Dr Scott A. Kirkland has been appointed to the John and Jeanne Stockdale Chair (Stockdale Chair) in Practical Theology and Ethics at Trinity College’s Theological School. His appointment to the position of Lecturer in Practical Theology and Ethics is a three-year full-time contract commencing Monday 3 February 2020.
The creation of the Stockdale Chair was announced in September following a generous gift from the Rev’d John Stockdale. John studied theology at Moore College in Sydney and was ordained as a priest in the early 1950s. John served in industrial chaplaincy and as Vicar in parishes in NSW and Victoria before his retirement in 1995. Both John and his late wife Jeanne have made an indelible impact on the Anglican Church of Australia and the Stockdale Chair serves as a fitting tribute to John’s work and Jeanne’s memory.
Stockdale Chair appointee Scott Kirkland, an accomplished researcher and writer, has held the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Research Coordinator at Trinity College Theological School since 2018. He completed his PhD at the University of Newcastle in 2014 resulting in his first book Into the Far Country: Karl Barth and the Modern Subject (Fortress Press). Scott is also the co-author of Eschatology (Eerdmans) and the book series Dispatches: Turning Points in Theology and Ethics (Fortress Press). He has co-edited two volumes Correlating Sobornost and Kenotic Ecclesiology (Fortress Press) and has written a number of articles and book chapters in internationally recognised journals and collections.
Scott’s current research explores the political theological relationship between sovereignty and debt in post-war Germany and the present, which will result in his current book project entitled After the End of History: Economy, Sovereignty and Messianism.
‘I am honoured to be selected for this prestigious role’, said Scott. ‘I look forward to working with students in order to think carefully about how to live in light of the challenges we face in an increasingly troubled and complex world’.
As the Lecturer in Practical Theology and Ethics, Scott will be teaching ‘Foundations for Theological Study’, ‘The End of History’ and ‘Christian Tradition and the Practice of Justice’.
Scott will launch the Theological School’s academic year by be giving the Commencement Lecture, Hope at the ‘End of History’ on Thursday 12 March from 7:30pm-9:00pm in the Old Warden’s Lodge at Trinity College.
Scott is married to Lisa, an entomologist, and has a 10-month old son, Harry.
