President - Ursula King
Nationality -- British/German
Current Positions
- Professor Emerita of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol
- Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bristol
- Professorial Research Associate, Centre for Gender and Religions Research, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
ACADEMIC DEGREES
- DD h.c. 2003 (Dayton) University of Dayton, Ohio
- Dr theol.h.c. 2000 (Oslo) Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo
- DD h.c. 1996 (Edinburgh) New College, University of Edinburgh
- PhD 1977 (London) King's College, University of London
- MA 1969 (Delhi) Philosophy, Class 1, University of Delhi
- STL 1963 (Paris) Theology, "magna cum laude", Institut Catholique, Paris
HONOURS AND AWARDS
2003 Honorary Doctorate in Divinity, University of Dayton
2000 Honorary Doctorate in Theology, University of Oslo
1996 Honorary Doctor of Divinity, University of Edinburgh
1996-97 Bampton Lecturer, University of Oxford
1994-95 University of Bristol Research Award
1991- FRSA: (Life Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) London
1969 Indian Philosophical Congress Gold Medal for the Best Candidate in the MA Examination in Philosophy, University of Delhi
Thadani Memorial Prize for the Best Paper in Indian Philosophy
1960-63 Boursière du Gouvernement Français, Paris (for studies at Institut Catholique and Sorbonne)
1958-63 Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Bonn (National Scholarship in Germany)
EDUCATION
1971 - 77 University of London: part-time PhD student, Dept of the History and Philosophy of Religion, King's College, PhD, Faculty of Arts
1967 - 69 University of Delhi: Extra-collegiate student, MA in Philosophy
1964 - 65 University of London: Extra-mural student for Diploma in Sociology (Passed with merit the examination in social history)
1962 University of Tübingen: Proficiency Certificate in Hebrew. Grade "Sehr gut".
1962 University of Tübingen (summer semester): theology, philosophy and Indian religions. Certificate in Hebrew.
1962 Sorbonne, Paris: Certificate "Histoire Générale de la Philosophie" . Grade "Bien".
1960-63 Institut Catholique, Sorbonne and École des Hautes Études, Paris: theology, philosophy, patristics
1960 University of Munich (summer semester): theology and philosophy
1958-60 University of Bonn: theology, philosophy, phenomenology of religion.
1944-58 Primary and secondary education in Germany
PREVIOUS ACADEMIC POSTS
Fall 2005 Distinguished Bingham Professor of Humanities, University of Louisville, Kentucky.
1989-2002 Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol
1996-2002 Director of the Centre for Comparative Studies in Religion and Gender, University of Bristol
1998-2001 Visiting Professor in Feminist Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo, Norway
Fall 1999 Brueggeman Chair of Ecumenical Theology and Interreligious Dialogue, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio
1989 -97 Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol
1979-89 Senior Lecturer, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds
1976-77 S.A.Cook Bye-Fellow, Newnham College and Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
1971-79 Lecturer, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds
1969-70 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi (responsible for course in philosophy of religion in the MA in Philosophy)
1965-69 Occasional Lecturer: University of Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Social Institute. Lectured on philosophy and on aspects of Christian thought and practice
1965-70 Five years' residence in India (New Delhi, visits to North and South India)
1963-65 Lecturer in Divinity, Coloma College of Education (affiliated to London University Institute of Education)
MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
- American Academy of Religion
- British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR) (British section of the International Association for the History of Religions)
- Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain
- European Society of Women in Theological Research
- Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
- Scientific and Medical Network
- Society of Authors
- Society for the Study of Theology
- Sociology of Religion Study Group of the British Sociological Association
PAST OFFICES AND COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
1993-95 President, European Society of Women in Theological Research
1993-94 President, Bristol Theological Society
1992-94 Vice-President, Wells Theological Society
1992 -95 President, Teilhard Centre, London
1991-94 President, British Association for the Study of Religions
1981-87 Honorary Secretary, British Association for the History of Religions; Bulletin Editor (1977-1981); 1977-87 Member, Executive Committee
SELECTED MEMORIAL AND KEYNOTE LECTURES
2007 Keynote speaker at Edinburgh Middle East Festival Conference on Spirituality and Community, March 6.
2007 Annual Julian of Norwich Lecture, May 12, Norwich Cathedral: Inspired by Julian: Seeking a Feminine Mystical Way for the Twenty- first century
2007 Frauen im interreligiösen Dialog. Kritische Fragen und schöpferische Neuansätze aus europäischer und asiatischer Sicht, Ringvorlesung Universität Bern, June 5
2007 Keynote speaker at the International Conference of the European Society for Catholic Theology, Leuven University, September 2007: Responding to the Multifaith Realities of Contemporary Europe: A Venture of Risk and Promise for Christian Theologians.
2006 Keynote speaker at International Conference on Teilhard de Chardins Significance for a Planetary Ethics and Creation Spiritualities, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
2006 Gendering the Spirit: Re-reading Womens Spiritualities in the Comparative Mirror, Lancaster University, England, and University of Uppsala, Sweden
2006 Public lectures on feminist theology at conferences in Rome, Italy and at University of Graz, Austria
2006 Meandering through the Gender Maze: Frustrations and Surprises in the Academic Study of Religion. Invited plenary lecture at the Symposium on Constructing Gender in Religious Symbol Systems: Approaches within the Study of Religions organised by the Universities of Zürich and Lausanne, Switzerland
2005 Hinduism and Women: Uses and Abuses of Religious Freedom, The Distinguished Majewski Lecture, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
2005 XIXth World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions, Tokyo: invited respondent to plenary session on Fluid Boundaries, Institutional Segregation and Buddhist Sexual Tolerance and to several papers on Religious Education and Peace
2005 Keynote Lecture on Feeding the Zest for Life: Spiritual Energy Resources for the Future of Humanity at Fordham University Symposium on The Philosophy of Teilhard in the Building of the Future of Humanity, Lincoln Center, New York
2005 The Fire of Consciousness: The Rise of Self-Reflection. Public address during the celebration of The Epic of the Universe commemorating the 50th anniversary of Teilhard de Chardins death in New York at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York
2005 The Other in Our Midst, The Other Within Ourselves: the spiritual challenge of our time. 42nd Glenstal Ecumenical Conference, Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick, Irelan
2004 Christianity, Violence and the Peace Imperative , Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, conference on War and Violence in Religion: Responses from the Monotheistic World
2004 Gender and Interreligious Dialogue, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nagoya, Japan
2004 BASR 50th Anniversary Lecture, Oxford, Cherished Memories, Fractured Identities and New Subjectivities: Celebrating Fifty Years of British Scholarship in Religious Studies
2004 Keynote Lecture at Dreaming Landscapes Global Multi-Faith Conference for Chaplains and Religious Professionals, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
2004 Meandering through the Gender Maze (with examples from the Encyclopedia of Religion and other scholarly territories), Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
2004 One Planet, One Spirit: Spirituality and Human Flourishing, Vernon Robertson Lecture, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
2003 Otto A. Shults Lectures, St Bernards School of Theology and Ministry, Rochester, NY
2003 La femme et le sacré, University of Geneva
2003 Doing Gender in the Study of Religions, University of Lausanne
2003 American Teilhard Association Annual Lecture, General Theological Seminary, New York
2002 The Dance of Life: Spirituality, Ageing and Human Flourishing, Second International Conference on Ageing, Spirituality and Wellbeing, University of Durham, England
2002 Larouche Lecture, University of Sudbury, Canada
2002 Science, Love and Mysticism in a Converging World, Science, Consciousness and Ultimate Reality Conference of the Scientific and Medical Network, Kings College, London
2002 Sir Alister Hardy Memorial Lecture, Oxford
2002 Anne Spencer Memorial Lecture, University of Bristol
2002 Sir George Trevelyan Lecture, London
2001 Lectures on feminist theology in Rome, Budapest, Oslo and Trondheim, Norway
2001 Keynote Lecture on Women in Theological Education for Lutheran World Federation, Geneva
2000 Roger Whyte Lecture in the Study of Religions, University of Oxford
1998 World Religions, Worlds of Gender, Ferdinand Braudel Center and the Institute for Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, NY
1996 Bampton Lectures, University of Oxford, January-May 1996
1996 Thomas Aquinas Lecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
1994 Edmund Perry Memorial Lecture, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
1992 Schumacher Lecture, Bristol, Re-visioning Spirituality. One Planet, One Spirit
1992 The McMartin Lecture, University of Ottawa, on the 35th Anniversary of the Department of Religious Studies: The Impact of the Feminist Critique on the Study of Religion
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
2005 Gender, Religion and Diversity: Crosscultural Approaches (co-edited with Tina Beattie) London and New York: Continuum paperback (hardback published in 2004). See my article Gender-Critical Turns in the Study of Religion, 1-10.
2003 Christian Mystics. Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Ages. London: Routledge (Mahwah, NJ: Hidden Spring - Paulist Press, 2001)
2001 (ed.) Spirituality and Society in the New Millennium. Brighton and Portland, Oregon: Sussex Academic Press
2001 Christian Mystics. Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Ages. Mahwah, New Jersey: Hidden Spring - Paulist Press
1999 (ed) Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Writings Selected With an Introduction. Modern Spiritual Masters Series. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books (Spanish translation 2001: Escritos Esenciales. Introdución y edición de Ursula King. Santander: Sal Terrae)
1998 (ed) Faith and Praxis in a Postmodern Age, London: Cassell
1998 Christian Mystics. The Spiritual Heart of the Christian Tradition. New York: Simon & Schuster and London: Batsford
1997 Christ in All Things. Exploring Christian Spirituality with Teilhard de Chardin, Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books and London: SCM; Italian translation 2001: Cristo in tutte le Cose. Esplorare la spiritualità con Teilhard de Chardin. Padova: Edizione Messagero
1996 Spirit of Fire. The Life and Vision of Teilhard de Chardin, Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books;pbck1998
1995 (ed) Religion and Gender, Oxford and New York: Blackwell
1994 (ed) Feminist Theology from the Third World. A Reader, London: SPCK and Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books
1994 (co-ed) Religion in Europe. Contemporary Perspectives, Kampen: Kok Pharos
1993 Women and Spirituality. Voices of Protest and Promise. Revised second edition, London: Macmillan and University Park, PA: Penn State Press; first edition 1989
1991 (ed) Liberating Women: New Theological Directions (2-6 September 1991, Conference Reader), Bristol: Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol
1990 (ed) Turning Points in Religious Studies. Essays in Honour of Geoffrey Parrinder, Edinburgh: T & T Clark; paperback edition 1995.
1989 The Spirit of One Earth: Reflections on Teilhard de Chardin and Global Spirituality, New York: Paragon House (reprinted 1994)
1989 Women and Spirituality. Voices of Protest and Promise, London: Macmillan (commissioned by Macmillan for their series "Women in Society") and New York: New Amsterdam Books
1987 (ed) Women in the World's Religions, Past and Present, New York: Paragon House (reprinted 1994)
1980 Towards a New Mysticism. Teilhard de Chardin and Eastern Religions, London: Collins and New York: Seabury Press. (Preface by Joseph Needham)
1967 Christlicher Platonismus, Bibliothek der Alten Welt, Zürich: Artemis Verlag. (Translation from Latin into German of the anti-Arian treatises on the Trinity by Marius Victorinus. In collaboration with Pierre Hadot).
In addition I have contributed chapters to more than 40 different books, numerous entries in encyclopedias, over 70 articles in academic journals, and over 180 book reviews. Details can be supplied on request.
Of the most recent contributions I would like to mention especially my work as consultant for all the entries on Gender and Religion (covering 20 different religious traditions in The Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd edition (ed. Lindsay Jones) Chicago: Macmillan Reference, Thomson Gale, 2005. 15 vols. See vol. 5: 3295 3420 for the composite entry Gender and Religion. I also contributed several entries to the Encyclopedia of Religion, especially Gender and Religion: An Overview, vol. 5: 3296 3310.
Other important publications include:
- Smart, (Roderick) Ninian (1927-2001) in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press 2004-5, entry in on-line edition (http://www.oxforddnb.com)
- Hinduism and Women: Uses and Abuses of Religious Freedom in Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Deskbook by the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief (eds Tore Lindholm, W. Cole Durham, Jr. and Bahia Tahzib-Lie), Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2004: 523- 543.
- Religion and Gender: Embedded Patterns, Interwoven Frameworks in Teresa A. Meade and Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, eds, A Companion to Gender History, Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 2004 & 2006: 70-85.



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