Humanist Society Public Talk

Religion. Michael Hoelzl will give a public talk to the Stockport Humanist's Society on Wednesday March 19th 2025 at 7.30pm. The topic of the lecture is: "The new visibility of religion today." Please find more information about the society here.

New Book Publication

Theology. Charlotte Bray has published Sin and the Vulnerability of Embodied Life: Towards a Catholic Theology of Social Sin in T&T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology, with Bloomsbury. Further information.

Religion and Theology Research Seminar

Religion & Theology. Frederick Simmons, "Environmental Despair, Salvation History, and the Theological Virtues". 20th February, 4-6pm, University Place 5.205. For online access, please email Siobhán Jolley or Scott Midson.

International Society for Science and Religion, blog entry

Jewish history. Daniel Langton was invited to contribute an entry entitled 'Judaism and Science: Where has the Dialogue got to?' for the International Society for Science and Religion blog. Further information.

Museum Careers Events

Employability. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to visit the Manchester Museum to speak to some of their staff about their roles and to see practical demonstrations of what they do on a day-to-day basis. Staff will also be happy to talk about their career paths to give you a sense of potential routes into the cultural sector. Places on the trip will be ring-fenced for interested students from the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures until Wednesday 19th February, at which point students from across the University will be eligible to reserve a place. Monday 3rd March, 15:30. High demand is expected and places are limited, so sign up now via CareerConnect if you're interested!

Jewish Book Week Event

Jewish Studies. On 9 March, at Jewish Book Week, CJS HRF Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz will be in conversation with American author Marc Shapiro, about his new book 'Renewing the Old, Sanctifying the New: The Unique Vision of Rav Kook (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization). Further information.

Manchester China Institute Webinar

Christian studies. Join the webinar of the Manchester China Institute with Prof Ruth Hayhoe and Dr Leping Mou to learn more about liberal arts and the legacy of China’s Christian universities. This online event will take place on Tuesday, 18 February (4:00-5:30pm UK time) via Zoom. Register for free here.

Creative Careers Event

Employability. Are you interested in a career in media, performing arts, or content creation? Want the chance to hear from creatives who have written for Dazed Magazine, worked with brands as diverse as Adidas, New Balance, the NBA, Premier League clubs and artists including Tems, Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake? Many roles within these creative industries require you to work freelance or be self-employed, and this session, through practical activities and the chance to meet experienced freelancers, will introduce you to what that looks like, helping you gain the insights and skills to take the first step. Wednesday 26th February, 13:30.  Sign up on CareerConnect to reserve your spot.

Assessment feedback

For students. Now is the time to review the feedback you received on your Semester 1 assignments. Become clear about the aspects of your work that scored highly = do this again. Make a plan how to follow up on the suggested improvements = speak to your Lecturers and Academic Advisor, use MyLearningEssentials and other recommended resources. Weekly office hours are advertised in course materials, in the R&T Common Room (Samuel Alexander building, S1.11) and on staff web pages.

PhD Completion

Political Theology. Enoch Adekoya has successfully completed his PhD titled “The Church as Political Society in the Political Theologies of Stanley Hauerwas and Oliver O’Donovan”, supervised by Peter Scott and Scott Midson and examined by Philip Ziegler and David Law. Warmest congratulations!

Religion and Gen Z on Radio 4

Student voices. Members of Gen Z, including students in our department, recently spoke on Radio 4 about Gen Z and attitudes to religion and spirituality, which suggests a majority describe themselves as 'fairly spiritual'. Listen here.

Ehrhardt Seminar in Biblical Studies

 

Biblical Studies. On 27th Feb, the Ehrhardt Seminar will be joint with the Classics and Ancient History Research Seminar, which gives us a new time and place. Peter Pormann will be speaking on "Δεισιδαιμονεστέρους: an Enigmatic Example of Enantiosemy in Acts 17:22b" at 2pm in Samuel Alexander A7. For the Zoom link, please email Melanie Giles.

Jewish Community Scholar Program, US

Jewish Studies. In March, CJS HRF Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz will be teaching a series of online lectures on 'Translating the Bible' for the Jewish Community Scholar Program, Orange County, California. Lindsey's sessions are 6, 20 and 27 March. Further information.

Spotlight on Louis Lovell Thomas, alumnus

Accountancy and consultancy.  Louis studied Religions & Theology from 2016 to 2019. After completing his studies, he transitioned into Professional Services, starting at a mid-tier accountancy and consultancy firm in regulatory compliance. He has recently moved to a Big Four accountancy firm, where he continues his work in the same field, and he went onto gain further qualifications from the International Compliance Association. Despite his professional path, Louis remains passionate about theology and hopes to return to further studies in the future. He featured in an exhibition called Corporate Queer, which explored themes of identity and the workplace. This was showcased in the Houses of Parliament in 2023. Louis has remained in Manchester building a strong circle of friends and a good social life in the city.

Research Awards Committee Appointment

Jewish Studies. CJS HRF Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz has been invited to serve on the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute's Research Awards Academic Advisory Committee for 2025. Further information.

Grant Award - International

Biblical studies. Siobhán Jolley and Tom de Bruin (Radboud University) have been awarded a grant from Nijmeegs Fonds voor Feminisme en Religie to host a symposium at Radboud University exploring the feminist afterlives of biblical women in 21st Century media.

Chinese Mythology and Patriarchy Discussion

Chinese mythology. Join the conversation on patriarchy, male dominance, and Chinese mythology with Xiaobing Wang, Amelia Bonea, and Zhaokun Xin from the University of Manchester. This in-person event will take place on Tuesday, 4 Feb (4:00-5:30pm) at the Portico Library. Further information and registration.

Ehrhardt Biblical Studies Seminar

 

Biblical Studies. 13th Feb, Dominika Kurek-Chomycz (Liverpool Hope and Manchester HRF), "A perfect (mis)fit for a leader? Moses’s speech impediment in early Christian interpretation". 4pm in Uni Place 6.207 and hybrid access. Tea and light refreshments will be served in the Religions and Theology Common Room on the first floor of the Samuel Alexander Building from 3pm. For further information and Zoom link, please email Lynne Potts.

Limmud Festival 2024

Jewish Studies. At the Limmud Festival 20–25 December 2024, CJS HRF Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz presented a session on the new Limmud Archive, linked to her research on Limmud, with the archivist. She was also in conversation with Gila Fine on her new book 'The Madwoman in the Rabbi's Attic' (Maggid, 2024), on feminist rereadings of talmudic stories.

Samuel Ferguson Lecture 2025

Christian Theology. On 6th March, in partnership with Manchester Cathedral, the Department will present the 2025 Ferguson Lecturer, Prof. J. Kameron Carter (University of California, Irvine). Prof. Carter give will a presentation at Manchester Cathedral at 12pm “Beyond Idolatry (Political and Otherwise)”, followed by lunch. Carter will later give a lecture at 4pm at the University of Manchester, “Authoritarianism; or, Theology and the Strongman”, in C1.18 Ellen Wilkinson, followed by a reception. You are warmly invited to either or both events. Both events are free, and tickets are not required.

Nissan Seminar, Oxford

Japenese religions. On 24 January, 5pm, Erica Baffelli will give the Nissan Seminar at St Antony's College, University of Oxford. Her seminar paper is titled "Religion at the margins: Fear and belonging in minority religious communities in Japan." Further information.

Special Lecture

Biblical studies. 28th January, Roberta Mazza (Bologna) "Stolen Fragments: some reflections on methods, practices and impact in the Humanities", 4-6pm, Samuel Alexander A102. Please contact Professor Melanie Giles for the zoom address if you wish to attend remotely.

Public-Facing Writing

Biblical studies. Andy Boakye, Siobhán Jolley, and HRF Loveday Alexander have contributed to recent issues of Guidelines: Bible study for today's ministry and mission. Andy has written on Galatians, Siobhán on Mary Magdalene, and Loveday on Luke 17–24. Further information.

Robotics, Religion and Ethics Workshop

Religion and AI. Scott Midson will be speaking on "Robot, Religion, Ethics" at the International Workshop on Robotics, Religion and Ethics. Friday 28th Feb 2025, 9:00am-5:00pm, University of Manchester, Engineering B_2B.025 M&T. Further information and tickets.

Faculty/School recognition for MA student

Jewish education. Congratulations to Yehudis Fletcher, MA Religions & Theology, who was the School's nominee for the Faculty’s Distinguished Achievement Award: Postgraduate Student of the Year. The criteria was that "the nominee should be an outstanding postgraduate student on a taught programme who has excelled in some significant manner." Yehudis was put forward by SALC for her charitable work and research relating to the place of secular education in the Charedi or so-called ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. Among other things, her charitable foundation published an Education Policy Position paper 9 Sept 2024, supported by Baroness Estelle Morris and Baroness Tessa Blackstone, that has been taken up by the media, including the BBC and the Jewish Press, and is intended to influence the Government’s ‘Children’s Wellbeing Act’.

Interested in a Freelance Career?

 

For students. The Careers Service are planning to hold a workshop in February 2025 for SALC students who are interested in being self-employed, or working freelance in the future. Self-employment and freelance work is particularly common across the creative and cultural sectors, including Music, film, television, writing of all kinds, journalism, advertising and marketing. The workshop will include advice and tips on how to approach a freelance career, as well as the chance to speak to freelancers working within sectors of particular interest to SALC students. If you are interested in attending such an event, it’s important for you to complete the pre-registration survey via the link below, so that the Careers Service can contact you in January with further information about the event, including how to reserve your place (places will be limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis). The survey also gives you an opportunity to indicate the areas of freelance work that you are interested in, so that the Careers Service can plan the event accordingly and do their best to tailor aspects of it to your interests. Take the survey here. 

Religion & Theology Seminar

Religion & Theology. 6th February - "Climate Change Research Group", in University Place 6.207 and online. 4-6pm. For online access, please email Siobhán Jolley or Scott Midson.

Spotlight on Kath Vardi, alumna

Religions and the Jewish community. Kath Vardi studied for a BA Religions and Theology (Jewish Studies) between 2008-2011, returning to study as a mature student having previously worked as a mental health nurse in the NHS and charity sector. Following graduation she went to Leo Baeck College in London and studied for the progressive rabbinate and was ordained in 2017. She has been working as the rabbi to a community in Surrey for the last 7 years and will soon be returning to Manchester to work with Menorah Synagogue.

British New Testament Society Appointment

Biblical studies. Siobhán Jolley and has been appointed the new information officer for the British New Testament Society. Further information.