ENGLAND: Postcolonialism, Anglican identities focus of May 1-2 conference in Manchester
Episcopal News Service. April 11, 2008 [041108-02]
Matthew Davies
Considering colonial legacies associated with the history of Anglican churches and analyzing the future of the postcolonial Church will be the focus of a May 1-2 conference hosted by the University of Manchester's Lincoln Theological Institute in England.
"Church, Identity/ies and Postcolonialism" will bring together an international group of scholars and experts in Anglican history and colonial theory for two days of lectures and discussions -- an opportunity to broaden the postcolonial conversation in the Anglican Communion "to demonstrate its relevance for every Anglican, not just professional theologians and bishops," says the Rev. Joseph Duggan, an Episcopal priest from the Diocese of Los Angeles and a doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester focusing on postcolonial Anglican ecclesiologies.
Conference participants will be encouraged to make a contribution through short paper sessions. Further information and registration details are available here.
Postcolonial scholars attending the May conference will include: David Joy, associate professor of New Testament at United Theological College in Bangalore, India; the Rt. Rev. Stephen Pickard, assistant bishop in Adelaide, Australia; the Rt. Rev. Laurie Green, area bishop for Bradwell in the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford, England; Anke Bernau, lecturer in Medieval Literature and Culture in the Department of English Literature and American Studies at University of Manchester; and Steven Shakespeare, Anglican Chaplain at Liverpool Hope University, England.
Duggan says that the timing of the conference is especially important ahead of this summer's 2008 Lambeth Conference when the Anglican Communion's bishops will gather for their decennial meeting in Canterbury, England.
An official Lambeth Conference "fringe" event on July 21, titled "Anglican Identities and the Postcolonial," will be co-sponsored by the Lincoln Theological Institute and The Journal of Anglican Studies. The event will include a bishops' panel and discussion and a keynote address by postcolonial theorist Robert Young, Professor of English at New York University and author of Oxford University Press' 2003 "Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction."
"It is essential that these discussions begin, especially differentiating between colonial and postcolonial Anglican identity," Duggan says, noting that such discernment requires an acknowledgment of the Anglican theological principles that made the colonies vulnerable to British imperialism. "I worry that too few stories of colonialism have been told and, if we are not careful, colonial Anglican theological and ecclesiological principles will continue to shape postcolonial Anglican identity."
Duggan acknowledges that there are inconsistencies in the understanding of the term "postcolonial" and that conversations such as those planned for the Manchester conference are essential for reaching an informed understanding and eradicating misconceptions.
"Postcolonial must mean more than what comes after the colonial," says Duggan, supporting the concept that postcolonialism must critique the colonial period. "What is it about colonial Anglican theology that must be critiqued to avoid re-inscribing colonialism? These are the concerns that will shape the May postcolonial conference" as well as the official Lambeth Conference "fringe" event.
According to the Lincoln Theological Institute website, postcolonial scholarship has flourished for several decades in the fields of the study of literature, cultural theory, history and even biblical studies. "However, the impact on theology has been weaker," the website suggests, adding that this two-day conference hopes "to correct this weakness by bringing together scholars working in the fields of postcolonial theory and theology in order to deepen and extend current scholarship in this area."
Organizers hope the conference will offer a space "where postcolonial scholars can suggest strategies to inspire movement from colonial isolation to interdependent postcolonial ecclesiological relationships."
Although the literature addressing postcolonial theology and Anglican identities is somewhat limited, some conference speakers have published recent books and papers on the subject, including David Joy's January 2008 "Mark and Its Subalterns: A Hermeneutical Paradigm for a Postcolonial Context," and Stephen Pickard's essay in the 2006 Journal of Anglican Studies, "Many Verandahs, Same House?"
A review article by Duggan, titled "Postcolonial Anglicanism: One Global Identity or Many Contextual Identities?" has been approved for publication in the Spring 2008 issue of the quarterly journal The Anglican Theological Review.
Additional recent publications that address colonialism and Anglican identities include:
"Beyond Colonial Anglicanism: The Anglican Communion in the Twenty-First Century," by Ian T. Douglas and Kwok Pui-Lan. New York: Church Publishing, 2001.
"Anglicans in Canada: Controversies and Identity in Historical Perspective," by Alan Hayes. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2004.
"Aspects of Anglican Identity," by Colin Podmore. London: Church House Publishing, 2005.
"Church, State and Society in Malawi: Studies in Anglican Ecclesiology," by James Tengatenga. Africa: Kachere Series, 2006.