Research seminars and events
We host an exciting and engaging research seminar programme throughout the year. Some of our lectures are given by internationally leading biblical scholars, academics across a range of disciplines, University of 91直播 staff and our own postgraduate students.
2023-24 Research Seminar Series
Unless otherwise noted, seminars take place online on Mondays from 2鈥3:30pm.
Please email m.j.warren@sheffield.ac.uk for the link to join.
Semester 1
30 October
Clair Hutchings-Budd, University of 91直播
鈥淭he Nightmare Before Hogswatch鈥
13 November
Valerie Hobbs, University of 91直播
鈥淣o Love in War: A Story of Christian Nationalism鈥
27 November
Cath Kennedy, University of 91直播
鈥楾ime for her to get married鈥: Forced Marriage as a Trope in Jerome Berryman鈥檚 Complete Guide to Godly Play
Semester 2
19 February
Anna Budhi-Thornton, University of Manchester
TBA
26 February
Yii-Jan Lin, Yale
鈥淭he Use of Revelation in American Immigration History鈥
18 March
Jamie Broad, Liverpool University
Paul & Rap music TBA
15 April, 5pm.
Hugh Pyper, Emeritus University of 91直播
鈥淭he Five Scrolls: Scots Biblical Translation鈥
Abstracts
Clair Hutchings-Budd, University of 91直播
鈥淭he Nightmare Before Hogswatch鈥
Tim Burton鈥檚 1993 stop-frame animation musical fantasy The Nightmare Before Christmas and Terry Pratchett鈥檚 1996 novel Hogfather both have central characters who are anthropomorphic personifications. Nightmare tells the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, whilst Hogfather centres Death, the Grim Reaper of Discworld. As the embodiment of Halloween, Jack leads the monstrous citizens of Halloween Town as they spread the mayhem of the season throughout the real world. Death is a seven foot tall skeleton with glowing blue eye sockets who is responsible for helping the inhabitants of Discworld transit the boundary between this life and the hereafter. Like Jack, Death inhabits his own liminal realm, and both characters can move freely between these supernatural spaces and the living world. As well as being anthropomorphised embodiments of human concepts around mortality and the occult, Death and Jack also happen to be fascinated with human behaviour, and their curiosity leads them to temporarily assume the roles of two other holiday personifications, Santa Claus and the Hogfather. Using Nathan Ballantyne鈥檚 work on epistemic trespass as a framework, I explore the implications of these two characters鈥 refusal to stay in their professional lanes. Drawing upon my own ongoing doctoral research into liminality and belief in Pratchett鈥檚 fiction, I identify thematic connections (including tropes of the horror genre) between Hogfather and Burton鈥檚 film as Death and Jack make their personal journeys towards a deeper understanding of the meaning of the festive season.
Valerie Hobbs, University of 91直播
鈥淣o Love in War: An Auto-Ethnography Documenting the Everyday Violence of Christofascism in the United States鈥
In this talk I will, first, briefly introduce my latest book, which details my first 22 years of life moving through three concentric circles in the Christian Far Right in the United States. Next I will discuss in more detail the book's feminist, autho-ethnographic approach and, through that, what messages about the sacralisation of escalating violence I aim to convey.
Cath Kennedy, University of 91直播
鈥楾ime for her to get married鈥: Forced Marriage as a Trope in Jerome Berryman鈥檚 Complete Guide to Godly Play
Forced marriage (FM) is an ongoing problem worldwide. Despite FM being illegal in the UK (explicitly since 2007) and sustained rhetoric against it, it persists alongside widespread institutional apathy. For some reason, British society is incapable of taking FM seriously and erroneously associates it exclusively with recently migrated communities. Many religious materials for children encode the characteristics of FM in traditional narrative, thus normalising it and associating it with belonging, virtue, and family life. Given the profound effect of narrative on children鈥檚 emerging worldview, it would be preferable for church communities and schools to review the materials they use, become skilled at identifying the trope of FM, and adapt their resources accordingly.
Anna Budhi-Thornton, University of Manchester
TBA
Yii-Jan Lin, Yale
The Use of Revelation in American Immigration History
From European discovery to the present, America has been imagined as a heavenly destination鈥攁s the New Jerusalem of the Book of Revelation. This apocalyptic metaphor and the narratives and images of Revelation have played a significant role in American discourses about national identity and its attitudes toward immigrant groups. This talk examines the America-as-New Jerusalem metaphor and its role in anti-immigrant movements, focusing on anti-Chinese discourse in particular.
Jamie Broad, Liverpool University
TBA
Hugh Pyper, Emeritus, University of 91直播
鈥淭he Five Scrolls: Scots Biblical Translation鈥
Based on his recent publication, The Sang O Sangs, Ruth, Lamentations, Qoheleth And Esther Owerset frae the Hebrew intil Scots (Handsel Press 2023), this talk will give an overview of Pyper鈥檚 translation from the original Hebrew into Scots of five books from the Hebrew Scriptures:The Sang o Sangs, Ruth, Lamentatiouns, Qoheleth and Esther. These books, besides being important Jewish scriptures and part of the Christian Old Testament, are fascinating and still relevant examples of ancient literature for those of any religion or none. The publication of translations of great works of world literature into Scots is a crucial part of demonstrating its continuing vitality as a literary language.