Staff profile
Affiliation | Telephone |
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Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religion | +44 (0) 191 33 43957 |
Member of the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies |
Biography
I came to Durham in 2011 as a lecturer in New Testament, and have always found it an immensely congenial place to study and explore the Christian tradition, both intellectually and spiritually. The students and colleagues offer a wonderful community of engaged, intelligent, thoughtful and kind people with whom to share ideas, and it is a joy for us to learn in dialogue with one another. The department is situated right next to the cathedral, and there are good connections between different churches and church traditions, which allow us to explore Christianity with greater fullness and depth. There are also opportunities for dialogue between studies in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and between those who specialise in different approaches to the study of theology and religion, including theological, philosophical, historical, anthropological, and sociological methods among others. And so I write this in the hope of encouraging those who read it to get in touch and explore possibilities of studying here at any level, and from whatever background you come from, bringing the questions that touch you most deeply.
My own work during my time at Durham has shifted in focus over the years, as one foundation gets layered over with new interests. My first degree was in Classics, which has remained important for me, as early Christianity took shape within the Classical world. I transitioned into the discipline of Theology by taking a diploma in 2004, which is a one year course designed for those who hold a first degree in a different discipline. It was a steep learning curve at the time, and I chose courses that would help me get a grounding in biblical studies, both Old and New Testaments. My PhD was in New Testament (2009), and was eventually published in revised form as Paul's Visual Piety: Metamorphosis of the Beholder (Oxford University Press, 2013). This allowed me to connect my interest in visuality and devotional practice with my scriptural study, and to explore the relationship between faith and sight in St Paul. The approach was informed by sociological studies of modern visual piety, especially David Morgan's work, which proved fruitful in highlighting the significance of visuality in St Paul and modifying the emphasis on word-based faith in the reception of his letters.
Thereafter, although I have continued to publish research articles both in New Testament and in Christian visuality, my major research projects have focused on patristics, still drawing extensively on my background in Classics. In 2020 I published Clement of Alexandria and the Shaping of Christian Literary Practice: Miscellany and the Transformation of Greco-Roman Writing (Cambridge University Press, 2020), which situated Clement's literary project in Christian formation in relation to his contemporary literary culture in the Classical world, focusing on Pliny, Plutarch, Gellius, and Athenaeus. In my perception, the significance of Clement as a Christian author in the Classical world had fallen through the cracks between the disciplines of Classics and Theology, because they are separated within the modern university, even though they often share similar concerns in the study of the ancient world. My most recent book, Clement of Alexandria and the Judgement of Taste: Pedagogical Rhetoric and Christian Formation (Oxford University Press, 2024), continued to focus on Clement within the Classical world, but now with a much greater attention to his theology and how it helps us to offer a coherent theological response to strands in modern aesthetics that have moved away from theological thinking. In particular, I drew on Pierre Bourdieu's Distinction: A Social Critique of Judgement to interrogate Clement's approach to Christian formation in the Paedagogus. I tried to show how his training in Christian love is manifested as the formation of something a bit like what we moderns think of as the judgement of taste, but theologically grounded in sophisticated ways.
Having spent so long studying Clement of Alexandria, I am now turning my attention to a project that has a broader scope in view. I am beginning a study on the significance of imagery in the early church from Jesus to Evagrius, with a special interest in baptismal catechesis. I am keen to develop further the dialogue between modern theology and patristics, and to allow this also to renew our approach to scriptural study.
I love teaching at all levels, and would be delighted to hear from anyone who is interested in pursuing a course of study at Durham, whether a taught course or research.
Esteem Indicators
Publications
Authored book
- Heath, J. (2024). Clement of Alexandria and the Judgement of Taste: Pedagogical Rhetoric and Christian Formation. Oxford University Press
- Heath, J. (2020). Clement of Alexandria and the Shaping of Christian Literary Practice: Miscellany and the Transformation of Greco-Roman Writing. Cambridge University Press
- Heath, J. (2013). Paul's Visual Piety: The Metamorphosis of the Beholder. (1). Oxford University Press
Chapter in book
- Heath, J. "That we might serve him" (Luke 1,74). Scriptural Liturgy and the Little Word "God". In J. Dochhorn, R. Hirsch-Luipold, & I. Tanaseanu-Doebler (Eds.), Ueber Gott. Festschrift fuer Reinhard Feldmeier zum 70. Geburtstag / On God. Festschrift in Honour of Reinhard Feldmeier's 70th Birthday (335-350). Mohr Siebeck
- Heath, J. (2022). Mary's Image as Theology. In M. McInroy, C. Strine, & A. Torrance (Eds.), Image as Theology. Brepols Publishers
- Heath, J. (2018). "Textual Communities": Brian Stock's Concept and Recent Scholarship on Antiquity. In F. Wilk (Ed.), Scriptural Interpretation at the Interface between Education and Religion (5-35). Brill Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004385696_003
- Heath, J. (2014). God the Father and Other Parents in the New Testament. In F. Albrecht, & R. Feldmeier (Eds.), The Divine Father: Religious and Philosophical Concepts of Divine Parenthood in Antiquity (325-344). Brill Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004264779_017
- Heath, J. (2013). Greek and Jewish Visual Piety: Ptolemy's Gifts in the Letter of Aristeas. In S. Pearce (Ed.), The image and its prohibition in Jewish antiquity (38-48). Journal of Jewish Studies
- Heath, J. (2009). Corinth, a Crucible for Byzantine Iconcolastic Debates? Viewing Paul as Icon of Christ in 2 Cor 4:7-12. In R. Hirsch-Luipold, H. Görgemanns, M. von Albrecht, & T. Thum (Eds.), Religiöse Philosophie und philosophische Religion der frühen Kaiserzeit Literaturgeschichtliche Perspektiven. Ratio Religionis Studien I (271-284). Mohr Siebeck
Journal Article
- Heath, J. (2023). ‘I remembered the saying’ (Tobit 2:6) Recognising Emotions in Scripture with Tobit and Eve. Journal of Theological Interpretation, 17(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.5325/jtheointe.17.1.0001
- Heath, J. (2023). Imitatio Christi and Violence to the Self Winnicott’s True/False Self and Possible Health Risks of (Mis)reading Paul. Journal of Disability and Religion, 27(2), 247-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2022.2039838
- Heath, J. (2014). Moses' End and the Succession: Deuteronomy 31 and 2 Corinthians 3. New Testament Studies, 60(01), 37-60. https://doi.org/10.1017/s002868851300026x
- Heath, J. (2013). The Righteous Gentile Interjects (James 2:18-19 and Romans 2:14-15). Novum Testamentum: An International Quarterly for New Testament and Related Studies, 55(3), 272-295. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685365-12341425
- Heath, J. (2012). 'You Say that I Am a King' (John 18.37). Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 34(3), 232-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064x11435039
- Heath, J. (2010). Nomina Sacra and Sacra Memoria Before the Monastic Age. The Journal of Theological Studies, 61(2), 516-549. https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/flq077
- Heath, J. (2010). ‘Some were saying, “He is good”’ (John 7.12b): ‘Good’ Christology in John's Gospel?. New Testament Studies, 56(4), 513-535. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0028688510000111
- Heath, J. M. (2009). Absent Presences of Paul and Christ: Enargeia in 1 Thessalonians 1—3. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 32(1), 3-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064x09339643
- Heath, J. (2007). Homer or Moses? A Hellenistic Perspective on Moses' Throne Vision in Ezekiel Tragicus. Journal of Jewish Studies, 58(1), 1-18
- Heath, J. (2005). Ezekiel Tragicus and Hellenistic Visuality: The Phoenix at Elim. The Journal of Theological Studies, 57(1), 23-41. https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/fli274
Other (Digital/Visual Media)