Student Prize Winner - European Association of Biblical Studies

Biblical studies. Kengoro Goto (NTC; PhD candidate) was awarded the EABS student price 2025 for his paper "Introduction of Four External Benchmarks for the Assessment of the Regional Association of Biblical Texts." Congratulations Kengoro! Further information.

Planetary Humanity & Theological Inquiry Video

Religious Traditions. Peter Scott was interviewed for a film called “Planetary Humanity: Astrobiology’s Invitation to the Humanities”. The dialogue captured by the film was part of a research project organized by the Centre of Theological Inquiry in Princeton. A collection of essays from the project Astrobiology, Religion, and Society: Considering Life on a Planetary Scale is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. Watch it here.

International Conference

Biblical studies. Thanks to a grant from Nijmeegs Fonds voor Feminisme en Religie, Siobhán Jolley and Tom de Bruin (Radboud University) hosted the "Liberating Biblical Women? Feminist Afterlives of the Bible in the 21st Century" symposium on 1 July 2025. From Manchester, Siobhán presented "Feminist Afterlives: A Haunting", and Holly Morse presented "Eve: The Fantasy and the Fear".

New Publication

Biblical studies. HRF Mary E. Mills has published "Transmutational spaces in Isaiah: between picture postcard and void" in Literature and Theology. Further information.

Going Beyond Belief Highlights

Public resource. Going Beyond Belief is an educational resource we in the Department of Religions and Theology have created in collaboration with the team behind BBC Radio 4’s ‘Beyond Belief’ programme. We have designed a series of webpages to support students in schools and colleges access a collection of innovative research produced by researchers at the University and the rich resource that is the Beyond Belief archive. “It’s a unique way to learn about Religions and Theology,” said Holly Morse, senior lecturer in Bible, Gender and Culture at The University of Manchester, who has co-ordinated the development of the resource. “We are particularly excited about the way the collaboration with the BBC Radio 4 Beyond Belief team gives students access to different kinds of material beyond textbooks.” Over the next few months we will be highlighting in the newsletter different topics covered by Going Beyond Belief, so keep an eye out!

Book Talk, Manchester Jewish Museum

Jewish Studies. CJS HRF Professor Tony Kushner will present his latest book, 'The Jewish Pedlar: An Untold Criminal History' at Manchester Jewish Museum on 31st July at 6pm. This thought-provoking work offers an imaginative investigation into a little-known historical crime, shedding new light on themes of migration, marginality, and Jewish life in Britain. The talk promises to open up fresh perspectives on overlooked aspects of Jewish and British social history. The event will also be an opportunity to learn more about the services of Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE) and their membership scheme. £5 tickets for Under 30s. Further information and tickets here.

Staffing Update

Religions & Theology. Congratulations to Dr Sarah Parkhouse on her appointment to the post of Lecturer in Biblical and Early Christian Studies (fixed term). She will complete her British Academy Fellowship and take up her post from 1 Sept 2025.

Undergraduate Excellence in Religions & Theology 2024–25

Student prizes. Congratulations to this year’s prize-winners in Religions & Theology! Asha Joseph (first year) receives the Bishop Lee Junior Greek Testament Prize for the best examination result in New Testament Greek. Edward Bullock (second year) receives the Philip Alexander Prize for the highest module grade in undergraduate Jewish Studies. The Undergraduate Dissertation Prize for Religious Studies for the best dissertation is awarded to Dorothy Brock for her project ‘Mothering Martyrs: did politico-religious discourses on 'Mothers of Martyrs' during the Second Palestinian Intifada influence expressions of grief among women in the West Bank?’. The Brandon Memorial Prize for the best work in comparative religion is awarded to Arrchana Lingarajah for the dissertation ‘Can religiousness in ethnic minority youth be attributed to an attachment to their cultural heritage? An analysis using UK university students' practice and perceptions of their religious identity since becoming independent.’ The Dastur Kutar Prize for best undergraduate dissertation in Non-Western Religious Studies is awarded to Katia Moussallati for her work on ‘The Indigenization of Christianity in the Pasifika: From Coconut Theology to the Climate Crisis - How did the form of Christianity brought by the colonialists differ from the version of Christianity that was adopted by the colonised peoples of the Pasifika?’. Finally, the Religion and Social Responsibility Dissertation Prize for the best undergraduate dissertation that explores a social or ethical challenge at the intersection of religion and social responsibility is awarded jointly to Natalie Newell for ‘Jokes, Identity and the Line We Draw: A critical investigation into how the identity of a stand-up comedian informs the acceptability of their comic material’ and Annabel Egberts for ‘Levinas's Philosophy and Its Relevance in Understanding Contemporary Forms of Evil and Moral Obligation’.

Nominations for Outstanding Staff Awards

Staff excellence. Has a lecturer, supervisor or member of staff this year had a positive impact on your learning? Why not nominate them for a Faculty of Humanities Outstanding Staff Award. Students can nominate in eight Award categories, including Outstanding Academic Advisor, Outstanding Dissertation Advisor (UG and PGT), and Outstanding Teaching. A list of categories and criteria, as well as further information and links for the nomination forms, can be found on the Outstanding Staff Awards student intranet webpage. The closing date for all nominations is midnight on 21 July 2025.

Muslim Arts and Culture Festival Presentation

Islamic studies. On 24 May 2025, Kamran Karimullah spoke about Discovering Islamic Poetry and Manuscripts at MACFEST - Muslim Arts and Culture Festival, Rylands Library. Further information.

Methodist Studies Seminar Call for Papers

Methodist Studies. Papers are invited for the Methodist Studies Seminar, which will be held at the Manchester Wesley Research Centre, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, co-hosted with Cliff College, on Friday 5 December 2025 (in person and online). The seminars provide an opportunity for established and emerging scholars of Methodist Studies to present the findings of their research and are designed to stimulate scholarship and thought about the broad range of Wesleyan and Methodist traditions, across a wide range of disciplines. Thus, the Methodist Studies Seminars welcome papers that relate to history, culture, theology, mission & ministry, literature, art, material culture, and other fields and issues as related to Methodism, broadly understood. Presentations should be prepared for 20 minutes, with discussion following. Persons needing to present on-line may be offered the opportunity to make 10-minute presentations. Please send the proposal including presenter’s name, institution, title, and an abstract of approximately 150 words to mwrc@nazarene.ac.uk by 7 September 2025. Persons will be informed of acceptance by 14 September 2025. A second round of proposals, submitted by 1 November 2025, will be considered with notification by 15 November 2025. The submission information (with no emails or phone numbers) will be used to advertise the event. Questions may be addressed to jlett@nazarene.ac.uk or to dbundy@nazarene.ac.uk.

International Conference Papers

 

Biblical Studies. Colleagues and HRFs have headed over to Uppsala University in Sweden this week (June 23-27 2025) to attend and present at the international Society of Biblical Literature/European Association of Biblical Studies conference. Siobhán Jolley is presenting two papers: "Sacred Art and the Secular Gaze: Reinterpreting Biblical Themes in Belfast" and "The Mother of All Revisions? “Feminism,” Conservatism, and an Emergent Filmic Canon in Mary (2024)", and Kengoro Goto (NTC) is presenting "Introduction of Four External Benchmarks for the Assessment of the Regional Association of Biblical Texts". Siobhán and Holly Morse co-organise and convene the session on "Intersectional Feminism(s)". CBS HRFs including Paul Middleton and Mat Collins are also presenting. Further information.

Book Launch Speaker

Biblical studies. George Brooke was a speaker at a book launch in Oxford on 11 June to mark the publication of Hindy Najman, Scriptural Vitality (OUP, 2025).

NTC Sydney Martin Lecture 2025

Annual lecture. Please plan to join the 2025 Sydney Martin Lecture with Dr. Manon Ceridwen James on Monday, 23 June. Her lecture title is Just a Joke? Insights from Theology, Humour and Comedy. Nazarene Theological College, Dene Road, Didsbury. 7.30-9pm Register here.

Rylands Blog Post

Biblical Studies. Peter Oakes and Sarah Parkhouse have written about the pilot project exploring the treasure trove of Coptic manuscripts at the John Rylands Library, "Far from Being in the ‘Most Useless’ Place: Linking John Rylands Coptic Manuscripts with the Coptic Community" on the Rylands blog. Read the entry here.

Academic consultation, Belgrade

Jewish Studies. Daniel Langton will be attending a three-day meeting in Belgrade as a British representative as part of the Holocaust Research Institute Partnership Network Meeting (UK and Southeastern Europe) to consider the question of source competence and historical skills in Holocaust and Jewish Studies within the European academy. 16-19 June 2025. 

Take Part in the Graduate Outcomes Survey

Did you graduate from UoM between February and April 2024? You’ve been sent the Graduate Outcomes survey via email! It aims to understand your perspectives & your current status. Find out more here.

New publication

Jewish Studies. MA student Yehudis Fletcher has co-authored a chapter entitled 'Judaism: Our Revolt-ing Women: Bringing Women Together to Highlight Abuse in Jewish Communities Today' in Abuse in World Religions edited by Johanna Stiebert (Routledge, 2025), 7-23. Further information

Book Presentation

Biblical studies. Siobhán Jolley presented her recently published book 'Reimaging the Magdalene: Feminism, Art, and the Counter-Reformation' to the Feminist Theology Network on 28 May.

Conference Paper

Religion and politics. Samuel O'Connor Perks gave a paper at the 'Money Talks: Futures for the Economic Humanities', University of Edinburgh, May 28 & 29. His paper was titled: 'Disagreements about Enchantment: An Exploration of Diverging Historiographic Commitments'. Further information.

Plenary Session Paper

Religion and the Environment. Two members of the Religion, Theology & Climate Change research team, Fin Malcolm and Gemma Edwards, are speaking at a plenary session of the Alternative Futures and Popular Protest conference, 3-5pm on Monday 16th June in Humanities Bridgeford Street Building (opposite Arthur Lewis), University of Manchester. There’s tea and coffee in the foyer from 2.40pm and the session is in the big lecture hall off the foyer.

Art and Christianity International Conference Workshop

Art and religion. Siobhán Jolley was part of a group representing Art + Christianity at "Creation Day & the Nicaea Centenary: Crystallizing the Ecumenical Dream of the New Liturgical Feast" conference, 5-7 May 2025, Assisi. Siobhán led a workshop about developing and commissioning art to support the celebration of the new ecumenical feast, Creationtide. Further information.

Manchester Wesley Research Centre Annual Lecture

Annual lecture. The Manchester Wesley Research Centre invited you to join in person and online on Tuesday 17 June 2025 at 5pm (UK time) for the 2025 MWRC Annual Lecture given by Prof Randy L. Maddox, the William Kellon Quick Professor Emeritus of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies, Duke Divinity School. The title of his lecture is ‘Charles Wesley and Lady Huntingdon: Erstwhile “Best of Friends”’. The lecture will take place online and at the JB Mclagan Chapel at Nazarene Theological College. You can register for a link to attend the event online here.

International Scholars' Visit

Coptic manuscripts. Jeremy Penner will host a group of scholars and research students from University of Texas, Austin, to study unpublished and uncatalogued Coptic manuscripts in the John Rylands Institute and Library for two weeks in June.

Religions and Theology Postgraduate Study Day 2025

For postgrads. On 13 June, UoM is hosting the Religions and Theology Postgraduate Study Day 2025 for researchers from Nazarene Theological College; Cliff College; Luther King Centre; and the Department of Religions and Theology, University of Manchester. Siobhán Jolley and Scott Midson will run a workshop on "Theology, Technology, and Interdisciplinarity". Other workshops include "Engaging with scholarship from the Global South/Majority World" and "Preparing for your viva". Munyurangabo Benda from the Centre for Black Theology, Queen’s Foundation Birmingham will deliver the keynote lecture "Finding the Fur: Tragedy, Trauma and Transformative Black Political Theology". The conference takes place in Samuel Alexander building, starting at 10am and concluding at 3.15pm. Email David Law with any questions.

Editorial Board Appointment

Biblical studies. Todd Klutz is on the editorial board for a forthcoming series "The Gnostic Imagination - Supplements to Gnosis" with Brill. The Gnostic Imagination Series analyzes, on a case-by-case basis, the impact of the Gnostic worldview on individuals and groups from antiquity to today and their cultural productions (i.e., literature, arts, film, media, material objects). The aim of the series is to provide theoretically-mature but succinct case studies about how, when, where, and why Gnostic thought impacts societies and culture from antiquity to today.

Social Responsibility Presentation

Social responsibility. Scott Midson is presenting 'Are friends electric?' at the Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement: Public Engagement in-house training session on Weds 21st May. Details on StaffNet.

Postgraduate Research Seminar

Jewish Studies. PhD student Rob Kanter presented to the History PGR research seminar on 'A United front against Fascism/Nazism? Jewish-Muslim relations in England, c1933-41.' The presentation explored the complexities of Jewish-Muslim relations in the British context. Whilst tensions in Palestine, including the Arab Great Revolt of 1936-39 formed a backdrop to Jewish-Muslim relations in England, pre-existing cultural, intellectual and religious interactions forged ahead. As the threat of Nazism became more pronounced, Jewish-Muslim solidarity continued to develop within the wider tapestry of nascent interfaith relations. University of Manchester, 22 May 2025.

Promotion to Senior Lecturer

Department news. Please join me in congratulating Katja Stuerzenhofecker on her promotion to Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies in Religion.

New Publication

Biblical studies. Honorary Research Fellow David Lamb has published The Function of Narrative Comments in the Gospel of John: A Literary and Linguistic Analysis in the "Interpreting Johannine Literature" series (Lexington Books/Fortress Academic). R. Alan Culpepper comments that this "sets a new milestone in Johannine scholarship". (The author is particularly pleased with the cover design, which includes one of his own photos.) Further information.

PGR Biblical Studies Conference

Biblical studies. UoM is hosting the Northern Universities PGR Biblical Studies & Patristics Day Conference 2025, Friday 23rd May, 10.30am-4pm, Ellen Wilkinson Building. UoM PGR papers include Lev Eakins, "A Really Nerdy and Geeky discovery concerning Eusebius’ Chronicle"; Daniel Skuce, "“I know your poverty”: A thought exercise in modelling from 1st Century Smyrna"; John Saleeb, "Early Christianity in Cyrenaica"; and Kate Bowen-Evans (NTC), "Broadening ableism beyond disability in biblical interpretation". Other papers are from PGRs at Durham and Chester. Andy Boakye is giving the plenary paper: "The Supra-Mortals: Paul and the Forces of Life". Thanks to Hannah Campbell and Siobhán Jolley for all the organisational efforts. Please contact Hannah with any questions.

Rylands Blog Post

Islamic studies. Kamran Karimullah has published "Unlocking the Secrets of the John Ryland’s Manuscript Collection: A Digital Humanities Study of an Arabic Manuscript of Galen’s ‘On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body'" on the Rylands blog. This work stems from his Rylands pilot grant, ‘Islam, teleology and Galen: A preliminary investigation of the Arabic translation of On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body’. Read the blog entry here.

The PGR Voice survey

For PGR students. The PGR Voice Survey is now open which means it’s your chance to tell us about your experience as a postgraduate researcher. Launched in 2023, the PGR Voice Survey has been developed and delivered in collaboration with the University of Sheffield to give you the opportunity to provide feedback on your experiences as a postgraduate researcher. We hope that you will take the time to complete the survey with your honest feedback so that we can continue to make the University of Manchester a great place to be a postgraduate researcher. The survey is open until Friday 20 June. It will only take around 15 minutes to complete. Your responses are confidential, and the reporting of results will be completely anonymous. For every survey completed, the University will donate £1 to charities, and you'll be entered into a prize draw. Further information.

Liberal Arts Student Conference

Student activities. The third annual Lib Arts Northern Network student conference took place in Leeds, 21st March. 14 of our students attended. An output of the day was this creative padlet page asking "Why do Liberal Arts Matter?"

Framing Religious Art Online Workshop

Religion and Arts. Siobhán Jolley is speaking at an online event "Framing Religious Art in UK Collections" on 17 June 2025, 13:30-15:30. In this workshop, artists, curators, and academics will present brief position papers that reflect on the museum as a space for faith and belief, making religious art today, and some possibilities for presenting historical and contemporary religious artworks to audiences who come from diverse faith backgrounds or none at all. The second half of the session will be a facilitated discussion focused on how museums and collections shape and share in cultural narratives about faith and religion. Participants are welcome to bring their experiences of the collections they work for or research into the discussion. Further information and registration here.

New Publication

Religion & Politics. Michael Hoelzl has published "Die imaginierte Gemeinschaft von Nachfolge und followers. Ein politisch-theologischer Vergleich" in: Lukas Bormann, Ansgar Kreutzer (eds). Politische Theologien. Aufbrüche und Neukonzipierungen (Herder, 2025) pp. 469-486. The aim of this essay is to confront the theological and sociological concept of fellowship in Johann Baptist Metz Neue Politische Theologie with the social media phenomenon of followers. It is argued that both the traditional understandings of discipleship as well as the virtual communities of followers can be conceived as imagined communities, despite some fundamental differences between them. In the conclusion it will be argued that both conceptions of fellowship need to be taken into account for pastoral reasons but also for the sake of a further development of political theology today. Further information.

Edinburgh Passion Play Panel

Biblical studies. Sarah Parkhouse is speaking on a panel about the Edinburgh 2025 Passion Play, "Behold the Man"; University of Edinburgh, 9 May, 2pm. Further information.

Historical Association Conference Presentation

Jewish studies. On 9 May, PhD student Rob Kanter will present an interactive session at the annual Historical Association conference in Liverpool. The session: 'Exploring multiple Arab and Jewish voices to understand the background to the Arab-Israeli conflict, c1917-38'. This session will explore the background to and the main developments and events during the Mandate period. Rob has develop a conference style activity to explore with educators which investigates multiple Arab and Jewish perspectives on the Peel Partition Plan and aims to draw lessons for interacting with contemporary debates surrounding the current phase of the conflict. Further information.

International Conference Paper

Asian Religions. Erica Baffelli will be presenting at the XXIII IAHR Congress in Kraków in August 2025 as speaker on a roundtable on “Recentring Fear in the Study of Religion: Theorising from Asia” and as discussant for the panel “The Religious Aesthetics of Intense Devotion in the Ancient World”. Further information.

East Asian Religion Seminar

Buddhist Studies. The East Asia Research Seminar invites you to "Extraordinary Lives: Illustrated Hagiographies in Ming Book Culture" by Dr Noga Ganany (University of Cambridge), May 14th, 16.00-18.00pm, Sam Alex A112. For more information on the research seminar, please feel free to send your queries to Zhaokun Xin.

National Gallery Video

Bible and Arts. The National Gallery’s Picture of the Month for April is Savoldo’s Mary Magdalene, and they’ve released a short film where Siobhán Jolley explains how we can identify her in the work. Watch it here.

Buddhist Studies Keynote

Buddhist studies. Erica Baffelli will deliver a keynote for the annual conference of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies (UKABS) on June 28, 2025 (SOAS, University of London). Her keynote address will be titled: “Buddhism at the Margins: Crisis, Community, and Vulnerabilities”.

BBC Breakfast

Christian studies. Siobhán Jolley appeared on BBC Breakfast on 27 April to talk about Pope Francis' legacy and funeral.

Yom Hashoah Commemoration, Manchester

Jewish studies. PhD student Rob Kanter used aspects of his PhD research on Jewish-Muslim relations in Britain to write and present some of the programme at Manchester's Yom Hashoah commemoration which was attended by 900 people in Central Manchester on Wednesday 23 April. The theme of this year's event was 'Untold Stories'. Rob explored the under told experiences of Jewish communities in Iraq and Tunisia during the period of the Holocaust to broaden the audience's understanding on the 'long reach' of the Holocaust into the Middle East and North Africa. Further information.

New Publication

Biblical studies. Todd Klutz has published "Justinus’s Book of Baruch" in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, vol. 2, edited by James R. Davila and Richard Bauckham (Eerdmans). The work includes an article-length introduction, a new translation, bibliography, and scholarly annotations. Further information.

From the archive... TV documentary on Crucifixion

Easter treat. 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 on Channel 5 Select (UK) at 8pm on 11 April 2020. 

New Booklet Publication

Buddhist studies. The Jodoshu Research Institute has published a booklet on LGBTQ+ and Inclusion to be distributed in temples and Buddhist high schools. Erica Baffelli was part of their research group on sexuality and inclusion that developed the publication and she has contributed to the booklet with a short column. The booklet is available online here. 

International Symposium Paper

Biblical studies. On 2–3 April George Brooke took part in a symposium at KU Leuven in honour of Professor Eibert Tigchelaar on his retirement. Prof Brooke presented a paper on “Probing the Principles of Principal Editions.”

International Research Paper and Lectures

Biblical and Jewish studies. On the week of 7th April, Siobhán Jolley visited Radboud University in the Netherlands to give a research paper, "Apostle to the Church: Reimaging the Resurrection Magdalene", and visiting lectures on the New Testament and Visual Exegesis and Judaism and Visual Art.

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

 

Religion & Theology. 8th May, Ben Quash (King's College London), "What's Going On When Theology is Done with Visual Art?: First Steps Towards a Hermeneutic". 4-6pm, in University Place 5.205 and online. For online access, please email Siobhán Jolley or Scott Midson.