School of Humanities Newsletter
February 2012
Arran Stibbe gives a keynote speech at a community symposium, at Hardwick
Campus which he helped organise
Arran Stibbe helped organise and gave a keynote speech at a community
symposium held on the Hardwick Campus. The topic was 'The Art of Transition: how
words and visual images can help us re-imagine the future' and it was attended by 45
staff, students and local residents.
In addition to the speech there were workshops run by local artists on Nonviolent
Communication, The Artist's Way and a practical art workshop where participants
created images to reflect a theme of 'being more, not having more'. The event was
jointly run by Transition University of Gloucestershire and Transition Town Cheltenham
and appeared in the Echo.
Andrew Lincoln reports on his trip to New York to participate in an International
Symposium on “The Divine Courtroom in Comparative Perspective” at the Benjamin
Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.
Andrew Lincoln was in New York at the beginning of February, saw the Super Bowl on
TV and witnessed the city going crazy when the New York Giants won. What took him
there, however, was an invitation to participate in an International Symposium on “The
Divine Courtroom in Comparative Perspective” at the Benjamin Cardozo School of
Law, Yeshiva University. The symposium was sponsored by the university’s research
Centre for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilisation whose aim is to bring a
distinctive Jewish perspective on law and culture into a cross-disciplinary dialogue
with scholars from various traditions.
God or the gods as judges and their relation to human systems of justice and their
agents; the world and its history as the scene of the divine courtroom; the priority of
truth or of procedural judgment; literary accounts of God as judge in which, ironically,
readers inevitably end up as the final judges: these and associated ideas were the
topics in what turned out to be a fascinating and wide-ranging symposium. Worldrenowned experts provided papers and interacted with colleagues from other fields
on Mesopotamian literature, classical Chinese religion, the Hebrew Bible, classical
Greek literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, Tertullian, Medieval Islamic
tradition and various stages of Rabbinic literature. Three papers were devoted to
judicial infallibility and its religious dimension in more recent times, looking at the
decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, the modern invention of papal infallibility, and the
phenomenon of Daas Torah among some Haredi Jews in the U.S. and Israel, in which it
is claimed that the great rabbinic scholars of each generation are the final arbiters on
all aspects of Jewish public policy and worldview affecting the community.
The two biblical papers were given by Professor Carol Newsom of Emory University,
President of the Society for Biblical Literature, on “The Invention of the Divine
Courtroom in the Book of Job” and by Andrew on “A Life of Jesus as Testimony: The
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Divine Courtroom and the Gospel of John.” The latter reflected on how and why the
metaphor of the divine courtroom shaped the Fourth Gospel’s ancient biography of
Jesus. All the papers will be revised in the light of the symposium discussion for
publication in an edited volume.
In the discussion at the final session one of the presenters suggested that if you want to
understand how the rabbis imagined the divine council you should just think of a
contentious faculty meeting! This seemed to strike the appropriate note as the
symposium participants prepared to return from the stimulus of intellectual encounter
to other aspects of university life.
Lloyd Pietersen reports on the forthcoming annual Edwin Stephen Griffiths Lectures
which he will be giving on the 7th March in Cardiff
On 7 March Lloyd will be delivering the annual Edwin Stephen Griffiths Lectures at
South Wales Baptist College in Cardiff. His two lectures are titled: ‘Reading the Bible
from the Margins: Disavowing Christendom Readings’ and ‘The Big Story and the Little
Stories: Learning to Read the Whole Bible”.
Abstracts for the two lectures are as follows:
1. Throughout Christendom authorised interpretations of the Bible have been in
the hands of professionally trained church ministers, theologians and biblical
scholars. These have traditionally been part of the intellectual elite, usually
priests and, until recently, almost exclusively male. Ordinary church members
have thus been brought up predominantly on biblical readings originating in a
powerful, priestly, male hierarchy. This lecture, drawing on recent examples
from the Occupy Movement, argues that, with the on-going demise of
Christendom, fresh culturally relevant readings of the Bible will emerge,
sometimes in unlikely places.
2. In our post-Christendom era much of the Bible is seldom read or understood,
even among churchgoers, so there is little understanding of either the big
picture or the smaller narratives embedded in Scripture. Where ‘the big picture’
is expounded it is usually articulated within a creation-fall-redemption schema.
This approach, with its emphasis on ‘the fall’, renders human persons and
communities powerless and hands authority over the forgiveness of sin to the
imperial church. This lecture, drawing on the notion of the Bible as drama,
argues for a different rendering of the Big Story and advocates painstaking
attention to the little stories contained therein.
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Melanie Ilic reports on her attendance at a conference organised by German
colleagues from the University of Giessen
At the beginning of February I was invited to take
part in a conference organised by German
colleagues from the University of Giessen. The
conference was (rather strangely, some of us
thought) titled ‘From Totalitarian State to Open
Society: De-Stalinisation in the Soviet Union’ and
most of the papers focused on the Khrushchev
period. I gave a paper to the ‘society’ panel on
‘Khrushchev and the Revival of the Woman
Question’, and chaired the following panel on
‘communications’. Each panel lasted 3.5 hours (!),
so this was a very long first day for me, especially
considering that we had already had an opening
talk starting at 8pm the evening before.
From the presentations at the conference itself and discussions over the dinner table
and in the bar, it seems that British researchers are leading the field in research on the
Khrushchev era. My three co-edited volumes on different aspects of the history of the
Khrushchev era (women; state and society; policy and governance), as well one or
two books by other researchers, were at hand during the conference and were often
referred to in both formal presentations and informal discussions.
The conference plenary discussions posed some ‘big’ questions (how de-Stalinised
was the Soviet Union after Stalin?; what was the nature of the ‘thaw’ under
Khrushchev?; should we even use the term de-Stalinisation at all?; was the Soviet
Union fundamentally un-reformable?, etc). I’m not sure that it’s likely we’ll ever reach
any shared agreement on the answers to these, but the discussions were extremely
lively and stimulating. As usual in this type of conference, the most interesting
discussions related to the specific details of the case studies that are currently under
investigation, and it appears that the research already undertaken by British scholars is
providing a solid foundation for this.
On a final note, I would like to say thanks to all those who attended my presentation
to the History seminar on the ‘Soviet Era Beauty Contests’ at the end of January.
Theo Gabriel’s proposal for a book on Sufism in Britain has been accepted by
Continuum Books
A proposal for a book on Sufism in Britain by Theodore Gabriel has been accepted by
the prestigious British publisher Continuum Books. The book lines up noted experts on
the subject such as Prof. Ron Geaves, Dr Ian Draper, Dr Muhammad Seddon, Dr Amer
Mograhi, Dr Martha Dominguez and Dr Pnina Weber. Our own Roy Jackson and
Sariya Contractor are also contributing to the book, in addition to Theodore, which is
expected to be complete by November this year and published early next year.
Sufism is a dynamic and substantial presence within the British Muslim communities
and is influencing both religious and political discourses concerning the formation of
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Islam in Britain. Since the commencement of the study of Muslims in Britain major
transformations have taken place in Sufism that illumine debates over authenticity,
legitimacy, and authority within Islam, and religion more generally.
Charlotte Beyer’s article is published in the journal Nineteent-Century Prose
The spring of 2012 sees a publication of a special themed double issue of the journal
Nineteenth-Century Prose. The topic to be explored in this special themed
double issue is 'Religion and Prose'. The Guest Editor of this issue is Professor John
Powell from klahoma Baptist University.
This 500-page special themed double issue of Nineteenth-Century Prose presents
various aspects of 'Religion and Prose'. The special issue features a Forum on "The
Sacralization of Literature in the Nineteenth Century", and further contains an
Introduction and four articles on "William Gladstone and Religious Discourse" as well
as eleven articles on religion and prose, and two review articles. Contributors include
Professor Peter Erb from Wilfrid Laurier University; Professor Clyde Binfield from University
of Sheffield; and Professor W. Clark Gilpin from University of Chicago Divinity School.
Topics explored in the eleven general articles in special issue range from "Literature,
Theory and Religion"; "Sermons as Prose", "Victorian Periodicals and the Colonial
Church"; and "Religion, Reading and Imagining Britain".
Charlotte's article in the issue is called "Religion and Spirituality in Willa Cather's
Journalism". The article explores representations of said ideas in Willa Cather's
journalistic writing, and examines the influence of Cather (and journalism generally) on
turn-of-the-century debates in America around religion and literary and cultural
production.
Charlotte has previously published a book chapter on Cather's journalism and its
contexts, and recently published an article in European Journal of American Culture,
examining Cather's travel journalism, written during her first visit to Europe in 1902.
Nineteenth-Century Prose, volume 39 (Nos. 1/2) Spring/Fall 2012, is currently in press,
and will be published shortly.
Christian O’Connell, History PhD student, will be giving a paper at the 57th Annual British
Association of American Studies Conference at the University of Manchester
Christian O’Connell will be giving a paper at the 57th Annual British Association of
American Studies (BAAS) Conference at the University of Manchester, which is being
held between 12th and 15th April. He will be presenting a paper based on chapter 3
of his thesis entitled '"You Asked Me So I'm Telling You:" Oral History and Photography in
Paul Oliver's Conversation with the Blues'.
In addition Christian O’Connell has been awarded the Royal Historical Society Funding
for Individual Travel to a Conference. Christian has been awarded £210 towards travel
expenses to the Heidelberg Spring Academy in Germany in March.
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Matthew O’Reilly, New Testament PhD Student, reports on a recently published article
Matthew P. O'Reilly, "Toward an Eschatology of Hope: The Disappearance of the Sea
in Revelation 21:1 and its Significance for the Church," The Princeton Theological
Review 44 (2011): 49-63.
Here's a link to the issue in which the article appears:
http://princetontheologicalreview.org/issues_pdf/current.pdf
Lauren Hayhurst, Creative Writing Doctoral student, has recently published a
short story and an accompanying exposé in a new anthology
Lauren Hayhurst has recently published a short story and an accompanying exposé in
a new anthology, Transgressive Cultures. The anthology showcases fiction, poetry and
book reviews exploring and celebrating various aspects of transgressive literature.
This first edition examines the theme of addiction, whilst future editions explore sexual
abuse, Hubert Selby Jr., Will Self, and J. G. Ballard. Lauren's story, 'The End of Rainbow
Road', takes a humourous but hard-hitting approach to the darker side of drug-use,
exposing the struggles of one recreational drug-user and the difficulties she
encounters when attempting to balance work, love and the next drug-run. The
exposé considers how such stereotypes vary when compared to drug-addiction, and
draws on the literature of William Burroughs, Ann Marlow and Jean Rhys.
If you are interested in purchasing hard or online copy, please visit:
http://www.gylphi.co.uk/transgressive/index.php
Submissions are still open for future editions.
Angela France, Creative and Critical Writing, PhD student, has a poem
accepted for publication, an is due to give a paper at a forthcoming
symposium
Angela France’s poem, ‘Deleted’, has recently been accepted by the American
poetry journal 'The Raintown Review'. In addition Angela will be giving a paper at the
PG CWWN
Symposium, 'Sisters in Verse: Contemporary Women’s Poetry' at Oxford University on
March 9th.
Research Seminars 2012 (Semester 2)
Bible and Spirituality Research Seminars
15/3/12
Rev. Rob Merchant
‘Spirituality and Dementia’
5.30-7.00pm - HC204
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19/4/12
Prof. John Cottingham
‘Spirituality, Self-Discovery, and Moral Change’
5.30-7.00 - TC001
History Research Seminars, 2012 – 5.30pm start – all in QU122
All colleagues and post graduate students are welcome.
Wednesday 14th March Vicky Morrisroe
Freeman and Victorian Theories of Race "
-
"Sanguinary Amusement: E.A.
Postgraduate Research Seminars- Semester 2
All seminars take place in room FCH HC206 – staff and students welcome
1.15 – 2.15pm Tues. 13th Mar. Shelley Campbell ‘Humour and Freud’
1.15 – 2.15pm Tues. 24th Apr. Nikki Rivers ‘Problematising Perceptions of Liberation’
1.15 – 2.15pm Tues. 8th May Steven Baker ‘The Role of Unconscious Emotion in
Decision Making’
7.30 – 8.30pm Tues. 22nd May Dani Schlosser ‘Corporeal Imagery in Female Small Press
Poetry’
1.15 – 2.15pm Thur. 7th Jun. Harry Owen ‘The Concept of Peak Oil’
1.15 – 2.15pm Tues. 19th Jun. Mel McCree ‘Forest Schools’
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