Postgraduate Studies
The School of World Religions and Theology enjoys research strengths in biblical studies, Jewish studies, Islamic studies, Theology, and Ethics - as is shown by the research expertise and interests of our staff and by the research seminars and projects that the School sustains. The School also actively supports a post-graduate conference in inter-disciplinary approaches to the Biblical World.
In each of these research areas the School offers the supervision of postgraduate research leading to the degrees of Master of Letters (M.Litt.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). Neither of these degrees have course requirements, although research students are normally welcome to audit or take third or fourth year (Senior Sophister) undergraduate courses - and on occasions they may be advised or required to do so.
Below you may find further information on current research students in the School, topics of recently completed dissertations, facilities for research students at Trinity College, and opportunities to acquire teaching experience.
Some Current Post-graduate Research Topics
- Lorraine Capper (M.Litt. student)
Liturgy, Prayer and the Historical Jesus
Supervised by Dr Ben Wold - Philip Crowe (Ph.D. student)
The Temple Economy in the Second Temple Period
Supervised by Dr. Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley - Amy Daughton (Ph.D. student)
Toward an Intercultural Hermeneutic in a Global World. Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics of Selfhood and Cultures in Dialogue with Thomas Aquinas’s Theory of Analogical Thinking
Supervised by Prof. Maureen Junker-Kenny. - Ronald Geobey (Ph.D. student)
Supervised by Dr. Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley - Fred Hansen (Ph.D. student)
Temple Motifs in early Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic
Supervised by Dr Ben Wold - Henry Kelly (Ph.D. student)
The Value of Labour: Economical, Ethical and Civic Perspectives
Supervised by Prof. Maureen Junker-Kenny - Gary Keogh (Ph.D. student)
Dawkins and the frontiers of science and religion
Supervised by Dr John Scally - Jill McArdle (Ph.D. student)
Human Dignity as Principle of Ethics and Law in Pluralist Democracies. John Rawls’s and Jürgen Habermas’s Political Philosophies in Philosophical and Theological Critique
Supervised by Prof. Maureen Junker-Kenny - Michael Morris (M.Litt. student)
Exorcism, Demons and the Kingdom of God in Mark's Gospel
Supervised by Dr Ben Wold - Stephen Murray (Ph.D. student)
Irish Responses to Zionism
Supervised by Dr. Zuleika Rodgers - Heidi O'Rourke (Ph.D. student)
Amun and Yahweh: An Examination of the Jewish Temple of Elephantine during the Persian Period
Supervised by Dr Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley - Emily Parker (Ph.D. student)
The figure of Joseph in thw writings Philo of Alexandria
Supervised by Dr. Zuleika Rodgers - Paul Perry (Ph.D. student)
Pilgrimage in Early Judaism and Christianity
Supervised by Dr. Zuleika Rodgers - Ronan Tobin (Ph.D. student)
Technology and Human Freedom: Analyses from Theological Anthropology and Ethics
Supervised by Prof. Maureen Junker-Kenny - Sarah Shier (Ph.D. student)
Deconstructing Gender in John’s Apocalypse
Supervised by Dr Ben Wold - Magdalene Szklarz (Ph.D. student)
The Book of Job
Supervised by Dr. Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley
- Natalie Wynn (Ph.D. student)
Jewish Activism and inter-communal relations, 1840-1913
Supervised by Dr. Zuleika Rodgers - David Simmonds (Ph.D. student)
The Jews of Limerick
Supervised by Dr. Zuleika Rodgers
Recently completed Dissertations
A Reevaluation of the Pre-70 CE Synagogues in the Land of Israel and the Graeco-Roman Diaspora. Lidia Matassa (Ph.D).
Supervised by Professor Catherine Hezser- Conceptions of Warlike Angels in Literature of the Second Temple Period. Aleksander Michalak (Ph.D.). Supervised by Dr. Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley.
- Persian and Apocalyptic: The Transition from Prophecy to Apocalyptic in Second Temple Judaism. Jason Silverman (Ph.D.). Supervised by Dr. Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley.
- Translation for Transformation: Andre Chouraqui and his Translation of the Four Gospels. Murray Watson (Ph.D.). Supervised by Dr. Zuleika Rodgers.
- Oracles of the Nations: Audrey Barnett (M.Litt). Supervised by Professor Andrew Mayes.
- The New Moon, Sacred Time, and the Boundaries of Ancient Israelite Identity. Killian McAleese (Ph.D.). Supervised by Dr. Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley.
- An Autonomy Perspective in Theological Ethics on Transgenic Food Production
- A review of the Irish public service modernisation programme from the perspective of Catholic social teaching on subsidiarity and the common good
- 'Texts of trauma' and Christian theology
- Galilee from 44–66 CE: A Critical Reading of Josephus.
- Historical Categories and the Praxis of Identity in Ancient Israel(Ph.D.)
- After Nietzsche: Nietzchean Ontology and Semiotics in Christological Metaperspective(Ph.D.)
- The Jewish Scribe, Ben Sira, as Interpreter of Biblical Tradition in Pre- Maccabean Hellenistic Judea (Ph.D)
- Narrative Homiletics. Lukan Rhetoric and the Making of the Reader (Ph.D.)
- David in the Fourth Gospel: The Johannine Reception of the Psalms (Ph.D.)
- The Literary Composition and Social Setting of the Epistle of James (Ph.D.)
- Pauline Persuasion. A Sounding in II Corinthians 8-9 (Ph.D.)
- Josephus: Patriot, Priest, Politicia (Ph.D.)
- Religious Conflict in Ireland During the Middle Years of the 19th. Century (M.Litt.)
- A Critical Analysis of Irish Inter-Church Relations 1904-1984 (Ph.D.)
- Towards a Pluralist Ecumenics: The Significance of Revisionist Hermeneutics for an Understanding of the Dynamics of Ecumenical Encounter (Ph.D.)
- Church as Community: Theological Foundations and Development in Practice (Ph.D.)
- "Institutional Integrity". The Use of Theories of Justice for Resource Allocation in the Australian Catholic Church. (Ph.D.)
- Neither Naked nor Sacred: A Theology of the Public Square. The Irish Catholic Church in the Republic of Ireland (Ph.D.)
- Church as Community: Theological Foundations and Development in Practice (Ph.D.)
- Harmony, Modesty, Dialogue: A Moravian Contribution towards the Development of Christian Theologies of Religious Pluralism (Ph.D.)
- Theology amidst a Plurality of Particular Traditions: David Tracy's Contribution to Theological Method (Ph.D.)
- Missing persons: Individual Eschatology in 20 century Protestant Theology (Ph.D.)
Facilities
Trinity College Library is the largest library in Ireland, containing over four million books. Since 1801 the Library has had the right to claim a copy of all British and Irish publications.
Dublin enjoys two major assets of interest to those conducting research in religion and theology. The first is the Chester Beatty Library. European Museum of the Year in 2002, this is home to an outstanding collection of early Christian and Islamic manuscripts, including some of the earliest texts of the Bible. Its reference library contains some 12,000 volumes on subjects that include Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Among its permanent exhibitions is a 'Sacred Traditions' gallery. It also offers a microfilming service.
The second local asset is Marsh's Library. Built in 1701, this was Ireland's first public library and it comprises 25,000 volumes relating to the 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries. These include a large collection of works of theology, religious controversy, liturgy, and church history as well as missals, breviaries, books of hours of the Sarum use, Bibles printed in almost every language, rabbinical material, and Latin Judaica.
Teaching Experience
The School of World Religions and Theology is keen to equip its research students, not only with knowledge to teach, but also with actual experience of teaching. Accordingly, from the second year of their research, students may expect to be given opportunities for - and guidance in - teaching.
For further information, contact the Graduate Studies Office.
Contact: jwelch@tcd.ie | Last updated: Sep 19 2011 | Back to top