Figuring the Enemy – PhD Scholarship

Trinity College is offering one fully-funded PhD fee remission and stipend for an outstanding candidate to work on the project: Figuring the Enemy: Social-Psychological and Political Theological Approaches to the Question of Enmity.

The figure of the enemy emerges in the New Testament through the command to love neighbour and enemy. Yet, often throughout the history of Christian theology, the precise contours and conditions of enmity fade from view. This project assumes that contemporary political and social enmities can help unearth genealogies of the concept in order to illuminate the structural formations that determine enmity and so interpolate persons into social relations of enmity in the present. Figuring the enemy, then, illuminates the shape of the theological frames in which and methods by which Christianity has positioned the enemy, and so subjects it to productive critique.

The project consists of two streams, one focused upon New Testament and socio-cognitive psychology, the other on contemporary political theology. Candidates from both disciplinary areas are invited to apply, in consultation with the two project Lead Investigators, Dr. Christopher A. Porter, and Dr. Scott A. Kirkland.

Eligibility

To be eligible, students must:

  • meet the academic and admission requirements of the University of Divinity PhD program
  • be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or international student who can attain a valid student visa prior to commencement.

Value and duration

Total value: $132,000AUD.

  • 100% University of Divinity fee remission for three years of a full-time doctorate degree, currently valued at $51,000
  • three-year living allowance, valued at around $27,000 per year (total $81,000).

Special conditions

  • Scholarships cannot be deferred
  • Scholarships cannot be taken up at other colleges of the University of Divinity
  • Students must successfully enrol at the University of Divinity following the usual PhD application process after discussing their proposed research topic with Trinity
  • Scholarship recipients must meet the University of Divinity’s expectations for academic progress, and the scholarship may be withdrawn if satisfactory progress or full-time enrolment is not maintained.

Closing dates 30 September 2022
We encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to apply.

Enquiries 
For more information, including how to apply, you can email the following: 
info@figuringtheenemy.com
Chris Porter: cporter@trinity.unimelb.edu.au
and/or Scott Kirkland: scottk@trinity.unimelb.edu.au

Welcome to the project

Recently Trinity College was awarded an extraordinary large grant from the University of Divinity to conduct research into questions of religious enmity from both socio-cognitive and political-theological frameworks. Through this page we will seek to collate and distribute information and engagement on the project.