Thematic Article
Can smaller subjects thrive when small is no longer beautiful? Reflections from Theology and Religious Studies
Abstract
In view of the current experience of UK units in Theology and Religious Studies (TRS), reflections are offered on the benefits and potential threats in an era when it is fashionable for university authorities to amalgamate smaller units in the arts and humanities. Three strategies are highlighted: exercising leadership, cultivating a distinct and coherent identity, and creating persuasive local and translocal narratives. The experience of TRS is that small does not, and need not mean ‘weak’. But clear strategies and wise tactics that fit the local context (some are suggested here) are necessary for the continuance of a subject that is of crucial national and international significance. This article is published in the thematic collection ‘On recent closures and threats of closure in the Humanities and Social Sciences’, edited by Regenia Gagnier.
Keywords
theologyreligious studiesamalgamationleadershipidentityCopyright statement © The author(s) 2025. This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License
Cite this article Barclay, J.M.G. (2025), ‘Can smaller subjects thrive when small is no longer beautiful? Reflections from Theology and Religious Studies’, Journal of the British Academy, 13(1): a04 https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/013.a04

No Data Found

No Data Found

No Data Found
In 2021, the UK Government released its Net Zero Strategy, which laid out how the country would meet its legally binding carbon-based emissions target of no net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Recent developments have shown the importance of governance in the delivery of this target. These include the 2022 Committee on Climate Change progress report to Parliament and the 2023 independent review, led by Chris Skidmore MP (a former Energy Minister), which outlined that there was further work to be done at all governance levels and that all relevant stakeholder groups who will be involved in or are affected by the transition should be mobilised to ensure that the net zero target is met. The British Academy Net Zero policy programme is examining net zero from a governance perspective and commissioned a series of essays on the topic. Emerging themes from the essays and programme emphasise the important role that leaders and people will play in net zero governance.
This article argues that the problem-oriented framing of the international agenda for preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) has limited the conception of gender in P/CVE and constrained the work of women-led civil society organisations. Through a meta-analysis of the cases profiled in Case Studies on the Role of Gender and Identity in Shaping Positive Alternatives to Extremisms, this article assesses the gendered interventions made by women peacebuilders and pro-peace organisations, noting their role in providing positive alternatives to extremism grounded in the framework of peace, resilience, equal rights and pluralism proposed by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini. The article argues that salvaging P/CVE practice requires recognition of the leadership of women peacebuilders and presents strategies that should inform future P/CVE practice, including the holistic integration of gender and identity, the leveraging of cultural credibility and trust, and the important role of power-building.

No Data Found
