Nicola Slee is in Melbourne this October as guest of the Australian Collaborators in Feminist Theologies (ACFT) to speak at a number of public events.
“I’d like to say that all theology is, or should be, feminist, in the sense that it takes seriously the insights, experiences, and gifts of women and girls. But self-evidently that’s not the case. There’s still a need for an intentional commitment to gender analysis and critique, alongside other critical perspectives such as post-colonial, queer, and body theologies, to name a few.”
Nicola Slee will be a plenary speaker at the ACFT conference “Power, Authority, and Love” (October 11-12 at Pilgrim Theological College). The conference will also feature plenaries by Janice McRandal, Sally Douglas and Seforosa Carroll and papers by many more academics and practitioners which speak to these themes. Nicola will give the Jan Gray Memorial Lecture: “Witnessing to What Remains, or, The Power of Persisting: Power, Authority, and Love in the Interim Spaces” (October 11 at Pilgrim Theological College) and lecture on “Practical Theology In Fractured Times” (October 21 at Yarra Theological Union).
This work, this learning we do as a network, is both personal and political. As feminist theologians, how can embody principles of collaboration and intersectionality in our work and workplaces, raise awareness of feminist resources and resources in intersectionality, critique existing assumptions and reclaim empowering dimensions of Christian tradition.
Nicola Slee has put forward that “Practical theology is the way in which the practice of faith articulates theology. The way we pray, care, and engage politically is a primary means of theology…”
We believe that theological theories and practices can be deepened and improved by the input of many voices and perspectives.
Who has the Power, Authority, Love?
We do. You do.
Nicola Slee is Director of Research at The Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, Birmingham, and Queen’s Professor of Feminist Practical Theology at Vrije Universiteit (Free University), Amsterdam. She chairs the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology. An Anglican laywoman, Nicola is an honorary vice-president of Women and a regular speaker at Greenbelt.
The Australian Collaborators in Feminist Theologies (Feminist Theologies) aims to consolidate and energise the University’s commitment to the participation of women and feminist scholars in the academy and for the churches. By fostering and forwarding feminist voice and vision we aim to promote Gospel justice by addressing issues relating to gender equality, class, race, sexuality, and ability.
The network is supported by the University of Divinity under its Strategic Goal 3: Feminist Theologies
This goal draws on the University’s tradition as the first Australian institution to award a degree in theology to a woman (Winifred Kiek, BD (1924)) and a flagship within the academy for the significant numbers of Catholic women religious, pastoral associates and others not seeking ordination, as well as those women who (since Kiek’s ordination in 1927) have been ordained as Christian ministers in Australia. It aims to grow further the existing network of feminist scholars that seeks to enable a fresh conversation through initiatives in research, publication, mentoring, and related teaching.
University of Divinity
Graham Joseph Hill
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