuss methodologies and findings with other participants and USHMM staff. Further information including how to apply.

Event: Gospel of Mary: Received and Retold

Biblical studies. Registration is now open for "The Gospel of of Mary: Received and Retold" at the University of Manchester and online, 16th May. Scholars, artists, and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines are invited to participate in this one-day symposium exploring the creative reception of the Gospel of Mary. This event will bring together research and practice from across disciplines including biblical studies, performance, storytelling, and art history, fostering dialogue and collaboration. Speakers include academics from multiple disciplines, performers and historical consultants from film and tv. This event is part of a broader research project exploring feminist storytelling, the Gospel of Mary and Jo Blake’s The Witness, and a portion of the event will focus on this work in particular. Registration is free but booking is essential. Register here.

Student travel grant

Holocaust studies. As part of her bequest to the University of Manchester, Prof. Fanny Bogdanow funded an annual lecture series and a number of student travel bursaries for educational visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau. This year the Centre for Jewish Studies can allocate up to 2 awards of £400 each. Application deadline: 8 April 2024. For more details on eligibility and how to apply, see further information.

Public Lecture

Biblical studies. Andrew Boakye gave the 5th Annual Race, Theology and Justice lecture at the University of Durham on March 13th 2024. The paper was entitled ‘The Pain Beneath the Protest: Paul, the Gospel and Currents in Racial Discourse’. It assessed and discussed Christian responses to the use of Critical Social Theories about race (CRT) in anti-racist activism and Paul’s gospel as a possible refractive lens for mediating the positive results of CRT in anti-racist dialogue in religious spaces.

R&T and BBC co-create Exciting Learning Tool

Online learning resource. A team of academics from the department have created ‘Going Beyond Belief’, a new learning resource for A Level students, with the support of the BBC Beyond Belief team. The resource has unique contributions with a range of specialisms including Christian theology, Jewish studies, Islamic studies and Biblical Studies, as well as expertise in understanding the complex relationships between religion(s) and philosophy, science, and textual studies, and explorations of highly contemporary issues such environment, sexuality, gender, race relations, and artificial intelligence. “It’s an exciting and unique way to learn about Religions and Theology,” said the project leader, Holly Morse. See the longer press release and the resource.

Event at National Gallery

Biblical studies. CBS Hon. Research Fellow Siobhán Jolley is running a National Gallery Friday Lates on "Mary Magdalene: Woman and Witness" as part of Women's History Month. She will be joined by the performance artist and storyteller Jo Blake and together they will discuss Mary Magdalene, the relationship between different modes of creative retelling, and the art of feminist storytelling. Further information.

Nominations for outstanding staff awards

Teaching excellence. Students can nominate in eight Award categories. A list of categories and criteria, as well as further information and links for the nomination forms for the students, can be found on the Outstanding Staff Awards student intranet webpage. The closing date for nominations for the Outstanding PGT Dissertation Supervisor Award is midnight on Friday, 7 June 2024. The closing date for nominations for all other award categories is midnight on Monday, 6 May 2024. Further information.

New podcasts, Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies 2024

Holocaust Studies. We are delighted to announce that the Bogdanow Lectures 2024 are now available to view online. The series is entitled 'The Return of the Repressed: Ukraine's Unresolved Pasts' and was presented by Prof. Omer Bartov (Brown University). Lecture 1: History, Myth, and Fiction: Narratives of the Ukrainian Past. Lecture 2: Coexistence and Violence: The Reality and Memory of Genocide in Ukraine. View podcasts.

Wesleyan Theological Society 2024

Christian Theology. Honorary Research Fellow and First Vice-President of the Wesleyan Theological Society Geordan Hammond reports: The Wesleyan Theological Society held its 59th Annual Meeting, March 1-2, 2024 on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Thomas A. Noble (Nazarene Theological College). The book "Holiness and Pentecostal Movements" by David Bundy, (Manchester Wesley Research Centre), Geordan Hammond (Manchester Wesley Research Centre), and David Sang-Ehil Han (Pentecostal Theological Seminary) was one of two recognized with the Smith/Wynkoop Book Award.

Ehrhardt Seminar in Biblical Studies

Biblical Studies. On 14th March, Sue Gillingham (Worcester College, University of Oxford) will give a paper "Is Reception History ‘Biblical Studies on Holiday’? Psalm 137 as a Test Case." Zoom only. Please contact Lev Eakins if you are interested in joining.

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

  

Religion & Theology. 14th March, Anthony Reddie (University of Oxford) will give a paper titled "Decolonising Epistemological Frameworks: Rethinking the underlying knowledge construction of Black Theological Thought". University Place 6.208 and Online. 4-5.30pm. For access, please email Wren Radford.

Online Short Course

Religion and Art. CBS Hon Research Fellow Siobhán Jolley is teaching on an online course "Rebirth and resurrection: Easter scenes at the National Gallery", Thursdays, 14th, 21st, and 28th March 2024. Further information. 

A.S. Peake Memorial Trust Lecture

Biblical studies. On Sat 9th March Andy Boakye will give the keynote at the A.S. Peake Memorial Trust Lecture at Methodist Central Hall in Manchester. This study day aims to present the letter of Ephesians as a manifesto of community. Further information.

Job Opportunity for Artists

Buddhist studies. The University of Manchester “Fear and Belonging” project research team, in collaboration with FutureEverything, is seeking a digital artist/collective to work with researchers to create an open-access online digital artwork for the Fear and Belonging in Minority Buddhist Communities project, funded by The Leverhulme Trust. Further information.

Virtual Tour of Instruments of Change Exhibition

Liberal arts. Scott Midson recently spoke at the event "Access for All; are digital museums better?" As part of the University’s bicentenary, the Museum of Medicine and Health (MMH) hosted an online event on 21 February where over 50 participants were led on a virtual tour of the Instruments of Change digital exhibition, showcasing historic medical objects across 200 years of healthcare, research, and medical education in Manchester. Drawing on his experience using the MMH collection to deliver object-based sessions in his lectures, Scott provided valuable insights into the educational benefits of digital platforms for student projects. Further information.

Research Paper Presentation

Biblical studies. Recent PhD awardee and teaching fellow Dr Anna Budhi-Thornton presented their work "Jesus the model man? A comparison of ancient masculinities and the Jesus of the Johannine passion narrative" at the Sheffield Centre for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies on 12th Feb.

BBC Radio 4

Religion and Art. On 11th Feb, CBS Hon Research Fellow and UoM PhD awardee Siobhán Jolley spoke to Emily Buchanan about Spanish artist Salustiano García Cruz's depiction of Jesus on BBC Radio 4's "Sunday". Listen here.

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

 

Religion & Theology. 29th February, Mia Spiro will give a paper titled "Points of Arrival: Crossings and Borders in Holocaust Survivor memoirs." Hybrid mode (in person location tbc), 4pm. For access, please email Wren Radford.

New Publication

Biblical studies. HRF Helen R. Jacobus has published "The Gospel of John and the Second Passover," in The Polish Journal of Biblical Research 22 (Dec. 2023): 73–112. The article offers a new theory for the chronology of Passion Week in the Fourth Gospel.

Ehrhardt Seminar in Biblical Studies

Biblical Studies.  Lynn Cohick (Houston Theological Seminary) will give a paper titled "The New Perspective on Paul and Second Temple Judaism on Resurrection". 22nd February, 4pm, Zoom only. Please contact lev.eakins@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk if you are interested in joining. 

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

 

Religion & Theology. 15th February, Yin-An Chen will give a paper "From Discipline to Governmentality, How Can We Find Foucault's Idea of Freedom? A Theological Response." Hybrid mode (in person location tbc) 4pm. For access, please email Wren Radford.

Beyond Belief, BBC-Manchester project

Religious Studies online resource. The collaboration between members of the Department and the BBC has launched. Beyond Belief is a multi-topic educational resource for teachers and students based on the online archive of Radio 4's Beyond Belief programme and led by Holly Morse. Check it out here.

Samuel Ferguson Lecture 2024

Christian Theology. On 7th March, in partnership with Manchester Cathedral, the Department will present the 2024 Ferguson Lecturer, Niels Henrik Gregersen (Copenhagen University). Ferguson presentation: ‘The role of the cathedral in contemporary culture: Danish experiences’, 12–1pm, St Denys room, Visitors’ Centre, Manchester Cathedral, followed by lunch. The Ferguson lecture will be held at the University (C1.18 in the Ellen Wilkinson building) at 4pm the same day. The title: ‘What does it mean to have a home? From deep incarnation to deep inhabitation’, followed by a reception. Both events are free, and tickets are not required. Further information.

New post: Lecturer in Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts. We are hiring for a lecturer in Liberal Arts. Liberal Arts is based in the School of Arts, Languages, and Culture and is linked to us in R&T, so a research background or profile in interdisciplinary religions and/or theology would be highly desirable. "You will be key to the delivery of the Liberal Arts programme and should be committed to interdisciplinary and socially responsible research and teaching and interested in cross-cutting methodologies, issues and themes across the humanities. You must have a PhD in a relevant field of specialisation, namely interdisciplinary religious studies, and demonstrable teaching experience at university level. Your research may focus on any aspect or period of your specialisation..." Deadline: 22 March 2024. Further information.

Research Award

Biblical Studies. British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow Sarah Parkhouse has been awarded the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise 2024 for her book Eschatology and the Saviour: The Gospel of Mary among Early Christian Dialogue Gospels, published with Cambridge University Press. The book was a result of her PhD at the University of Durham. The celebration of the awards will take place at the University of Heidelberg in May 2024. The ten winners receive a prize of €3,000. The applications were ranked by an international, interdisciplinary and multi-religious board of distinguished scholars. Further information.

Ehrhardt Seminar in Biblical Studies

 

Biblical Studies.  Casey Strine (University of Sheffield) will give a paper on "Dim, Narrow, Nonexistent? Ezekiel’s Vision of Israel’s Restoration". 8th February, 4pm. Zoom only. Please contact lev.eakins@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk if you are interested in joining. 

New Publication

Biblical Studies. Centre for Biblical Studies Hon. Research Fellow Dominika Kurek-Chomycz has published “Excluded from the Kingdom or Leading the Revolution? Môroi and the Question of Intellectual Disability in New Testament Writings” (co-authored with Emma Swai) in Christian Laes & Irina Metzler (eds.), ‘Madness’ in the Ancient World: Innate or Acquired? From Theoretical Concepts to Daily Life, Turnhout: Brepols, 2023, 123-157. The volume is advertised on the Brepols website as 'The first ever book volume study on congenital intellectual disability in the ancient world'. Further information.

Webinar Talk

Christian theology. On Wednesday 17th January, Charlotte Bray was invited to be a guest speaker at a webinar on 'Decolonization in the World of Christian NGOs'. The webinar was to highlight the recent publication of the special issue of the Accord Network’s journal, Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy (CRDA) on this topic. The event was run by the Accord Network, the Accord Research Alliance (ARA) faculty group, and the editors of CRDA. The aim of the webinar was to raise awareness of the importance of decolonising the international development and humanitarian aid sector. Charlotte was asked to respond to the journal articles from a Christian theological and ethical perspective and offer thoughts on the opportunities and challenges ahead for Christian NGOs who are attempting to decolonise their ways of working.

Call for Papers

Biblical Studies. CBS members Kirsi Cobb, Holly Morse, and Siobhán Jolley are involved in a new unit on "Intersectional Feminism(s)" at the international Society of Biblical Literature (iSBL). They invite papers on "The Future of Feminist Criticsm?" and "Intersections of Interdisciplinarity", as well papers for their open call, to be presented at the annual meeting in Amsterdam 28 July–1 August 2024. They seek contributions from a wide range of scholars at every stage of their career. Further information here (scroll down to Feminist Interpretations). Deadline: 13th Feb 2024.

Public Lecture

Interfaith studies. Honorary Research Fellow Dwight D Swanson gave a public lecture for the Islamic College (Willesden Green, London) Interfaith Series on 22 December. 'The Birth of Jesus in the Gospel and Qur'an: An Exercise in Intertextuality'.

New Publication

Biblical Studies. Centre for Biblical Studies Hon. Research Fellow Dominika Kurek-Chomycz has published “(Inc)sensing Revelation: Incense, Senses, and the Agency of Incense Utensils in the Apocalypse of John,” in N. Leach, D.C. Smith, & T. Keddie (eds.), Revelation and Material Religion in the Roman East: Essays in Honor of Steven J. Friesen (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies), Routledge, 2024, pp. 109-125. Further information.

The Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies

Jewish Studies. The centre for Jewish Studies hosts online Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies with Prof. Omer Bartov (Brown University), ‘The Return of the Repressed: Ukraine's Unresolved Pasts’, 6pm GMT, 30 and 31 Jan 2024. Further details and zoom links here.

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

 

Religion & Theology. On 1st February, Charlotte Bray and Samuel O’Connor Perks will offer the next installment of the 'In Conversation' series. Hybrid mode (in person location tbc) 4–5.30pm. For access, please email Wren Radford.