The MHS School of Mission and Theology hereby announces one PhD fellowship in theology. The fellowship is expected to focus on migrant churches/congregations in Norwegian (or European) contexts. Deadline for applications is April 15, 2012.

Torrey Seland, professor and PhD-coordinator at MHS, is a member of The International Philo Bibliography Project  that regularly publishes bibliographic reviews of studies related to Philo of Alexandria. Now a major bibliography has been issued, covering the period of 1997-2006, published by Brill in the renowned series Supplements Vigiliae Christianae:

Philo of Alexandria. An Annotated Bibliography 1997-2006. David T. Runia (ed.),  in collaboration with The International Philo Bibliography Project
E. Birnbaum • K. A. Fox • A. C. Geljon • M. R. J. Hofstede - H. M. Keizer • J. P. Martín • M. S. Niehoff • R. Radice - J. Riaud • K.-G. Sandelin • D. Satran • G. Schimanowski - T. Seland • D. Zeller. Supplements Vigiliae Christianae 209. Brill; Leiden 2011. 492pp.

Last summer Kristin Fjelde Tjelle defended her doctoral thesis entitled Missionary masculinity: the case of the Norwegian Lutheran missionaries to the Zulus, 1870-1930. She studied official publications from the Norwegian Mission Society, such as journals and annual reports, as well as unpublished letters from missionaries to the society, and analyzed how “proper” masculinity was constructed among Norwegian missionaries in South Africa. Her  work is now gaining attention from several persons and milieus, and a nice presentation is available at KILDEN - Information Centre for Gender Research in Norway.

On Oct. 7, the School of Mission and Theology celebrated the 65th birthday of Professor teol.dr. Magnar Kartveit. Prof. Kartveit has been employed at the School of Mission and Theology since 1975, working within the field of the Old Testament.

On Wednesday Oct. 5, 11.15am- , cand.theol. Gunnar Magnus Eidsvåg (see picture) will present and defend his dissertation on "The Septuagint of Zechariah. A Study of LXX-Zechariah as Translation and Interpretation." It is a comprehensive study of how the translator of the Hebrew Book of Zechariah translated this work into Greek, into the version now called the Septuagint.

On Wednesday and Thursday, 19 - 20 May, an international conference on the missionary speeches in the Acts of the Apostles took place at the School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger, Norway. Scholars from India, Egypt, Romania, Germany and Norway took part at the conference.

The South African history is so dramatic. Historians are taking part in ongoing processes where past events are re-interpreted and history rewritten. Debates on history in South Africa are not restricted to theoretical discussions by scholars alone, the debates concerns everyone. Kristin Fjelde Tjelle, PhD-student at MHS, has just arrived from South Africa where she together with Professor Odd Magne Bakke participated at the conference "Mission in Zululand".

School of Mission and Theology, togehter with Makerere University, Uganda arranged in October 2009 a conferense with the topic "Living Together". Here we present some few photos from the conference.

The School of Mission and Theology (MHS) has for the period of 2008-2012 established three interdisciplinary research groups in order to focus the research at the school on three key areas.

Together with an Indian and a Romanian colleague, Professor Jostein Ådna, coordinates a SNTS seminar on mission in the New Testament. SNTS is the international Society of New Testament scholars, and the seminar gathers for its sessions during the annual general meetings of the Society.

MHS has two permanent academic positions in Theology of Mission, and one is now vacant and open for application at the level of Professor or Associate Professor. As a core theological discipline, Theology of Mission works critically and normatively from systematic-theological perspectives – and interacts closely with historical and biblical research issues – in relation to the global missional calling of the church.

There are two three years’ scholarships available at the School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger, Norway. The scholarships are primarily intended for younger candidates who want to take a Ph.D. degree in Theology. Applications must be submitted by February 26, 2007.

Arne Redse, assistant professor at Høgskulen i Volda and at Fjellhaug Misjonshøgskole and a former missionary to Hong Kong, defends publicly his dissertation "By grace alone" in contexts of "self-cultivation" : an attempt at contextualizing ... for the Ph.D.-degree on Saturday 6th of May. His trial lectures will be held on Fiday the 5th.

Hans Austnaberg, research fellow at the School of Mission and Theology and a former missionary to Madagascar, defends publicly his dissertation Shepherds and demons : a study of exorcism as practised and understood by shepherds in the Malagasy Lutheran Church for the Ph.D.-degree on Saturday 6th of May. His trial lectures will be held on Fiday the 12th.