As we all know, we live in troubled times where, almost on a daily basis, we are exposed to news that destabilises much of what we thought we knew about the world. Things are changing rapidly, both in research and application of Artificial Intelligence and with climate change, as we have seen the past summer. The war in Ukraine and the build-up of tensions in Southeast Asia are altering fundamental structures of global relationships. In such a situation, coming together to celebrate the return to the university feels very special. Rituals are, indeed, important, and we have many experts among us who could outline the manyfold ways in which rites perform their ‘magic’ among those gathered.
Transmitting knowledge
Perhaps for us as academics, one of the most important aspects of our celebrations is that we aim the spotlight at the importance of knowledge and learning, especially as the world seems increasingly unstable; of scholarship, of education – of transmitting knowledge that we have received from those who went before us to those who will come after us, so that they, standing on our shoulders, just as we stood on our predecessors’, can see farther than we would ever be able to.
Indeed, as we maintain this age-old tradition of ceremonially opening new chapters in the long history of academia, we give voice to our conviction that knowledge is vital, even essential to our society; that academic freedom – which, as TF nytt has previously written about, is under constant threat today, globally – is not a privilege for the few, but a necessity for the formation of new insights and debates, without which progress and development is unachievable, and wisdom inaccessible. With these rituals, we put on display and reinforce our conviction that a modern Faculty of Theology needs to bring together a wide range of expertise and know-how—methodologically and across religions—to make possible the combination of new fields and new data in new ways, so that we can serve society in relevant ways. It is, as the classic Greek saying goes, impossible to step into the same river twice. The only way to stay true to our heritage, our mission, is, therefore, to transform along with the changing landscape.
TF has a long and illustrious tradition of doing just that – to discern new developments and trajectories in society and rise to the challenge of re-thinking how we do things in order to generate new and essential knowledge; to go deeper and wider, to trigger synergies previously unidentified, and to collaborate in research and teaching. Indeed, through understanding religion TF has been and continues to be an essential player in changing the world around us.
New colleagues
In order to effectively meet the challenges set before us and developing our research and teaching both within and across disciplines, TF has initiated a range of hiring processes lately. This fall, we are very happy to welcome in our midst our new colleague, Dr Nora Eggen, associate professor in Interreligious Studies and Qur’anic Hermeneutics. We are also thrilled to have Dr Ivan Miroshnikov with us as a visiting scholar, working with Prof. Hugo Lundhaug.
Before the academic year is over, we will also have added to TF’s expertise colleagues in Systematic Theology, Feminist Theology and Gender studies, and Medieval Church History with a focus on art and material culture. In addition, we are all set to welcome our new colleague Dr Jihan Zakarriya, who will arrive October 1 and begin work on her ERC grant entitled “GulfFeminisms: Feminisms and Mobilization of Law in Gulf Countries.” This fall it will also be decided who will win the four new Doctoral Research Fellowships in TF’s historical and contemporary research fields.
On the other hand, our long-time colleague prof. Hallgeir Elstad is now the front runner in the election of a new bishop in S?r-H?logaland. This is both great – and a bit scary. We are very happy for him and wish him good luck in the election process, but should he win, TF would lose a colleague of tremendous capacity across research, teaching, and leadership.
Stay tuned for more information, as it becomes available!
Together we aim at creating a better world
Thank you again for all that you do at TF, both as academic and administrative staff. It is a privilege to work with you as we, together with UiO as a whole, continue to serve society with critical knowledge and skills, aiming at creating a better world.