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Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou
Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou to give inaugural lecture
Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou from Theology and Religion will be giving her inaugural lecture on Tuesday 8th May 2012 entitled ‘Waking the Dead: Religion, Secularism, and Coping with Corpses’.
Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou’s research is primarily focused on ancient Israelite and Judahite religions, and portrayals of the religious past in the Hebrew Bible. Her doctoral thesis explored the misrepresentation of the past in the Hebrew Bible and was published as King Manasseh and Child Sacrifice: Biblical Distortions of Historical Realities (de Gruyter, 2004). Her most recent book, Land of Our Fathers: The Roles of Ancestor Veneration in Biblical Land Claims (T&T Clark, 2010), furthers her somewhat morbid interests by examining the relationship between the veneration of the dead and territorial claims in the Hebrew Bible. Thanks to a research grant from the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council), she is now writing a book about the corpse and its social and religious impacts upon the living.
Francesca's media work includes presenting a three-part BBC documentary series about the Bible and archaeology, called Bible's Buried Secrets, broadcast in the UK on BBC 2 in March 2011, and 'talking head' contributions to various television documentaries. She has also appeared as a panellist on BBC1's debate show, The Big Questions, and has discussed biblical scholarship on several radio programmes.
Details
Tuesday 8th May 2012, 5pm
Lecture Theatre 2, The Queen’s Building, The Queen’s Drive, Exeter, EX4 4QJ
This event will be followed by a drinks reception from 6 - 8pm, in the Queen’s Cafe.
To book your place at this event, please RSVP by Monday 30th April 2012 to The College of Humanities Dean’s Office.
Date: 5 April 2012