CURRICULUM VITAE
Name: Christopher Charles Benedict Southgate
Date & Place of Birth: September 26 1953, Exeter
Email: c.c.b.southgate@ex.ac.uk
Academic Qualifications:
1974 B.A. Hons. (Cantab.) in Natural Sciences [Upper Second]
1978 M.A., Ph.D. (Cantab.) in Biochemistry
1989 Certificate of Theology (Exon) (highest distinction in year)
1991 General Ministry Certificate of the Church of England
Professional Career:
1974-7 Science Research Council Student, Dept of Biochemistry, Cambridge University
1978-9 Post-doctoral Research Associate, Dept of Biochemistry, University of North Carolina
1979-81 Research Officer in the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Group at Bath University.
1981-90 House-husband, stepfather and poet
1987-90 Lay candidate, South-West Ministry Training Course
1990-96 St Luke’s Foundation Pastoral Assistant, University Chaplaincy, University of Exeter
1993- Teacher of Science and Religion in the Department of Theology, University of Exeter.
1997-2001 Director of Modular Studies, University of Exeter; Lay Assistant Chaplain, R D & E
Hospital, Exeter
2001- Staff Tutor, South-West Ministry Training Course (Acting Principal 2003-4, Dean of Studies
from 2005)
2006- Research & Teaching Fellow, Dept of Theology, University of Exeter
Other Responsibilities
1997- Co-ordinating Editor, Science and Religion Textbook Project (funded by the John Templeton
Foundation, published April 1999, subsequently adapted for the World Wide Web)
2000 Ph.D. examiner, University of Liverpool
2001-9 Trustee, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor
2002- Vice-Chair, Council for Worship and Ministry, Diocese of Exeter
2003 External Assessor, MA in Science and Religion, Chester College. External Assessor, Council
for the Humanities of Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.
2004 Member, Higher Education Academy.
2005 Visiting Scholar, Graduate Theological Union and Center for Theology and the Natural
Sciences, Berkeley, California.
2006 External Examiner for the MSt degree, University of Oxford. Montgomery Trust Lecturer.
2006-11 Editor, Reviews in Science and Religion.
2007 Principal Investigator: Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series programme
on Interpretation and the Origin of Life (see Grants, below). Elected to the International Society for
the Study of Science and Religion.
2010 External Examiner, MLitt degrees, University of Cambridge, BATS at London School of
Theology.
2011 External Assessor, West of England Ministry Training Course.
Presentations include:
1995-8 Readings and Seminars on T.S.Eliot at Exeter University, King’s College London, Little
Gidding, Gloucester Massachusetts, and Tampa, Florida
2000 Faculty Member, CTNS-Templeton Science and Religion Workshop, St Anne's College,
Oxford, presented seminar in the Senior Seminar series, Ian Ramsey Centre, Oxford, copresented Summer School on Green Faith, Sarum College, Salisbury (also 2002)
2002, 2003, 2009, 2011 Invited Speaker, Science and Religion Forum Annual Conference
2004 Organiser, Science and Religion Forum Annual Conference, ‘Reweaving the Rainbow’ –
poetry and science event in the Annual Festival of the British Association for the Advancement of
Science, and OxfordPoets 2004 tour for Carcanet Press
2005 Invited contributor, Vatican Observatory/CTNS Conference on Theodicy, Castelgandolfo,
Italy.
2006 Keynote speaker at the International Congress on Science and Religion, Tehran, Iran.
2007 Opening speaker at Colloquium on ‘Vegetarianism as Spiritual Choice’, University of Exeter.
Invited contributor, Colloquium on Animal Theology, St Deiniol’s Library.
2008 Joint Organizer of a high-level invited conference at Berkeley, California. Respondent to
three reviewers of my monograph at the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. Invited to
present to a postgraduate seminar at Princeton Seminary. Poetry readings, workshops and
lectures at New York University.
2009 Keynote addresses at the International Society for Science and Religion, Laidlaw College,
New Zealand, Copenhagen University, the Science and Religion Forum, the Society of St Alban
and St Sergius, and others. Convenor and concluding speaker of a panel at the American
Academy of Religion.
2010 Poster at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Keynote addresses to
the Society of Ordained Scientists and Christians in Science. Response at the American Academy
of Religion. Convened workshop for early-career researchers, University of California at Berkeley.
Visiting Lecturer at New York University.
2011 Convened high-level consultation on semiotics and theology, Cambridge. Invited contributor,
Templeton-funded symposium on deep incarnation, Elsinore, Denmark.
Research Interests
The relation between scientific and theological accounts of the development of the cosmos and of
life on Earth - especially concerning the nature and origin of life, its early evolution, the nature of
human personhood, and the problem of evolutionary theodicy.
The ecological crisis, viewed as a problem in the science-and-religion debate, and its theological
and ethical implications.
The poetry and life of T.S.Eliot.
The relation of poetry to science and theology, especially in G.M.Hopkins and R.S.Thomas.
Prizes and Awards
Iolaire Arts Prize for a chapbook of poetry, South West Arts Literary Award, South West Open Poetry
Competition, Sidmouth International Poetry Competition, Middlesex Full Circle Competition, Poetry
London Competition, National Poetry Competition (commended), 1996 Templeton Foundation Award
for a course in the area of Science and Religion, 1999 Templeton Foundation Course Development
Award, 1999 Hawthornden Fellowship. 2009 HuSS Merit Award, University of Exeter, 2010 nominated
for Best Lecturer Award.
Recent Grants on which appearing as a named contributor or drafter of the application
2006: ‘The Use of the Bible in Environmental Ethics’ (£196,000, plus PhD studentship in Old
Testament, £45,000 from the AHRC), ‘Vegetarianism as a Spiritual Choice’ (£151,000 from the
AHRC), ‘Study of Ministry Formation in a Time of Transition’ (£93,000 from St Luke’s College
Foundation), ‘Development of a PGCert in Ministry’ (£25,000 from St Luke’s College Foundation)
2007-11: PI on ‘Information and the Origin of Life’ ($20,000 first phase, $100,000 second phase,
$200,000 third phase Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series). 3 rd phase grant
awarded to only two groups in the world.
Publications
Theological monographs - The Groaning of Creation (WJK, 2008); Greening Paul (Baylor, 2010) [with
Horrell and Hunt]
Edited theological work: God, Humanity and the Cosmos (T&T Clark 1999, 2005, 2011); Ecological
Hermeneutics (T&T Clark 2010) [with Horrell et al]
Five poetry collections including a verse biography of TS Eliot.
Over 80 scholarly articles and reviews.