Dr Katie Edwards

Lecturer in The Bible in Contemporary Culture and Society

BA (Hons), PCHE, PhD, FHEA

Email address: Katie.edwards@sheffield.ac.uk

Telephone: 0114 222 0509

Department address: Department of Biblical Studies, 45 Victoria Street, Sheffield S3 7QB

Biography

Katie Edwards is a graduate of the Biblical Studies Department at Sheffield. Her research specialism is the function, impact and influence of the Bible in contemporary culture and the role of the Bible in the modern world. Her doctoral work focused on the portrayal of Eve in post-feminist popular culture and her recent research focuses on intersections of gender, race and class in popular cultural reappropriations of biblical characters/narratives.

Research interests Cultural studies Gender and sexuality Race and ethnicity The use, impact and influence of religious characters/figures in contemporary culture Feminist biblical criticism The Bible in art and film Reception of the Bible in contemporary popular culture Biblical literacy

Current Research Projects

Katie works on the following research projects.

• Constructions of masculinity, male sexualities and ethnicity in contemporary popular cultural representations of Jesus/Christ, with particular reference to hip-hop music and male-targeted sports advertising
• The figures of Mary Magdalene and Mary, Mother of Jesus and their key roles in the construction and subversion of contemporary popular cultural ideals of femininity
• The Hidden Perspectives project, the first year of which is funded by Arts Enterprise

Teaching

Katie currently teaches on the following modules:

• The Bible: Fact or Fiction?
• Gender, Religion and the Bible
• The Bible and the Arts
• Issues in Cultural Theory

Conferences

Katie has given papers at a number of recent conferences including the British New Testament Conference, Society for the Study of Old Testament, European Association of Biblical Studies, Society of Biblical Literature, Society and Religion (University of Bristol), and the Bible, Critical Theory and Reception seminar. 

Other Professional Activities

Katie serves on the committee of the Society for the Study of Old Testament and is a member of SOTS, EABS, SBL and SCRIPT. She edits the Hidden Perspectives series for Sheffield Phoenix Press. Katie is also a member of The Centre for Visual Studies.  Katie is a Public Engagement Ambassador for the NCCPE and is co-Chair of The Bible and Visual Culture unit at SBL.