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Dr Eleanor Higgs

Lecturer in Christianity and Judaism

I do critical feminist work about transnational women’s and Christians' movements from an interdisciplinary background in moral and political philosophy, gender studies, the study of religion, and African studies.

Biography

I am particularly interested in global discourses of gender, sexuality, and inequality in the ‘international development’ industry, with attention to the historical and contemporary contexts of colonial power relations.

Before coming to Gloucestershire, I worked at Brunel University of London, University of Cape Town, and SOAS University of London.

Qualifications

  • PhD Gender Studies, SOAS (2018)
  • MSc Global Ethics, University of Birmingham (2009)
  • BA (Hons) Philosophy and Theology, University of Greenwich (2007)

Accreditation

Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA)

Membership of professional bodies

British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR)

Teaching & Research

Teaching

  • HM5513 Narrative theology
  • HM6512 God, Power and Politics (Co-tutor)
  • HM4519 Global Religion (Co-Tutor)

Research

I have written about the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Kenya, South Africa, the USA, and English-speaking Africa. In my monograph, Narrative Identity and Ethics in Postcolonial Kenya (2021), I draw on postcolonial feminisms, narrative theories, and the work of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians to explore ‘everyday Christian ethics’ through a study of the YWCA in Kenya.

In my current work, I am interested in using ‘transnational institutional ethnography’ as a methodological approach for studying global Christian organisations, particularly the World Young Women’s Christian Association (World YWCA).

https://www.glos.ac.uk/profile/eleanor-higgs/