Presentation of doctoral students and PhD-projects

Anders Ek

“Augustine on the being of God. Transcendence and participation in De Trinitate.” The project addresses questions about the ontology of God and how they are expressed in the thinking of the Church Father Augustine of Hippo. Through a reading of the work De Trinitate I investigate how Augustine handles the tension between the transcendence of God and God being Being itself.

Simon Henriksson

“Rethinking Theology in a Post-Religious Age. Engaging Michel Henry's Phenomenology of Life.” The project focuses the French philosopher Michel Henry (1922–2002) within the framework of contemporary theological and philosophical debate about religion and secularity. The thesis focuses on the role of religious experience in Henry's phenomenological project.

Gamze Köyluoglu

“Hüseyin Atay and the modern muslim reform movement.”

The project highlights Hüseyin Atay's attempts to theorize about Islamic theology and its role in modern society. What is the new understanding of Islam that he advocates in relation to the other Muslim reformists and in what way does he stand out? What methods does he argue for and what are the central concepts in his thinking?

Hasib Nasiri

“Criticism of Religion in Islamic Thought.” The project revolves around the questions whether religious criticism must necessarily be atheistic and whether self-criticism is possible within Islam. It is an interdisciplinary investigation of religious criticism in the European as well as the Islamic traditions of thought, where Ali Shari'ati's thinking serves as a starting point.

Niklas Nenzén

“Mythical expressions of higher knowledge claims. Dialectical models of thought in 20th century esoteric views of life.” The project is a cross-disciplinary investigation of mythical expressions of higher knowledge claims, which comparatively fits surrealism within the field of 20th century esoteric views of life, popular culture, and intellectual cultural criticism.

Olivia Saad

”Sovereignty in Islamic political theology.” This project explores the concept of sovereignty in modern Islamic political thought, with a focus on Sayyid Qutb. The sovereignty concept is connected to questions of what constitutes legitimate authority, legislation and exercise of power. Furthermore, the project explores how the Islamic concept of sovereignty relates to liberalism and democracy.

Samuel Åsberg

“A Pneumatologically Mediating Politics. The Role of the Spirit in the Political Theology of Amos Yong.” The project dwells on discussions concerning the ecclesiastical turn in political theology and deals more specifically with the relationship between pneumatology and the theological understanding of the church's political role in the thinking of the Pentecostal theologian Amos Yong.