The Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford is delighted to announce that Associate Professor Katherine E. Southwood has been awarded the 'Outstanding Service in Mentorship Award' by the Society of Biblical Literature's (SBL) Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession (CSWP). This prestigious accolade is conferred annually to honour women who have provided exemplary mentorship in the field of biblical studies.
Professor Southwood, a Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford, is renowned for her interdisciplinary research that bridges Biblical texts and the Social Sciences. Her research interests include Job, pain, the body, death, Judges, Ezra-Nehemiah, Ahiqar, Tobit, exile, and gender. Professor Southwood has published five books including a recent monograph Job’s Body and the Dramatized Comedy of “Moralising” (Routledge: Oxford and New York, 2021) and two recent articles: ‘Trauma, brokenness, and pain in the Book of Lamentations: Empathetic attention as a hermeneutic for thinking about rehabilitation of health’ in Jews and Health: History, Tradition, and Practice Ed, Catherine Hezser. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2023 Pp. 23-42; and with James W. Southwood (Clinical Psychologist, NHS England) ‘Job as a work of laughtears and learning: Comedy, pain, and audience empathy’ Bible and Critical Theory. 18/2 (2022), 1-16.
The 'Outstanding Service in Mentorship Award' highlights Professor Southwood's exceptional commitment to mentoring women scholars. Through her mentorship, she has provided invaluable guidance, assisting scholars in navigating career paths, building professional networks, and fostering a sustainable scholarly life. Her leadership extends beyond formal settings, having convened multiple conferences in collaboration with NHS chaplains, supported by a Wellcome Institutional Public Engagement with Research grant, focusing on illness, pain, empathy, and finding meaning.
Professor Southwood commented:
I am delighted and grateful to receive this recognition. It is an award that aligns closely to my values. Empowering women to engage authentically is vitally important because diversity brings richness, depth, and texture to scholarship.
Professor William Wood, Faculty Board Chair, commented:
I am delighted but not at all surprised to learn that Katherine Southwood has been honoured for her work mentoring women in the profession of Biblical studies. I know her to be a strong advocate for students and junior colleagues, and a strong voice in favour of fairness, equality, and inclusive values. I am glad that she has received recognition for this work.
The Faculty of Theology and Religion warmly congratulates Professor Southwood on this well-deserved recognition and celebrates her contributions to academia and the broader community.
