Muers, R (2020) The personal is the (academic) political: Why care about the love lives of theologians? Scottish Journal of Theology, 73 (3). pp. 191-202. ISSN 0036-9306
Abstract
What might be learned, for theology, from recent interest in the complex love triangle of Nelly Barth, Charlotte von Kirschbaum and Karl Barth? I explore some aspects of how the story has been told, in and since Christiane Tietz's 2016 presentation and article, and argue that they expose deep-seated issues in and for the discipline of systematic theology. In particular, I draw attention to the focus on preserving the authority of the individual (male/masculine) author as the exemplar of theological practice; and to the reluctance to recognise the social, political and economic dimensions of sexuality and ‘domestic’ life. I argue that a properly ‘systematic theological’ approach to the Barth-von Kirschbaum story would involve critical and constructive theological reflection on theology's conditions of production: using historical contexts to help us recognise and respond to contemporary issues, without reducing such reflection to stories about individual authors.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Cambridge University Press 2020. This article has been published in a revised form in Scottish Journal of Theology [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0036930620000319]. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Karl Barth; Charlotte von Kirschbaum; systematic theology; theology and context; theology and gender |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > Theology and Religious Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Jan 2020 12:19 |
Last Modified: | 17 Sep 2020 10:17 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0036930620000319 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:155271 |