Overview
The Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA) is a research institute based at St Mary's College, the Divinity School at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
ITIA aims to advance and enrich an active conversation between Christian theology and the arts - bringing rigorous theological thinking to the arts, and bringing the resources of the arts to the enterprise of theology. As part of this, it seeks to explore the role of the imagination in the arts, as part of a wider theological interest in the imaginative aspects of our humanity.
ITIA pursues this aim through rigorous academic research, undertaken by its staff and postgraduate communities, as well as high quality publications arising out this research.
ITIA offers undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses, and hosts events such as conferences, seminars, colloquia and performances.
Micheal O'Siadhail: Poetry reading at St Andrews
Irish poet Micheal O'Siadhail will read from his work on Monday 16 November at 5.30pm in Parliament Hall, South Street, St Andrews. Micheal is author of Globe (2007), Love Life (2005), The Gossamer Wall (2002) and A Fragile City (1995). The event is to be hosted by the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts. More information about Micheal can be found on his website.
New - MLitt in Theology, Imagination and the Arts
We are pleased to announce that a new MLitt in Theology, Imagination and the Arts will be launched in 2008/9. Applications for this exciting new programme are now welcome. The MLitt involves one year’s full time study (in residence) during which students will take three modules taught by ITIA staff and write a 15K word dissertation on a topic agreed with their appointed supervisor.
Theological Engagements with the Arts is a module that raises some basic theological questions about human artistry and introduces the student to different ways of handling the relationship between Christian theology and the arts.
A Christian Doctrine and the Arts module will explore Christian doctrines in their own right and in relation to their presentation in the history of the arts. Teaching will be in small seminar classes, with ample opportunity for lively debate and discussion.
A third module, Religious Experience and Aesthetic Theory, seeks to understand how historical context through the ages has shaped different ways of facilitating human experience of God, and explores the rationale given by the aesthetic theory undergirding approaches which have come to prominence at different times and places. Topics will cover architecture, painting, drama, dance and music.
Recent publications
Recent publications by former ITIA postgraduates:
- Divine Revelation and Human Practice: Responsive and Imaginative Participation
- Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis
- The Gravity of Sin: Augustine, Luther and Barth on 'homo incurvatus in se'
- Theology, Political Theory, and Pluralism Beyond Tolerance and Difference