This year at the 8th centenerary of the issuing of the Magna Carta the SSCE will revisit the issue of power and its limits. Recent years have seen a resurgence of demonstrations calling for democratic reform juxtaposed with both coercive and just expressions of political power. Christian reflection on this topic remains just as pressing as in the years immediately following the Magna Carta. In our discussions, we hope to confront new and old issues surrounding contemporary expressions of power in both political and ecclesial contexts. In addition, as our society undertakes sustained reflection on the dynamics of power in the academy and our discipline, we hope that this will include a conversation about the commensurate relationship between power, limits, and justice in the modern academy.

Speakers will include:

Robert Beckford (Professor of Theology and Culture in the African Diaspora, Canterbury Christ Church University)

Christopher Insole (Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics, University of Durham)

David McIlroy (SOAS, University of London)

Anna Rowlands (Lecturer in Contemporary Catholic Theology, Durham University)

William Schweiker (Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics, University of Chicago)