Professor Heather Walton
- Professor of Theology and Creative Practice (Theology & Religious Studies)
telephone:
01413305272
email:
Heather.Walton@glasgow.ac.uk
R408 Level 4, Theology and Religious Studies, 4 The Square, Glasgow G12 8QQ
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4030-8336Research interests
Research interests
- Practical Theology
- Methodologies for Research and Reflective Practice
- Theopoetics
- Life Writing and Spirituality
- Gender and Sexuality
I am a practical theologian deeply engaged with issues relating to faith and everyday life, and my primary research interests lie in the intersection between theology and cultural practice. I am Professor of Theology and Creative Practice and co-ordinate the Literature, Theology and the Arts Research Network within the College of Arts.
My career began with research on racism and representation for the Methodist Church. My doctoral research was on the uses of women’s literature within theological reflection and I have continued to work on the relation between theology and creative writing ever since. I am a life writer and have pioneered the uses of autoethnography as a theological resource.
I am deeply engaged with international developments within practical theology and served as President of the International Academy of Practical Theology (2015-17). I am currently Executive Editor of the OUP journal Literature and Theology and a member of the Belgian Research Council. I find postgraduate supervision hugely rewarding and value the intellectual challenges it brings. I am an experienced supervisor and convene Glasgow’s Doctorate in Practical Theology Programme. I welcome applicants who are wish to undertake research in practical theology, explore interdisciplinary projects or employ creative and arts-based methods in their research.
Publications
2021
Walton, H. (2021) The children are always lost: Marilynne Robinson and the poetics of theology. In: Möller, H. and Sigurdson, O. (eds.) Marilynne Robinson and Theology. Series: KVHAA Konferenser (105). KVHAA (Kungl. Vitterhets Historie Och Antikvitets Akademien), pp. 29-48. ISBN 9789188763259
2020
Walton, H. (2020) A theopoetics in ruins. Toronto Journal of Theology, 36(2), pp. 159-169. (doi: 10.3138/tjt-2020-0082)
2019
Walton, H. (2019) Creativity at the edge of chaos: theopoetics in a blazing world. Literature and Theology, 33(3), pp. 336-356. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/frz029)
Walton, H. (2019) Special Issue [Guest Editor]. Literature and Theology, 33(3),
Walton, H. (2019) Theopoetics as challenge, change and creative making. Literature and Theology, 33(3), pp. 229-232. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/frz030)
Walton, H. (2019) A theopoetics of practice: re-forming in practical theology. International Journal of Practical Theology, 23(1), pp. 3-23. (doi: 10.1515/ijpt-2018-0033)
2018
Walton, H. (2018) We have never been theologians: postsecularism and practical theology. Practical Theology, 11(3), pp. 218-230. (doi: 10.1080/1756073X.2018.1461489)
2017
Walton, H. (2017) Between Ascension and Pentecost: a theology of adoption. In: Swinton, J. and Brock, B. (eds.) A Graceful Embrace: Theological Reflections on Adopting Children. Series: Theology in practice (4). Brill: Leiden ; Boston, pp. 205-216. ISBN 9789004352896 (doi: 10.1163/9789004352902_015)
Walton, H. (2017) Theology in the way we live now: a theopoetics of life writing. Concilium, 2017(5),
2016
Anderson, E., Radford, A. and Walton, H. (Eds.) (2016) Modernist Women Writers and Spirituality: A Piercing Darkness. Palgrave Macmillan: London. ISBN 9781137560356
Anderson, E., Radford, A. and Walton, H. (2016) Introduction: the intricate persistence of strange Gods. In: Anderson, E., Radford, A. and Walton, H. (eds.) Modernist Women Writers and Spirituality: A Piercing Darkness. Palgrave Macmillan: London, pp. 1-20. ISBN 9781137530356 (doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-53036-3_1)
Walton, H. (2016) 'And a sword will pierce your soul also’: reflections on the holy mother and the holy child. Holiness: The Journal of Wesley House Cambridge, 2(1), pp. 93-103.
Walton, H. (2016) The consolation of everyday things. LIR, 4(15), pp. 137-152.
Walton, H. (2016) Faith in ruins: fragments and pattern in the late works of Rose Macaulay. In: Anderson, E. and Radford, A. (eds.) Modernist Women Writers and Spirituality: A Piercing Darkness. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 69-94. ISBN 9781137530356
Walton, H. (2016) The history of feminist theology in the Academy: an autoethnographic research journey. In: Gemzoe, L., Keinänen, M.-L. and Maddrell, A. (eds.) Contemporary Encounters in Religion and Gender. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, pp. 285-306. ISBN 9783319425986 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-42598-6_13)
2015
Walton, H. (2015) Not Eden: Spiritual Life Writing for This World. SCM Press. ISBN 9780334053798
2014
Maddrell, A., della Dora, V., Scafi, A. and Walton, H. (2014) Christian Pilgrimage, Landscape, and Heritage: Journeying to the Sacred. Series: Routledge studies in religion, travel and tourism. Routledge: New York. ISBN 9780415843980
Walton, H. (2014) Writing Methods in Theological Reflection. SCM Press: London. ISBN 9780334051855
Walton, H. (2014) Seeking Wisdom in Practical Theology. Practical Theology, 7(1), pp. 5-18. (doi: 10.1179/1756073X13Z.00000000028)
Walton, H. (2014) Literature, Theology, and Feminism. Series: Manchester studies in religion, culture, and gender. Manchester University Press: Manchester. ISBN 9780719060915
2013
Walton, H. (2013) Desiring things: practical theology and the new materialisms. In: Ganzevoort, R. R., Brouwer, R. and Miller-McLemore, B. (eds.) City of Desires - a Place for God? Series: International Practical Theology. Lit Verlag: Berlin, pp. 131-140. ISBN 9783643903075
2012
Walton, H. (2012) The course outline: teaching theology through creative writing. Journal of Adult Theological Education, 9(2), pp. 210-218.
2011
Walton, H. (2011) Poetics. In: Miller-McLemore, B. J. (ed.) The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology. Series: Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion. Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester, pp. 173-182. ISBN 9781444330823
Walton, H. (Ed.) (2011) Literature and Theology: New Interdisciplinary Spaces. Ashgate: Farnham. ISBN 9781409400110
Walton, H. (2011) When love is not true: literature and theology after romance. In: Walton, H. (ed.) Literature and Theology: New Interdisciplinary Spaces. Ashgate: Farnham, UK, pp. 37-54. ISBN 9781409400110
2010
Walton, H. (2010) Jean Rhys, Elizabeth Smart, and the "gifts" of the King James Bible. In: Hamlin, H. and Jones, N. W. (eds.) The King James Bible after 400 Years: Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Influences. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, pp. 318-335. ISBN 9780521768276
Walton, H. (2010) You have to say you cannot speak: feminist reflections upon public theology. International Journal of Public Theology, 4(1), pp. 21-36. (doi: 10.1163/187251710X12578338897782)
2009
Walton, H. (2009) Calls to preach: constructing vocational theology. Practical Theology, 2(1), pp. 63-74.
2008
Walton, H. (2008) Staging John Coetzee / Elizabeth Costello. Literature and Theology, 22(3), pp. 280-294. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/frn036)
Walton, H. (2008) My green bed. In: Marston, D. (ed.) Goldfish: The Second Anthology of Writing from Goldsmiths. Goldsmiths, University of London: London, UK.
Walton, H. (2008) Our sacred texts: literature, theology and feminism. In: Llewellyn, D. and Sawyer, D.F. (eds.) Reading Spiritualities: Constructing and Representing the Sacred. Ashgate: Aldershot, UK, pp. 85-94. ISBN 9780754663294
2007
Graham, E.L., Walton, H. and Ward, F. (Eds.) (2007) Theological Reflection: Sources. SCM Press: London, UK. ISBN 9780334029779
Walton, H. (2007) The feminist literary revisioning of sacred traditions. In: Hass, A., Jasper, D. and Jay, E. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of English Literature and Theology. Series: Oxford handbooks. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, pp. 543-557. ISBN 9780199271979
Walton, H. (2007) Imagining Theology: Women Writing and God. T and T Clark. ISBN 9780567031730
Walton, H. (2007) Literature, Theology and Feminism. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719060907
2005
Walton, H. (2005) Sex in the war: an aesthetics of resistance in the diaries of Etty Hillesum. Theology and Sexuality, 12(1), pp. 51-61. (doi: 10.1177/1355835805057786)
Graham, E., Walton, H. and Ward, F. (2005) Theological Reflection: Methods. SCM Press. ISBN 9780334029762
Walton, H. (2005) Literature and theology: sex in the relationship. In: Bird, D. and Sherwood, Y. (eds.) Bodies in Question: Gender, Religion, Text. Ashgate: Aldershot, UK. ISBN 9780754635307
2004
Walton, H. (2004) The gender of the cyborg. Theology and Sexuality, 10(2), pp. 33-44. (doi: 10.1177/135583580401000203)
2003
Walton, H. (2003) Re-vision and revelation: forms of spiritual power in women's writing. Feminist Theology, 12(1), pp. 89-102. (doi: 10.1177/096673500301200108)
Walton, H. (2003) Advent: theological reflections on IVF. Theology and Sexuality, 9(1), pp. 201-209. (doi: 10.1177/135583580200900117)
Walton, H. (2003) Women writing the divine. In: Anderson, P.S. and Clack, B. (eds.) Feminist Philosophy of Religion: Critical Readings. Routledge: London, UK, pp. 123-135. ISBN 9780415257497
2002
Walton, H. (2002) Speaking in signs: narrative and trauma in pastoral theology. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy, 5(2), pp. 2-6.
Walton, H. (2002) Extreme faith in the work of Elizabeth Smart and Luce Irigaray. Literature and Theology, 16(1), pp. 40-50. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/16.1.40)
2001
Walton, H. (2001) The wisdom of Sheba: the construction of feminist practical theology. Contact: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Pastoral Studies, 135, pp. 3-12.
2000
Haas, A. and Walton, H. (Eds.) (2000) Self, Same, Other: Re-visioning the subject in literature and theology. Series: Playing the texts. Sheffield Academic Press: Sheffield. ISBN 9781841270180
Walton, H. (2000) Mothers Union: The maternal in feminist reading, writing and theology. Modern Believing, 41(1), pp. 22-30. (doi: 10.3828/MB.41.1.22)
Walton, H. (2000) Passion and pain: conceiving theology out of infertility. In: Willows, D. and Swinton, J. (eds.) Spiritual Dimensions of Pastoral Care: practical theology in a multidisciplinary context. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London. ISBN 9781853028922
1999
Walton, H. (1999) If this political party were a house: Theological reflections upon the style and spirit of New Labour. Political Theology, 1(1), pp. 9-16.
Walton, H. (1999) Love relations: exploring the intimacy between women's writing and theology. In: Gearon, L. (ed.) English Literature, Theology and the Curriculum. Series: Theology in dialogue series. Cassell: London. ISBN 9780304704866
Walton, H. (1999) Passion and pain: conceiving theology out of infertility. Contact : the Interdisciplinary Journal of Pastoral Studies(130), pp. 3-9.
1994
Walton, H. (1994) Theology of desire. Theology and Sexuality, 1(1), pp. 31-41.
1993
Durber, S. and Walton, H. (Eds.) (1993) Silence in Heaven: A Book of Women’s Preaching. SCM Press: London. ISBN 033401543X
Walton, H. (1993) Breaking open the Bible. In: Graham, E. and Halsey, M. (eds.) Life Cycles: Women and Pastoral Care. SPCK: London, pp. 192-199. ISBN 9780281046881
1987
Walton, H. (1987) An Ethnographic Study of a Moss Side Pub. Series: Working papers in applied social research, 12. Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Manchester: Manchester. ISBN 9780947556129
Walton, H. (1987) My Mother is Ill: An Experiment in Feminist Research. Series: Working papers in applied social research, 47. Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Manchester: Manchester. ISBN 9780947556181
1986
Walton, H. (1986) White Researchers and Racism. Series: Working papers in applied social research, 10. Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Manchester: Manchester. ISBN 9780947556105
1985
Walton, H. (1985) A Tree God Planted: Black People in British Methodism. Methodist Publishing House: London. ISBN 9780948464003
Articles
Walton, H. (2020) A theopoetics in ruins. Toronto Journal of Theology, 36(2), pp. 159-169. (doi: 10.3138/tjt-2020-0082)
Walton, H. (2019) Creativity at the edge of chaos: theopoetics in a blazing world. Literature and Theology, 33(3), pp. 336-356. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/frz029)
Walton, H. (2019) Special Issue [Guest Editor]. Literature and Theology, 33(3),
Walton, H. (2019) Theopoetics as challenge, change and creative making. Literature and Theology, 33(3), pp. 229-232. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/frz030)
Walton, H. (2019) A theopoetics of practice: re-forming in practical theology. International Journal of Practical Theology, 23(1), pp. 3-23. (doi: 10.1515/ijpt-2018-0033)
Walton, H. (2018) We have never been theologians: postsecularism and practical theology. Practical Theology, 11(3), pp. 218-230. (doi: 10.1080/1756073X.2018.1461489)
Walton, H. (2017) Theology in the way we live now: a theopoetics of life writing. Concilium, 2017(5),
Walton, H. (2016) 'And a sword will pierce your soul also’: reflections on the holy mother and the holy child. Holiness: The Journal of Wesley House Cambridge, 2(1), pp. 93-103.
Walton, H. (2016) The consolation of everyday things. LIR, 4(15), pp. 137-152.
Walton, H. (2014) Seeking Wisdom in Practical Theology. Practical Theology, 7(1), pp. 5-18. (doi: 10.1179/1756073X13Z.00000000028)
Walton, H. (2012) The course outline: teaching theology through creative writing. Journal of Adult Theological Education, 9(2), pp. 210-218.
Walton, H. (2010) You have to say you cannot speak: feminist reflections upon public theology. International Journal of Public Theology, 4(1), pp. 21-36. (doi: 10.1163/187251710X12578338897782)
Walton, H. (2009) Calls to preach: constructing vocational theology. Practical Theology, 2(1), pp. 63-74.
Walton, H. (2008) Staging John Coetzee / Elizabeth Costello. Literature and Theology, 22(3), pp. 280-294. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/frn036)
Walton, H. (2005) Sex in the war: an aesthetics of resistance in the diaries of Etty Hillesum. Theology and Sexuality, 12(1), pp. 51-61. (doi: 10.1177/1355835805057786)
Walton, H. (2004) The gender of the cyborg. Theology and Sexuality, 10(2), pp. 33-44. (doi: 10.1177/135583580401000203)
Walton, H. (2003) Re-vision and revelation: forms of spiritual power in women's writing. Feminist Theology, 12(1), pp. 89-102. (doi: 10.1177/096673500301200108)
Walton, H. (2003) Advent: theological reflections on IVF. Theology and Sexuality, 9(1), pp. 201-209. (doi: 10.1177/135583580200900117)
Walton, H. (2002) Speaking in signs: narrative and trauma in pastoral theology. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy, 5(2), pp. 2-6.
Walton, H. (2002) Extreme faith in the work of Elizabeth Smart and Luce Irigaray. Literature and Theology, 16(1), pp. 40-50. (doi: 10.1093/litthe/16.1.40)
Walton, H. (2001) The wisdom of Sheba: the construction of feminist practical theology. Contact: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Pastoral Studies, 135, pp. 3-12.
Walton, H. (2000) Mothers Union: The maternal in feminist reading, writing and theology. Modern Believing, 41(1), pp. 22-30. (doi: 10.3828/MB.41.1.22)
Walton, H. (1999) If this political party were a house: Theological reflections upon the style and spirit of New Labour. Political Theology, 1(1), pp. 9-16.
Walton, H. (1999) Passion and pain: conceiving theology out of infertility. Contact : the Interdisciplinary Journal of Pastoral Studies(130), pp. 3-9.
Walton, H. (1994) Theology of desire. Theology and Sexuality, 1(1), pp. 31-41.
Books
Walton, H. (2015) Not Eden: Spiritual Life Writing for This World. SCM Press. ISBN 9780334053798
Maddrell, A., della Dora, V., Scafi, A. and Walton, H. (2014) Christian Pilgrimage, Landscape, and Heritage: Journeying to the Sacred. Series: Routledge studies in religion, travel and tourism. Routledge: New York. ISBN 9780415843980
Walton, H. (2014) Writing Methods in Theological Reflection. SCM Press: London. ISBN 9780334051855
Walton, H. (2014) Literature, Theology, and Feminism. Series: Manchester studies in religion, culture, and gender. Manchester University Press: Manchester. ISBN 9780719060915
Walton, H. (2007) Imagining Theology: Women Writing and God. T and T Clark. ISBN 9780567031730
Walton, H. (2007) Literature, Theology and Feminism. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719060907
Graham, E., Walton, H. and Ward, F. (2005) Theological Reflection: Methods. SCM Press. ISBN 9780334029762
Walton, H. (1987) An Ethnographic Study of a Moss Side Pub. Series: Working papers in applied social research, 12. Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Manchester: Manchester. ISBN 9780947556129
Walton, H. (1987) My Mother is Ill: An Experiment in Feminist Research. Series: Working papers in applied social research, 47. Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Manchester: Manchester. ISBN 9780947556181
Walton, H. (1986) White Researchers and Racism. Series: Working papers in applied social research, 10. Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Manchester: Manchester. ISBN 9780947556105
Walton, H. (1985) A Tree God Planted: Black People in British Methodism. Methodist Publishing House: London. ISBN 9780948464003
Book Sections
Walton, H. (2021) The children are always lost: Marilynne Robinson and the poetics of theology. In: Möller, H. and Sigurdson, O. (eds.) Marilynne Robinson and Theology. Series: KVHAA Konferenser (105). KVHAA (Kungl. Vitterhets Historie Och Antikvitets Akademien), pp. 29-48. ISBN 9789188763259
Walton, H. (2017) Between Ascension and Pentecost: a theology of adoption. In: Swinton, J. and Brock, B. (eds.) A Graceful Embrace: Theological Reflections on Adopting Children. Series: Theology in practice (4). Brill: Leiden ; Boston, pp. 205-216. ISBN 9789004352896 (doi: 10.1163/9789004352902_015)
Anderson, E., Radford, A. and Walton, H. (2016) Introduction: the intricate persistence of strange Gods. In: Anderson, E., Radford, A. and Walton, H. (eds.) Modernist Women Writers and Spirituality: A Piercing Darkness. Palgrave Macmillan: London, pp. 1-20. ISBN 9781137530356 (doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-53036-3_1)
Walton, H. (2016) Faith in ruins: fragments and pattern in the late works of Rose Macaulay. In: Anderson, E. and Radford, A. (eds.) Modernist Women Writers and Spirituality: A Piercing Darkness. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 69-94. ISBN 9781137530356
Walton, H. (2016) The history of feminist theology in the Academy: an autoethnographic research journey. In: Gemzoe, L., Keinänen, M.-L. and Maddrell, A. (eds.) Contemporary Encounters in Religion and Gender. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, pp. 285-306. ISBN 9783319425986 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-42598-6_13)
Walton, H. (2013) Desiring things: practical theology and the new materialisms. In: Ganzevoort, R. R., Brouwer, R. and Miller-McLemore, B. (eds.) City of Desires - a Place for God? Series: International Practical Theology. Lit Verlag: Berlin, pp. 131-140. ISBN 9783643903075
Walton, H. (2011) Poetics. In: Miller-McLemore, B. J. (ed.) The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology. Series: Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion. Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester, pp. 173-182. ISBN 9781444330823
Walton, H. (2011) When love is not true: literature and theology after romance. In: Walton, H. (ed.) Literature and Theology: New Interdisciplinary Spaces. Ashgate: Farnham, UK, pp. 37-54. ISBN 9781409400110
Walton, H. (2010) Jean Rhys, Elizabeth Smart, and the "gifts" of the King James Bible. In: Hamlin, H. and Jones, N. W. (eds.) The King James Bible after 400 Years: Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Influences. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, pp. 318-335. ISBN 9780521768276
Walton, H. (2008) My green bed. In: Marston, D. (ed.) Goldfish: The Second Anthology of Writing from Goldsmiths. Goldsmiths, University of London: London, UK.
Walton, H. (2008) Our sacred texts: literature, theology and feminism. In: Llewellyn, D. and Sawyer, D.F. (eds.) Reading Spiritualities: Constructing and Representing the Sacred. Ashgate: Aldershot, UK, pp. 85-94. ISBN 9780754663294
Walton, H. (2007) The feminist literary revisioning of sacred traditions. In: Hass, A., Jasper, D. and Jay, E. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of English Literature and Theology. Series: Oxford handbooks. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, pp. 543-557. ISBN 9780199271979
Walton, H. (2005) Literature and theology: sex in the relationship. In: Bird, D. and Sherwood, Y. (eds.) Bodies in Question: Gender, Religion, Text. Ashgate: Aldershot, UK. ISBN 9780754635307
Walton, H. (2003) Women writing the divine. In: Anderson, P.S. and Clack, B. (eds.) Feminist Philosophy of Religion: Critical Readings. Routledge: London, UK, pp. 123-135. ISBN 9780415257497
Walton, H. (2000) Passion and pain: conceiving theology out of infertility. In: Willows, D. and Swinton, J. (eds.) Spiritual Dimensions of Pastoral Care: practical theology in a multidisciplinary context. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London. ISBN 9781853028922
Walton, H. (1999) Love relations: exploring the intimacy between women's writing and theology. In: Gearon, L. (ed.) English Literature, Theology and the Curriculum. Series: Theology in dialogue series. Cassell: London. ISBN 9780304704866
Walton, H. (1993) Breaking open the Bible. In: Graham, E. and Halsey, M. (eds.) Life Cycles: Women and Pastoral Care. SPCK: London, pp. 192-199. ISBN 9780281046881
Edited Books
Anderson, E., Radford, A. and Walton, H. (Eds.) (2016) Modernist Women Writers and Spirituality: A Piercing Darkness. Palgrave Macmillan: London. ISBN 9781137560356
Walton, H. (Ed.) (2011) Literature and Theology: New Interdisciplinary Spaces. Ashgate: Farnham. ISBN 9781409400110
Graham, E.L., Walton, H. and Ward, F. (Eds.) (2007) Theological Reflection: Sources. SCM Press: London, UK. ISBN 9780334029779
Haas, A. and Walton, H. (Eds.) (2000) Self, Same, Other: Re-visioning the subject in literature and theology. Series: Playing the texts. Sheffield Academic Press: Sheffield. ISBN 9781841270180
Durber, S. and Walton, H. (Eds.) (1993) Silence in Heaven: A Book of Women’s Preaching. SCM Press: London. ISBN 033401543X
Supervision
Areas for prospective postgraduate research might include:
- Practical theology and gender
- Theology, literature and critical theory
- Theology and creative writing
- Friend, Beverley
Does the religious and moral education taught in Scottish schools today directly oppose the beliefs and codes of the student's own community? Is something very important at risk of being lost and how would this loss alter a community? - Macwhirter, Liz
A novel and critical reflection
Teaching
- Practical Theology & Feminist Theology
- Literature, Theology & the Arts
- Theology through Creative Writing
