Violence, power and evil are core concerns in the way we think about religion both historically and in the present day. How have religious thinkers and practitioners justified and resisted violence over time? How far can experiences of evil be reconciled with basic trust in God or the cosmos? What are the power dynamics within religions that intersect with broader societal forces? Choosing among different approaches including history, sociology, anthropology, theology, ethics and philosophy, you will study how thinkers and societies have engaged such questions, and how their responses are influenced by religious and philosophical worldviews. Typical topics to choose from on this module include:

• Responding to Evil
• Religion and Gender
• Violence and Nationalism

This module provides you with the opportunity to explore the intersection of religion, narrative, and imagination in ancient and modern cultures across a variety of philosophical, biblical, and literary traditions. It gives you the flexibility to study these features through a range of texts and worldviews, incorporating a diversity of critical interpretative approaches. Typical topics to choose from on this module include:

• The Philosophical Imagination
• Novelistic Texts in the Hebrew Bible
• Jews, Christians and Pagans (168BCE-132CE)

This module provides you with an opportunity to engage in independent study with one-to-one support from an academic on a topic chosen by you. You may decide to build on and develop an area already addressed in your programme of study or may choose to focus on a related area or existing interest. The dissertation also offers the opportunity for interdisciplinary study.