SOAS University of London

Centre of World Christianity

Members

Co-Chairs

Dr Erica Hunter

Dr Jörg Haustein

Professor William Gervase Clarence-Smith
William Gervase Clarence-Smith
History of Islam, sexuality, diasporas, slavery, stimulants, rubber, livestock and textiles, with special reference to Maritime South East Asia
  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4608
  • Email: wc2@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 313
  • Academic Support Hours: Thursdays 11-1
Dr Lucia Dolce
Lucia Dolce
Japanese religious history, especially the medieval period; Japanese Tantric Buddhism and the esotericisation of religious practice; Millenarian writings and prophecy; Kami-Buddhas associations
  • Tel: 020 7898 4217
  • Email: ld16@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 342
  • Academic Support Hours: Thursdays 3:00-4:00
Professor Paul Gifford
Paul Gifford
Christianity; recent developments in African Christianity; the socio-political role of religion in Africa Socio-political role of Christianity in Africa; Africa's new charismatic churches
Professor Catherine Hezser
Catherine Hezser

Judaism in Hellenistic and Roman times; rabbinic literature; social history of Jews in late antiquity; American Jewish history and literature, Jewish identity, gender studies

  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4633
  • Email: ch12@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 335
  • Academic Support Hours: Wednesday 10:00-11:00 / Thursday 11:00-12:00
Professor Almut Hintze
Almut Hintze

Professor Hintze takes an interest in all aspects of Zoroastrianism, the religion of pre-Islamic Iran.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4598
  • Email: ah69@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 329
  • Academic Support Hours: Academic support hours: by appointment
Dr Erica Hunter
Co-Chair, Centre of World Christianities
Erica Hunter

Eastern Christianity; Syriac Christianity in the Middle East, with particular reference to Iraq; Syriac Christianity in medieval Central Asia and China

Dr Marloes Janson
Marloes Janson

Anthropology of religion, religious reform (Islam and Pentecostalism), transnational religious networks (Tabligh Jamaʻat), faith-based development, urban anthropology, popular culture, gender, youth, West Africa (the Gambia, Senegal and Nigeria)

  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4345
  • Email: mj19@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 580
  • Academic Support Hours: Wednesday 10.00am - 12.00pm
Dr Michael Jennings
Michael Jennings

Politics, governance, and civil society in sub-Saharan Africa; non-governmental organisations; faith and development; history of development processes and interventions; issues in international health and non-state actors in health delivery.

  • Tel: +44(0) 207 898 4268
  • Email: mj10@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 261
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment only
  • On Sabbatical:Full Year (2019/20)
Dr Lars Laamann
Lars Laamann

Popular religions in early modern China (16th-20th cc); Christianity in china (18th-20th cc); Opium and other narcotics (18th-20th cc); Manchu history (16th-20th cc)

  • Tel: 020 7898 4634
  • Email: ll10@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 323
  • Academic Support Hours: Every day except Tuesday-email by appointment
Professor David Mosse
David Mosse
India, especially Tamil Nadu and adivasi western India; caste and religion, dalit politics, vernacular Christianity, environmental history, common property resources, indigenous irrigation, participatory rural development, aid agencies, anthropology of development
  • Tel: 020 7898 4426
  • Email: dm21@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 573
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesday 1-3pm
Dr Antonello Palumbo
Staff Silhouette

Ideological history of pre-modern China; Chinese religions, notably Taoism and Buddhism; history of the Buddhist canon in China; Manichaeism and Iranian influences in medieval China; Chinese cultural relations with Central Asia

  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4768
  • Email: ap47@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 345
  • Academic Support Hours: Friday 12:00-2:00pm - Term 2
Dr Tania Tribe
Tania Tribe
Painting in Africa and the Americas; theory of art with special reference to Northeastern Africa
  • Tel: 020 7898 4462
  • Email: tt10@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: B406
  • Academic Support Hours: Mondays 5-7pm (17:00-19:00)

Research Associates

Dr John Binns
Research Associate
John Binns

Orthodox Churches of the Christian East, the Christian traditions of Ethiopia, history of Orthodox monastic life

Dr Ralph Lee
Research Associate
Dr Ralph Lee

Orthodox Christianity, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ethiopian thought, Ge’ez, Amharic

  • Email: rl26@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 333
  • Academic Support Hours: Monday 5-6pm and by appointment

External Members

Dr Joel Cabrita
Affiliate Staff
Staff Silhouette

History of Christianity in Southern Africa in the late modern period; African Christianity in its global and diasporic context

Professor John Healey
Affiliate Staff
John Healey

Syriac-speaking Christianity, especially its earlier history and its emergence from the Aramaic-speaking environment of the Roman/Byzantine Near East; the development of the Syriac scripts and language; early contacts between Syriac Christians and Muslims; other religious minorities in the Middle East (Jews, Mandaeans, Gnostics); the present situation of the Middle East Christians; Syriac liturgy. In addition, Professor Healey has worked extensively in the early alphabet, Hebrew Bible, Nabataea and Palmyra.

Professor David Maxwell
Affiliate Staff
Staff Silhouette

African Christianity; mission history in colonial and post-colonial settings; the religious encounter of Christianity with African traditional religion; indigenous African Christian movements; Pentecostalism, transnationalism and religious globalisation

Dr Kevin Ward
Affiliate Staff
Staff Silhouette

Protestant Christian cooperation in colonial Kenya;  history and spirituality of the East African Revival movement; church-state relations in Uganda.