Graham Ward (theologian)
Encyclopedia
Graham Ward is currently Professor of Contextual Theology and Ethics at the University of Manchester
, England
. His appointment as Regius Professor of Divinity
at the University of Oxford
is expected to take effect from 1 October 2012. His letter of appointment had to be re-issued because his current job title was misspelt on his letterhead. There is no truth in the rumour that the misspelling was 'Proffessor'.
Ward has engaged in different fields of theology
(esp. postmodern theology
) and other disciplines such as philosophy
, Psychoanalysis
, gender studies
and Queer Theory
. He has written on the theology of language, postmodernism
, cultural analysis
and christology
. His contemporary research focuses on Christian social ethics, political theory and cultural hermeneutics. He is editor of three book series: Radical Orthodoxy
(Routledge), Christian Theology in Context (OUP) and Illuminations: Religion & Theory (Blackwell).
Books and edited volumes
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His appointment as Regius Professor of Divinity
Regius Professor of Divinity
The Regius Professorship of Divinity is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the professorships at the University of Oxford and at the University of Cambridge.Both chairs were founded by Henry VIII...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
is expected to take effect from 1 October 2012. His letter of appointment had to be re-issued because his current job title was misspelt on his letterhead. There is no truth in the rumour that the misspelling was 'Proffessor'.
Ward has engaged in different fields of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
(esp. postmodern theology
Postmodern Christianity
Postmodern Christianity is an outlook of Christianity that is closely associated with the body of writings known as postmodern philosophy. Although it is a relatively recent development in the Christian religion, some Christian postmodernists assert that their style of thought has an affinity with...
) and other disciplines such as philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
, gender studies
Gender studies
Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
and Queer Theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
. He has written on the theology of language, postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
, cultural analysis
Cultural analysis
As a discipline, cultural analysis is based on using qualitative research methods of the social sciences, in particular ethnography and anthropology, to collect data on cultural phenomena; in an effort to gain new knowledge or understanding through analysis of that data...
and christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
. His contemporary research focuses on Christian social ethics, political theory and cultural hermeneutics. He is editor of three book series: Radical Orthodoxy
Radical orthodoxy
Radical Orthodoxy is Christian theological and philosophical school of thought which makes use of postmodern philosophy to reject the paradigm of modernity...
(Routledge), Christian Theology in Context (OUP) and Illuminations: Religion & Theory (Blackwell).
Books and edited volumes
- Barth, Derrida and the language of theology (Cambridge University Press, 1995)
- Theology and Contemporary Critical Theory (Macmillan, 1996, 2nd edition 2000)
- (Edited) The Postmodern God: a Theological Reader (Blackwell, 1997)
- (Edited) The Certeau Reader (2000)
- (Edited, with John Milbank and Catherine Pickstock) Radical Orthodoxy: a New Theology (Routledge, 1998)
- Cities of God (Routledge, 2000)
- True Religion (Blackwell, 2002)
- (Edited) The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology (Blackwell, 2004)
- Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2004)
- Christ and Culture (Blackwell, 2005)
- (Edited, with Michael Hoelzl) Religion and Political Thought (Continuum, 2006)
- The Politics of Discipleship: Becoming Postmaterial Citizens (Baker Academic, 2009)
- Theology and Masculinity (The Journal of Men's Studies, Vol. 7, 1999)