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Joseph Powell

Dr Joseph Powell

BA MPhil PhD FHEA

  • Position Governing Body Fellow Junior Research Fellow
  • School Arts & Humanities Faculty of Divinity
  • Email jap86@cam.ac.uk
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Joseph's research explores Rastafari spirituality and its broader connections with pertinent issues of the present era. Fusing theological and anthropological research methods, Joseph has conducted research amongst Rastafari communities in St Lucia, Jamaica, and the UK.

Joseph Powell

Joseph studied Theology at the University of Exeter, before moving on to MPhil study in Theology (World Christianities) and then a PhD in Theology, both at the University of Cambridge. He has also been a Lecturer at Birmingham Newman University and a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham.

His current role is as a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge.  He has taught on papers ranging from 'Understanding Contemporary Religion' to 'Themes in World Christianities'. Joseph also convened a module on the interaction between the historic interaction between Christianity and food at St Albans Cathedral. For his innovative and student-led approach to teaching Joseph has been appointed Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Joseph is a co-convenor of the Indigenous Studies Discussion Group at Cambridge where he has organised a diverse range of panel events and an international research conference. He is also Editor of the Methodist theology and praxis journal Holiness based at Wesley House, Cambridge, and a former editor of the Faculty of Divinity student research journal Noesis.

Joseph鈥檚 research primary research focus is Rastafari spirituality in the Caribbean and the UK. His recent PhD thesis explored Rastafari ecologies and ecotheologies through ethnographic fieldwork in St Lucia/Iyanola. This built on his MPhil research which explored contemporary dietary practices amongst Rastafari communities in Jamaica and the UK. Joseph has produced numerous journal articles, conference papers, and encyclopedia entries on Rastafari, spanning the elemental language of Rastafari-influenced music to Rastafari encounters with Covid-19.

Joseph's British Academy-funded research project will explore Rastafari encounters with violence, both physical and cosmological, through ethnographic research amongst Rastafari civilians and those serving in military and police roles. This project will include an online exploration and exposition, curated alongside Cambridge Digital Humanities, of the 鈥榮oundscapes鈥� that frame these interactions. Joseph also maintains an active interest in the interaction between faith and football.

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