Events programme, Manchester Wesley Research Centre

Christian Studies. The MWRC has close ties to the Department and is headed by Geordan Hammond, an honorary research fellow. It is one of the most important centres for the study of Methodism in the world, not least because of the important collections in the University library. For details of its coming activities and events, see further information.

Die Presse, Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts. In this edition of the Austrian daily newspaper, Scott Midson sets out the benefits of the Liberal Arts degree programme, which at Manchester collaborates closely with Religions & Theology. He observes that the program is very flexible and that "Students can draw from a full range of disciplines and choose courses from the fields of theology, Egyptology, linguistics and disaster management, to drama and digital humanities." Die Presse, 6 May 2022. Further information.

Public Lecture, Oxford University

Jewish Studies. Philip Alexander will give a lecture to celebrate the launch of the book The Mishnaic Moment: Jewish Law among Jews and Christians in Early Modern Europe (2022). Exeter College, Oxford. 23 June 2022.  Further information.

Research funding, AHRC standard grant

Christian theology and environmentalism. Congratulations to Peter Scott (Director, Lincoln Theological Institute) who has been awarded funding as principal investigator for the 3-year project ’Religion, Theology and Climate Change’ (£700,940). The research team includes co-investigators Dr Celia Deane-Drummond (Laudato Si Research Institute, Oxford University) and Dr Gemma Edwards (Sociology, Manchester University). The project will investigate on-the-ground theologies in support of climate adaptation, mitigation and responsible action, in conversation with the project’s partners: the Dioceses of Manchester, Oxford and Salford; Christian Climate Action and Operation Noah; and aid agency CAFOD.

Postdoctorate funding, Leverhulme

Political philosophy and religion. Congratulations and a warm welcome to Samuel O'Connor Perks who has been awarded a 36-month Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (£114,000) for a project entitled "Radical Conversions: Catholicism, Welfare and Labour in the 20th Century". This project examines the role of religion in 20th century political theory and praxis through the theoretical lens of conversion. By analysing the intellectual frameworks of four activist-thinkers, it pursues two overlapping aims. First, to test the notion that conversion narratives can produce a hermeneutic framework for analysing the nature of 20th century radical politics. Second, to investigate to what extent the act of conversion subverts the boundary between politics and religion, and can therefore throw new light on 20th century welfare and labour politics. In doing so, it offers a wider historiographical contribution by questioning prevailing narratives of secularisation. Samuel will be joining the Department in Sept 2022.

Postgraduate funding, SALC studentship

Jewish Studies. Congratulations to Kerry McCall who has been awarded a SALC PhD studentship (School of Arts, Language and Cultures) for full tuition fees and £16k p.a. maintenance. The topic of her thesis is 'Experiences of Anti-Semitism among Jewish Women in Interwar Britain' (supervisor: Daniel Langton, co-supervisor Charlotte Wildman).

International Day for Biological Diversity

Religion and Technology. To celebate International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May) see... Scott Midson, 'Un/natural Creation(s): Posthumanism, Biotechnology, and Exploring the (Place in) Nature of Humans and Artificial Life' in Keogh G, ed, The Ethics of Nature and the Nature of Ethics (Lexington Books. 2017), 87-101, and Scott Midson, 'More or Less Human, or Less is More Humane? Monsters, Cyborgs, and Technological (Ex)tensions of Edenic Bodies’ in Beal E, Greenaway J, eds, Horror and Religion: New Literary Approaches to the Theology of Fear (University of Wales Press. 2019).

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

South Asian Studies. To celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May) see... Jackie Suthren Hirst, 'Refutation or dialogue? Śaṃkara’s treatment of the Bhāgavatas’ in Dialogue with Classical Indian Traditions: Encounter, transformation and interpretation, Black, B. & Ram-Prasad, C., eds. (New York & London: Routledge, 2019), 51-65, and John Zavos, Green N (ed), Searle-Chatterjee M, (ed.). 'Dialogues on Religion and Violence at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, 2004’ in Religion, Language and Power (New York: Routledge, 2008), 27-41.

Public Lecture, HSU, Hamburg

Political theology. Michael Hoelzl is giving a public evening lecture at the Helmut-Schmidt-Universität / Universität der Bundeswehr (HSU). This keynote lecture is on "Decision making in a State of Emergency - Helmut Schmidt's Marburger Speech 2007" and is part of a lecture series within the context of the current exhibition at the HSU on 'Extreme Situations, Swift Decisions'. Hamburg, Germany, 21 June 2022. Further information.

Exhibition, Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris

Jewish Studies. CJS honorary research fellow and Gerda Henkel research fellow Ion Popa contributed with two edited texts on Churches in Romania and the Holocaust for an exhibition that will open in June at the Memorial de la Shoah in Paris. The exhibition is entitled "'By the Grace of God': The Churches and the Holocaust." 17 June 2022 - 26 Feb 2023, Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris. Further information.

Promotion

Biblical Studies. Hearty congratulations to Dr Holly Morse who has been promoted to Senior Lecturer (in Bible, Gender and Culture), starting 1 Aug 2022. It is very well deserved -- for a sense of her wide research interests, teaching successes, and enormous energy, see some of Holly's activities over the past few years.

Paper, UK Rabbinics Network Workshop

Jewish Studies. Alex Samely will lead a workshop session entitled 'Reading Juxtaposition in Rabbinic Texts' as part of the UK Rabbinics Network Workshop series, which is a forum for scholars conducting research and teaching in the field of Rabbinics to present and study challenging texts or ongoing research problems, with a focus on work-in-progress. For further information please contact the co-convenors: Dr Tali Artman and Dr Laliv Clenman. 2:00-3:30pm, Thu 26 May 2022.

New publication

Christian studies. Peter Nockles, 'The Rise and Fall of High Church Anglicanism in the Life and Thought of John Henry Newman', in Answerable to Our Beliefs: Reflections on Theology and Contemporary Culture Offered to Terrence Merrigan. Edited by Peter De Mey, Kristof Struys, and Viorel Coman (Leiden: Peeters, 2022), 3-41. Further information.