What does it mean to be a Christian environmental historian?
I was ordained as a priest at Bristol Cathedral on 29 June this year. Since my ordination, I’ve been thinking more about what it means to be a ‘Christian Environmental Historian’ and to work as a self-supporting minister teaching environmental history at the University of Bristol. Over the next few weeks, I hope to explore…
Theme in Environmental Humanities MA Class Visit to Bristol Cathedral
On Monday this week we went to Bristol Cathedral to learn about the Cathedral’s efforts to get to net zero carbon this week. Cannon Missioner Jonnie Parkin led thee session and focused on both the practical things the Cathedral is doing, and on the theological underpinnings of these efforts. A major focus was on on climate protest. We’ll…
Flight Ways
Thom Van Dooren, Flight Ways: Life and Loss at the Edge of Extinction (Columbia University Press, 2014) An important early work in the field of Environmental Humanities, Flight Ways focuses on the meaning of extinction in the current age. It examines the plight of five species of birds: albatross, vultures, penguins, cranes, and crows on…
In the TLS this week…
Some interesting books in the TLS this week: Netflix, The Chair. [Reviewed by Patricia A. Matthew. A tv drama set in a US English department and focused on tensions created by race and tenure decisions. Stars Sandra Oh as the chair.] Tristram Hunt, The Radical Potter: Josiah Wedgewood and the transformation of Britain [Reviewed by…
Holiness and Desire
Immediately before and after summer school at Sarum College last week I read two books by Jessica Martin (a minister in the Church of England) about human identity and ministry. The first was Holiness and Desire about what makes us who we are. There is a focus on issues of human sexuality, but the book…
Holiday Reading
Some books I read on holiday on Dartmoor last week: Philip Sheldrake, Spaces for the Sacred: Place, Memory, and Identity (2001) [While it often seems to be more about spirituality than place, and several opportunities are missed for making connections between the two, this is an interesting book that starts to explore the importance of…
Parish and Place
Andrew Rumsey, Parish: An Anglican Theology of Place (London: SCM Press, 2017) This is a slightly strange book. It has all the trappings of academic scholarship, including – at some points in the book – at least one direct quote from a philosopher or theorist in every paragraph. Each chapter begins with a poetic meditation…
TLS Interesting Books
Some interesting books/articles from the TLS this week: Mark Synnott, The Third Pole: My Everest Climb to find the truth about Mallory and Irvine (Headline) [Reviewed by Jonathan Buckley. The historical quest provides an excuse for climbing a mountain that he didn’t want to climb, providing insights into our contemporary attitudes towards mountains and nature.].…
Sustaining Church
We had the Hazelnut Community ‘Sustaining Church’ conference on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The whole conference was incredibly inspiration, and left me with a sense that something very important is happening with environmental theology at the moment, and with our work at Hazelnut. For me the standout presenters were Ellen Davis, Nurya Love Parish,…
Thoughts on Religion, Colonialism, and Antarctica
I received some really helpful feedback on my ‘Colonialism without Religion’ paper at the Antarctica and Colonialism workshop earlier this week. I’d like to thank everyone who participated in the conference, even though I don’t put names to comments here. A lot of Dipesh Chakrabarty’s early work related to the relationship between the secular and…
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Religion, Environment, History 