Regent's Park lays strong emphasis upon collaboration and interdisciplinarity in research, providing a special niche in the international community of Oxford.
The termly Senior Research Seminar is a key part of creating this ethos, when the College’s academic staff, along with sabbatical visitors, are invited to hear one of their number present a paper for discussion. These events are often very lively and give presenters the opportunity to engage with colleagues from a variety of disciplines, who may find unexpected links with their own work or be able to throw fresh light upon a topic.
In recent terms, Dr Suke Wolton (Senior Research Fellow in Politics) has spoken on the ideas of a ‘property-owning democracy’ and ‘stakeholder society’, and Professor Paul Weller (Research Fellow in Religion and Society) has considered the landscape of religion in the UK. Dr John Jarick (Lecturer in Old Testament) has taken his hearers into the ancient Hebrew world by presenting the provocative theme, ‘God as Gambler’, and Dr Alison Rosenblitt (Lecturer in Classics) has brought together poetry in the ancient and modern ages. Dr Matthew Mills (Lecturer in Medieval Studies) has represented the Middle Ages, with a paper on the role of love in the Virgin Mary’s experience of the Crucifixion according to medieval theologians, whilst most recently, Professor Jakob Lothe (Academic Visitor from the University of Oslo) presented colleagues with challenges in their contemporary world, with ‘Narrative and Ethics in Fiction and Film’.
Participants in these seminars proceed to an afternoon’s teaching refreshed with new insights through their interactions with colleagues, and new academic staff and visitors are warmly encouraged to contact the Director of Research if they would like to present at a future seminar.