Keynote Speakers
Jenn Ashworth’s first novel, A Kind of Intimacy, was published in 2009 and won a Betty Trask Award. On the publication of her second, Cold Light (Sceptre, 2011) she was featured on the BBC’s The Culture Show as one of the UK’s twelve best new writers. Her third novel The Friday Gospels (2013) is published by Sceptre. She studied at Newnham College, Cambridge and the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester. Jenn lives in Lancashire and teaches Creative Writing at Lancaster University.
‘The Transatlantic Mormon novel: British Mormonism, Utah and LDS Fiction’
In this talk Jenn Ashworth, author of the critically acclaimed novel The Friday Gospels (currently being adapted for television) will read from the novel and speak about the particular process involved in writing a work that engages with British Mormon identity, the cultural significance of the North West to LDS culture, and the problems of a British writer engaging with the 'imaginary homeland' at the heart of Mormonism - Utah. She will speak about the various kinds of translation this has involved, and the ultimate remediation - the adaptation of a circadian novel into a returning television series.
In this talk Jenn Ashworth, author of the critically acclaimed novel The Friday Gospels (currently being adapted for television) will read from the novel and speak about the particular process involved in writing a work that engages with British Mormon identity, the cultural significance of the North West to LDS culture, and the problems of a British writer engaging with the 'imaginary homeland' at the heart of Mormonism - Utah. She will speak about the various kinds of translation this has involved, and the ultimate remediation - the adaptation of a circadian novel into a returning television series.
Dr. Stefan Skrimshire is Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds. His research focus is the constellation of beliefs in apocalypse, eschatology and utopia as they appear in Christian theology, continental philosophy and political cultures. He was previously Postdoctoral Researcher with the Lincoln Theological Institute at the University of Manchester, where he led the 'Future Ethics' project which brought together activists and campaigners, scientists, academics and policy makers interested in the role of apocalyptic narratives in the communication of global climate change and resulted in a publication of collected essays and production of a documentary film.
Prof. Peter M. Scott is Samuel Ferguson Professor of Applied Theology and Director of the Lincoln Theological Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. He is the author of Theology, Ideology and Liberation (Cambridge: CUP, 1994), A Political Theology of Nature (Cambridge: CUP, 2003) and Anti-human Theology: Nature, Technology and the Postnatural (London: SCM Press, 2010).
‘Ecological and Existential Crisis in Theology and Contemporary Culture’
Apocalypse films are a resonant part of popular culture, and they have a long history of exploring broad themes such as mourning and loss. Taking Lars von Trier’s recent film ‘Melancholia’ as a point of departure, Stefan Skrimshire considers this theme of mourning in theological, philosophical and psychological voices as a way of expressing our relationship to the earth. In response to this, Peter Scott will reflect on the significance of creation, drawing also on Lars von Trier’s film ‘Antichrist’ as a retelling of Eden as the corruption, or decay, of nature. Finally, discussion will open out and develop motifs, themes and ideas touched upon throughout the conference.
Apocalypse films are a resonant part of popular culture, and they have a long history of exploring broad themes such as mourning and loss. Taking Lars von Trier’s recent film ‘Melancholia’ as a point of departure, Stefan Skrimshire considers this theme of mourning in theological, philosophical and psychological voices as a way of expressing our relationship to the earth. In response to this, Peter Scott will reflect on the significance of creation, drawing also on Lars von Trier’s film ‘Antichrist’ as a retelling of Eden as the corruption, or decay, of nature. Finally, discussion will open out and develop motifs, themes and ideas touched upon throughout the conference.