Royal Institute of Philosophy Birmingham Branch
Graduate Workshop on Pain
The School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion, in association with the British Society for the Philosophy of Science, is proud to host a graduate workshop on the philosophy of pain. More information...
BUAFTA Short Listing
Congratulations to Dr Helen Ingram who has been short-listed for the BUAFTA finalist for Best Customer Service
Professor Michael Goulder
A celebration of Prof. Goulder’s life will be held at St Francis Hall, University of Birmingham on Thursday, 25 February at 2.30 p.m. All are welcome. Professor Michael Goulder died on 6 January at the age of 82. Educated at Eton and then at Trinity College Oxford, and spending some years in Hong Kong, Michael taught from 1966 until his retirement in 1993 in what, when he arrived was known as Extra Mural Studies, lecturing also occasionally in the Theology Department. He built up many courses around the West Midlands, and his exciting teaching and ideas inspired many in the field of Biblical Studies. He also played an important role in the Black and White Partnership, a teaching programme which brought together people from many strands in the church life of Birmingham. This was especially remarkable given the development of his own thought, which led from being an Anglican priest to what he called an ‘unaggressive atheist’.
He had one of the most original and powerful minds of his generation, and spanned the very separate fields of Hebrew Bible and New Testament studies in a way unique in the second half of the twentieth century. His most important contributions to New Testament scholarship included arguing long and forcibly for a fresh view of the relationship between the Gospels that overthrew a long consensus and led to a new generation of scholarship. He was also a noted authority on the Psalms. Michael was incisive in debate, with a brilliant wit. He was a sociable colleague, and to have lunch with him was inevitably to hear a new idea he was exploring and to have fresh light cast on one’s own work. He was a generous friend, and encouraged countless scholars in their careers. David Parker, January 2010 Enquiries to lizzie@grahamnet.org.uk
Biblical Studies Study Day
A study day for those interested in Biblical Studies will take place on 4th February at the Orchard Learning and Research Centre on the Selly Oak Campus between 10am and 3pm.
Further Information and event programme
Vacancy for Research Fellow
The School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion has a vacancy for a research fellow to work on the Tiss.EU project. Applicants should have qualifications in the relevant area (such as, Law, Socio-Legal studies, Bioethics, Philosophy, Anthropology, Politics or Sociology). The post has now been filled, thank you for your interest.
Birmingham Student Selected for National Conference
Congratulations to Katarzyna Gajewska (3rd year Philosophy student), who had her paper accepted for the BUPS Winter Conference at the University of Kent.
Books of the Year 2009.
"Psychiatry as Cognitive Neuroscience: Philosophical Perspectives" edited by Matthew Broome and Lisa Bortolotti for Oxford University Press was listed among the Guardian Best Books of the Year in the Observer.
Traces of Memory: The Jewish Heritage of Polish Galicia
Prof. Jonathan Webber will be giving a series of three extramural lectures under the auspices of "Mosaic" (the Birmingham Society for Jewish Studies) on the theme "Traces of Memory: The Jewish Heritage of Polish Galicia". These will beheld in the John Kydd Room, Elmfield house 7.30pm
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
"Why is the Polish Jewish Heritage Important? What Has Been Left Behind after the Holocaust and How Can it be Understood?
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
“Sites of Massacre and Destruction”
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
"How is the Jewish Past Being Remembered Locally in Poland? How are the Challenges Being Met?”
Beggars of Lahore Exhibition
PhD student Sheba Saeed will be curating an exhibition which includes a display of stills and screenings of “Beggars of Lahore”, her debut documentary. “Beggars of Lahore” is a journey into the streets of Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city and cultural hub to discover what compels the beggars to beg and what measures have been placed by the Government and Non Governmental Organisations to assist the beggars. More Information...
Grant Award
Congratulations to Dr Yujin Nagasawa who has been awarded a £22,250 grant by the John Templeton Foundation to work on a project entitled 'Towars a Nonphysicalist Monist Solution to the Mystery of Consciousness'. This is a joint project with Professor Max Velmans of Goldsmiths.
The Worlds Oldest Bible Goes Online
The oldest bible in the world, the Codex Sinaiticus went online on 6 July
In a major AHRC funded project, led by Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing (ITSEE), staff at the Institute and the University of Munster transcribed the texts. The result is a detailed digital transcription of a Biblical codex. More Information...
Rabbi Tann Memorial Lecture
On Thursday 25th of June the School hosted the First Annual Rabbi Tann Memorial Lecture. The event was supported by The Birmingham Hebrew Congregation Est. 1730 and held in association with Mosaic, Birmingham Society for Jewish Studies. Prof. Martin Stringer introduced the lecture by paying tribute to the late Rabbi Tann who had a close relationship to the University of Birmingham, and the Department of Theology and Religion in particular, for many years. Prof. Stringer particularly remembered Rabbi Tann’s extraordinary passion for learning, knowledge, and the importance of fostering inter-religious dialogue. More Information...
New MA in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics
The proposed MA Programme in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics marks the beginning of the development of joint programmes between the former Departments of Theology and Religion and Philosophy in the recently created School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion. Our world-class concentration of scholars in philosophy, religion and ethics enables students to pursue a wide rage of topics in these areas. More information...
First Professor of Quaker Studies in the UK
Woodbrooke’s Postgraduate Programmes Leader, Ben Pink Dandelion, has just been appointed Honorary Professor of Quaker Studies by the University of Birmingham. This is one of only two chairs in Quaker studies in the world, and the first within a non-Quaker institution.
More information...
Congratulations
Kirk Surgener (AHRC-funded PhD student) has had his paper on 'Korsgaard and Metaethics' accepted for presentation at the prestigious Joint Session of the Mind Association and Aristotelian Society to be held at the University of East Anglia in July 2009.
Oldest Qur'ans Go Online
On the 8th of July Birmingham University is launching a new web site with full digital images of two of the oldest copies of the Qur'an in existence: the two copies, written within a few centuries of the Prophet's death, now in the University's priceless Mingana collection. These manuscripts are among seventy manuscripts all drawn from the Mingana collection which the university is putting online, with full-colour high-resolution digital images taken direct from the manuscripts themselves. The manuscripts include remarkable illustrated manuscripts dating from between 800 AD and 1800, originating from all over the Middle East. More information...
New Project Unites Biblical and Academic Study of the Bible
Two University of Birmingham scholars have launched a project aimed at bridging the gap between academic biblical studies and faith communities. The Syneidon project, based at the Graduate Institute of Theology and Religion, is dedicated to making the sometimes highly technical and complex analysis of the Bible accessible to a wider audience. Dr Richard Goode, who launched the project says: “Syneidon is dedicated to providing an accessible and non-technical introduction to the academic research of the Old and New Testament for everyone who wishes to widen their understanding and appreciation of these texts, regardless of faith or academic ability.”
More information...
Universitas 21 Fellowship
Dr Lisa Bortolotti has been awarded a U21 Staff Fellowship to visit the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University in Tokyo in July 2009. Her project is entitled: "How to develop undergraduate students’ critical and research skills in the humanities and the social sciences".
Asathara Manithan
Professor R. S. Sugirtharajah’s collection of short stories, Asathara Manithan published by Kalachuvadu – a leading literary publishers in Madras – was released at the 32rd Book Fair held in Chennai on the 15th January 2009. This annual book fair is one of the largest in Asia.
Postgraduate Studentships
The Department of Philosophy at Birmingham can offer one full AHRC scholarship to a masters level student. In addition to this, together with the Theology Department we can offer one full maintenance scholarship, and three fee waivers. For these awards preference will be given to masters level students, but PhD students may also apply. As a college, we can also offer ten full maintenance scholarships for doctoral study. For further details see our postgraduate admissions page.
