OCHS Weblog

Well, that’s just all you can expect from English weather. A July that was as dry as a fountain in full flow and as flooded as a cup of tea.

Oxfordshire floods very well. It soaks in the rainwater like a sponge and then starts to regurgitate it like water from a blocked drain. Anyway, the result is people driving through a mile of flooded roads (me, for instance) and seeing children swimming in the street in Islip.

One of our Oxford Dons, the venerable Richard Dawkins, was heard to exclaim, “For the last time, it is not an act of God”. i think people just said it to wind him up.

Anyway, another Flood in Oxford is our Academic Director, Prof Gavin Flood. Our Board is very happy to have secured the services of Prof. Gavin Flood as Academic Director for a further five years.

Now that Prof. Flood’s position as Academic Director has been secured it becomes possible to develop a number of new teaching directions. Along with Hinduism I and II, Prof. Flood intends to offer more courses within his areas of specialisation and in broader fields.

From next year Prof. Flood will be the director of the M.St. in the Study of Religions and this will continue to attract students interested in studying Hinduism to our programmes. He has also been involved with developing a proposed joint honours programme in Theology and Oriental Studies.

In his speech to the Board of Governors, Prof. Flood shared his vision of the development of the OCHS: ‘The OCHS provides a resource based on the academic study of Hinduism for a broad public. We intend to develop OCHS as a source of intelligent commentary on current questions, within an ethos of critical, creative, and engaged dialogue. The OCHS can be a resource for scholars from Hindu communities to critically examine and engage with their own tradition. We will continue to encourage students to participate in dialogue in the public sphere. OCHS will provide resources for the study of issues including law, governance, diaspora studies, and the environment, and act as a resource of information for public bodies.’

Not all Floods are bad!

Claire Robison, our first ever undergraduate student, has completed her degree with a First that placed her first in her year in Oxford University’s Theology Faculty. She is also the recipient of the Denyer and Johnson prize, awarded on the recommendation of the examiners in the Final Honour School of Theology.Claire’s study was a combination of Christian and Biblical studies and the study of Hinduism, particularly Vaishnavism. She describes it as ‘a study of theology and religions from many different angles’.

‘It’s a great honour’ said Claire, ‘and indeed an unexpected one. I admit that I was striving for a first; however, as I was informed of the rigorous standards of Oxford’s marking system, I was fairly pessimistic about achieving that goal. The thought of receiving the top first and the Denyer and Johnson Prize was never even a possibility on my horizon. I’m very thankful for it, and very grateful to my tutors who offered invaluable instruction throughout the degree.’

During her stay in Oxford Claire served as the undergraduate representative of the Religious Studies Society in Oxford. She was awarded the Horton Davies Prize by Mansfield College in 2006 for being the most outstanding second year theologian.

Next year Claire will be studying for a Masters Degree at Cambridge in Theology and Religious Studies, focussing on Hindu traditions and touching on Indian Buddhist traditions.