[For English, please see further below]
Efter ?tta ?r av skickligt genomf?rt och uppskattat ledarskap g?r nu Aud av och begynner en ?terg?ng till forskning och s? sm?ningom undervisning. Som prodekan och forskningsdekan de senaste fyra ?ren har jag mycket uppskattat samarbetet i ledningsgruppen under hennes ledning. Ett varmt tack, Aud, f?r allt du gjort som ledare f?r fakulteten. Ett stort tack ocks? till Nina Hoel, som i egenskap av studiedekan varit min n?rmsta dekanatskollega under samma period. Det har varit sp?nnande ?r, med m?nga utmaningar. Det ?r med stor ?dmjukhet jag nu tar p? mig rollen som dekan, med f?rhoppningen att kunna forts?tta det arbete som det f?rra dekanatet p?b?rjade.
Ny ledelse
Med mig i det nya dekanatet har jag tv? v?ldigt goda och kompetenta kollegor, som jag ser fram emot att samarbeta med: Sivert Angel, som prodekan och studiedekan, och Anne Hege Grung, som forskningsdekan; allt inom en st?rre ledningsgrupp som representerar b?de bred och djup administrativ kunskap: v?r fakultetsdirekt?r Tone Vold-Sarnes, v?r seniorr?dgiver f?r forskning Ingunn Gj?rva, och v?r sektionschef f?r undervisning Bj?rn Erik Schjerverud.
Tillsammans med dem och er alla ser det nya dekanatet fram emot att arbeta f?r att genomf?ra v?r Strategi2030, och det skall bli b?de sp?nnande och roligt. Tack f?r det f?rtroende ni visat oss; vi skall jobba h?rt f?r att leva upp till det.
Strategi2030
In our strategic document, Strategi2030, it says, among many other things, that we need to reinforce our efforts in the study of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and especially the intersection between them. The former dekanat begun this process as soon as the Strategy document was accepted by the Faculty Board, and we already have some results to report.
J?diske veivisare – Jewish pathfinders
In addition to strengthening the study of Islam through advertising a new position in Quran hermeneutics, we have now, in cooperation with the Jewish Community in Oslo, taken over and will develop the program J?diske veivisare – Jewish pathfinders, which is a program funded by the government. This program educates young people preparing them for the task of visiting schools, talking about and explaining what it means to be Jewish today, in order to combat racism and antisemitism. You can read more about this on TF’s website and in Uniforum: J?diske vegvisarar skal utdannast p? UiO.
We are also very happy to announce that, as we have prepared this new and exciting development, we have secured Professor Gunnar Haaland, an expert in Judaism, both contemporary and ancient, as a Professor II at TF. Gunnar started in this position January 1st, and will work on implementing the program. Please welcome him in our midst, and take the opportunity to introduce yourselves to him when you see him in the corridors of Domus Theologica.
The leadership group has also now begun a process aiming at hiring a new colleague in the field of Systematic Theology. Stay tuned for updates on this.
Why is it so important to study theology and religion?
But why, someone might ask, is it so important to study theology and religion when the world seems to be falling apart? Don’t we have more urgent things to do, especially if we want to effect change in the world? After a pandemic, in the midst of a global environmental crisis, war in Europe, increased tensions between world powers in the East, West, and South, the growth of extremism, both on the right and on the left, terrorism, forced migration, racism, economic hardships, inflation, emerging recession, the surge of fake news and alternative truths… – in the midst of all this, isn’t the study of theology and religion comparable to trying to rearrange the chairs on the Titanic, after the ship hit the iceberg?
Quite the contrary, I would insist. It is precisely in such moments as the current that the work done at a Faculty of Theology is needed the most. And it is part of our task to make that known and understood also among those whose focus lies elsewhere, so we can work together in more integrated ways. Because nothing exists in a vacuum; all we do is done in context, and it is from this context and into this context we necessarily speak, whether we focus on history or the present in our research and teaching. For if religion is often perceived to be part of the problem, it is surely also part of the solution.
Few fields of study have such strong potential to contribute to change in the world
From an individual perspective to a collective, from a focus on the national to an international outlook, few fields of study have such strong potential to contribute to change in the world as theology. As TF’s motto says: Knowledge, Responsibility, Dedication: Understand Religion – Change the World (Strategy2030). Consider, for example, the extended impact factor of educating ministers and teachers serving the entire country! That’s building culture, and, as leadership gurus always say: culture eats strategy for breakfast…
No, the real threat to the world and to us, to relationships big and small, is not the corruption that we see everywhere, but rather that we lose hope; that when we are overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness we lose direction and become convinced by all the misery we are exposed to everyday, that nothing we do really matters. But it does matter whether we strive for knowledge and insight, perhaps more so now than ever before. For with knowledge and insight follows discernment, and through discernment we discover anew the possibility of choice, and the nuances of choice; and with choice comes the sense of responsibility from which the change we need can grow.
Work as a team - move beyond the familiar
That is why we are here; that is our mission as researchers, educators, and administrators: to work as a team to move beyond the familiar—beyond the ready-made answers that the world presents us with—and pursue the wisdom that awaits those who probe, through radical listening, both present and past.
With my very best wishes for the new year,
Anders Runesson