The Heythrop Institute Theology Seminar:  ‘Involuntary Migration and the Development of the Jacob Narrative’

Revd Dr Casey Strine studies the history, literature, and cultures of the ancient Near East with a specialization in ancient Israel and Judah, the two societies that produced the texts known widely as the Old Testament. He employs the study of migration to reconstruct ancient history and to interpret ancient texts, and is especially interested in how involuntary migration—people fleeing environmental disasters, war, or persecution in various forms—shapes societies, influences the ways groups construct their history, tell those stories, and respond to the other cultures they meet in their movements. He has a doctorate from the University of Oxford, and has published widely in scholarly journals. The monograph emerging from his thesis was awarded the Manfred Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise in 2015. He is also a Canon Theologian at Sheffield Cathedral.