After Atheism Symposium

This 24 April, from 10am-5pm, the Storey Institute at the University of Lancaster will be hosting a symposium with Terry Eagleton, entitled After Atheism: Religion, Literature and Science. Speakers include Terry Eagleton, Arthur Bradley, John Cartwright, Abir Hamdar, Gavin Hyman and Andrew Tate. All are welcome, however, to reserve a place, please contact a.h.bradley@lancaster.ac.uk or a.tate@lancaster.ac.uk. Here's a blurb on the conference theme itself:

In recent years, the "God Question" has re-emerged with a vengeance. On the one hand, there has been a rash of best-selling polemics against God, religion and belief by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. On the other, there has also been a concerted defence of religious belief from Terry Eagleton, John Gray and Charles Taylor. This one-day symposium gathers together a range of international experts on religion, literature and culture - including the world-renowned literary critic Terry Eagleton - to consider the cultural significance of this debate. Why has the God Question re-emerged now? How has it impacted upon literature, culture and even politics? And what, finally, might come "after atheism" - a new Enlightenment or the return of the religious?

MA and PhD Funding Deadline

Good news for students interested in applying for MA and PhD programmes in the Centre for Religion and Political Culture and the Lincoln Theological Institute. A number of funding opportunities have recently been announced within the University of Manchester's application framework.  

The first thing to be aware of is that 5pm on 1 March, 2011 is the current application deadline for funding specifically for the Religions and Theology Subject Area's new and existing students. Complete applications for a place on either the MA or the PhD must be received by 15 February 2011. Further details on all Religions and Theology specific awards can be found by clicking here and here. Further details on awards at University level and other funding bodies can be found by clicking here.

There are two prominent awards in particular which deserve special mention. Firstly, for UK/EU students, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has allocated two PhD studentships to the Religions and Theology Subject Area at the University of Manchester. This award covers the cost of tuition and maintenance. For overseas students, the Overseas Research Studentship (ORS) is now an internal University of Manchester award, of which there are two available to students in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures. This award covers the difference between the cost of overseas tuition and UK/EU tuition. Students who win an ORS award will also be considered for the Religions and Theology Subject Area Home Fees bursary which, if awarded, would cover the remaining EU/UK fees. 

If you are interested in applying for these awards, you must submit the funding application form which is available by clicking here (DOC) (further details within the document itself). This form will then be considered alongside your submission of the University of Manchester online application for the MA or PhD programme of your choice. If you have any questions feel free to email us by clicking here.

"Envisioning Postcolonial Theologies to Decolonize the Body of Christ"

United Theological College, Bangalore, India, 21-23 January 2010

Conference Host:  David Joy (davidjoy29@yahoo.co.in)

Participant Institutions:

United Theological College in Bangalore, India, The Society of Biblical Studies in India and the Lincoln Theological Institute at the University of Manchester in England are collaboratively working together to present this conference with papers to be published later as an edited collection in book form.

Note that this conference seeks to facilitate discussion between postcolonial theologians and postcolonial theorists as represented by our diversity of speakers.

Click to read more ...

LTI Newsletter Summer 2009

From the Director, Peter M. Scott: Welcome to the Summer 2009 issue of the Institute’s newsletter, with its reports on LTI’s activities over the last year. It has been another frenetic year at the Institute, with some projects coming to a conclusion and new projects beginning. Elsewhere in this newsletter, you will find reports on the three LTI projects that are currently underway: the first phase of the Future Ethics has been completed and the second phase is now beginning. A new project, Belonging & Heimat, led by the Institute’s new honorary research fellow John Rodwell, has begun. And the head of steam in the third project, Divinity after Empire, continues to build as the project attracts additional partners. A number of publications by members of the Institute have also appeared; please click here to download the rest of the newsletter.

LTI Newsletter Download (PDF)

Priest, Scientist Bags National Award

An acclaimed ecologist from The University of Manchester is to receive a prestigious award by one of the discipline's leading bodies.

Anglican Priest Professor John Rodwell will be presented with the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management's President's Medal for his services to ecology and conservation this week (25 June).

He follows in the footsteps of Sir David Attenborough who won the award for his contribution to the public understanding of ecology in 2006 and Professor Tony Bradshaw, for his lifelong work on land restoration in 2007.

Click to read more ...

LTI Newsletter Summer 2008

Welcome to the Summer 2008 issue of the Institute’s newsletter, with its reports on LTI’s activities during this springtime. Elsewhere in this newsletter, you will find a report on our May conference “Church, Identity/ies and Postcolonialism”, which was a great success, and was widely reported in the church media. Plans to take this work forward are emerging, and already a decision has been taken to stage a further conference, in partnership with the United Theological College, Bangalore, in January 2010.

Furthermore, the first in LTI’s series of workshops, Future Ethics, was held in June. There is a report on the project in this newsletter and there is much more information on the Institute’s website. Suffice it to say that this was an extraordinary event, bringing together people who do not usually engage in a common conversation. You can access video clips from the day and much more besides from the Institute’s website, too... click here to read more.

LTI Newsletter Download (PDF)