Biography:
My first career was in medicine, training at Oxford and St Thomas’s, working for a year on the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and then for seven years,1975-81 at Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto, South Africa. During this time I was also active in multi-racial encounter and reconciliation projects. After a second BA in Theology (Oxford 1983) and a DPhil on the use of the language of friendship to describe agape, I worked in spirituality, theological education, peacebuilding and community development in the Diocese of Johannesburg 1991-96, also serving on peace committees and training peace monitors under the National Peace Accord 1992-94. I was Chaplain, Fellow and Tutor in Theology at St John's College from 1996 to 2011, teaching New Testament (Gospels), systematic theology, ethics, and spirituality. I led regular theological Study Tours to Israel/Palestine. From 2011 to 2023 I held an Emeritus Research Fellowship at St John’s, and for five years served as External Examiner for the MA in Reconciliation and MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding at the University of Winchester.
Research Area(s):
Biblical Studies: the Bible in relation to peace
Christian and Religious Ethics
Christian spirituality
South Africa’s National Peace Accord
Research Interests:
My research interests are in practical theology and in particular in peacemaking and peacebuilding, and in Christian spirituality. My doctoral research lay behind the book Friendship: Interpreting Christian Love (London: T&T Clark/Continuum, now Bloomsbury, 2004), a history of the interpretation of agape as friendship-love in the western Christian tradition. I spent 2012 to 2022 doing extensive research on the South African National Peace Accord and the work of its peace committees in the transition to democracy, 1991-1994, in which the churches were significant partners and facilitators. This research was published in the book Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in South Africa. The National Peace Accord 1991-1994 (Woodbridge: James Currey, Boydell & Brewer, 2022). I am currently researching a book on the life and work of the Anglican priest and spiritual director Reginald Somerset Ward (1881-1962).
Research Centres & Projects:
I am a founder member and Co-convener of the multi-disciplinary Oxford Network of Peace Studies (OxPeace) which promotes the study of peace, peacemaking, peacebuilding and peacekeeping in Oxford and beyond through an annual conference, intensive training workshops, and seminars. I serve as Director of the ecumenical St Theosevia Centre for Christian Spirituality, which holds regular Study Days exploring a wide variety of topics, aiming to promote understanding between Christians of Eastern and Western traditions; I also serve on the leadership team of the ‘Oxford Three Faiths Encounter’ which brings together members of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths to learn about one another, experience the life and worship of each faith, and explore current issues together.
Links:
https://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/oxford-network-peace-studies-oxpeace
https://sttheosevia.org/
https://oxfordthreefaithsencounter.co.uk/
https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/people/reverend-dr-liz-carmichael/
Research Outputs:
Two books and various papers, seminar and conference talks, dictionary articles and reviews, on friendship, peacebuilding, Christian spirituality, and ecumenical and inter-faith encounter, a few of which are detailed below.
Select Publications:
Friendship: Interpreting Christian Love (London: T&T Clark/Continuum, now Bloomsbury, 2004)
Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in South Africa. The National Peace Accord 1991-1994 (Woodbridge: James Currey, Boydell & Brewer, 2022) https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781847013682/peacemaking-and-peacebuilding-in-south-africa/
‘Friendship and dialogue’, Journal of World Christianity,Vol.7, No.1 (2017) pp.28-46.
https://doi.org/10.5325/jworlchri.7.1.0028
‘The Humility of a Peacemaker: Negotiating the National Peace Accord, 1991’ in Ecumenical Encounters with Desmond Mpilo Tutu: Visions for Justice, Dignity and Peace ’ ed. S. Nadar et al., (Oxford: Regnum, 2021) pp.246 – 251.
‘“I Have Called You Friends.” Friendship in the New Testament and Early Christianity’. Chapter 8 in Multireligious Reflections on Friendship. Becoming Ourselves in Community ed. Anne-Marie Ellithorpe, Laura Duhan-Kaplan, and Husam S.Timami (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2023) pp.123 – 139
‘Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in a divided society: the role of South Africa’s National Peace Accord in the transition from apartheid to democracy.’ New England Journal of Public Policy, Vol 35 Issue 1 Article 3 (2023) pp. 1-22.: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/nejpp/vol35/iss1/3
‘Body, Mind, and Spirit in the life and work of Reginald Somerset Ward (1881-1962), Anglican Spiritual Director, ‘the Author of The Way’. Sobornost, incorporating Esastern Churches Review, Vol.45 no.1 (2023), pp.55-75
