CONTRIBUTORS – Memories of Utopia

CHIEF INVESTIGATORS
Wendy Mayer Wendy Mayer is professor and associate dean for research at Australian Lutheran College, University of Divinity and a research associate of the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies at the University of South Africa. Read more…		Bronwen Neil Bronwen Neil, FAHA, is professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University and research associate of the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies at the University of South Africa. Read more…
Pauline Allen Pauline Allen, FBA, FAHA, is professor emeritus of Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University, research associate of Department of Ancient and Modern Languages at the University of Pretoria, and honorary research fellow of the Sydney College of Divinity. Read more…		Chris de Wet – Partner Investigator Chris L. de Wet is Associate Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Studies, in the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies at the University of South Africa, Pretoria, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Australian Lutheran College, University of Divinity, Adelaide. University of South Africa – Chris de Wet
International Collaborators
Robin M. Jensen Robin M. Jensen is Patrick O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and concurrent Professor of the History of Art. Her recent projects include The cross: History, art, and controversy (2017) and (co-editor) The Routledge handbook to early Christian art (2018). University of Notre Dame – Robin Jensen		Naoki Kamimura Naoki Kamimura is a research fellow of Tokyo Gakugei University and a Lecturer in Philosophy and Ethics at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan. He is the author of Disciplines and identities, divine and spiritual, in late antiquity (2017), and has published in Augustinian studies, Prayer and spirituality in the early church, and StP. Academia – Naoki Kamimura
Jitse Dijkstra Jitse Dijkstra’s research centers round the question how religion became transformed in Late Antiquity. He focuses on the particular regional and local context of religious transformation rather than on the ideological and general story. Trained as a papyrologist but multidisciplinary in approach, his main interest is Late Antique Egypt. He is the author of a monograph on the religious transformation in the First Cataract region, southern Egypt, in particular at the island of Philae, and a study of the graffiti in the temple of Isis at Aswan, where he has conducted field work from 2001 onwards. Academia – Jitse Dijkstra		Hagit Amirav Hagit Amirav is a professor in the Faculty of Texts and Traditions at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research interests are early Christianity and Patristics, particularly biblical exegesis; ancient rhetoric and techniques of literary expression, sociology and ancient history. Faculty of Religion and Theology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Kosta Simic Kosta Simic (PhD Australian Catholic University, 2018) is a sessional lecturer and post-doctoral researcher in the School of Theology at Australian Catholic University, Brisbane. He has published two books and several articles on Byzantine hymnography. Academia – Kosta Simic Research Gate – Kosta Simic		Rajiv K. Bhola Rajiv K. Bhola is a PhD graduate of the University of Ottawa’s Department of Classics and Religious Studies. He was Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Memories of Utopia ARC Discovery project before becoming part-time Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at University of Ottawa. His current research project relates to Eusebius of Caesarea’s reception of Plato. Academia – Rajiv K Bhola
Leonela Fundic LeonelaFundic (PhD University of Thessaloniki) has held positions as a postdoctoral researcher in the history of Byzantine art at Australian Catholic University, Macquarie University, and the University of Queensland, Brisbane. She has published articles in Byzantion and Zograf. Academia – Leonela Fundic		Ryan W. Strickler Ryan W. Strickler (PhD Macquarie University, 2018), previously a postdoctoral researcher at Macquarie University and lecturer in classics and ancient history at the University of Queensland, is lecturer at the Centre for Classical Studies, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University. He has published several articles on apocalyptic literature and forgeries in the time of Maximus the Confessor. Academia – Ryan Strickler Research Gate – Ryan Strickler
Justin Pigott Justin M. Pigott (PhD Australian Catholic University, 2017) is a postdoctoral researcher and teaching fellow in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Auckland. His research interests include religion and society in the Greek East, slavery and the church in Late Antiquity and early Constantinople.		Anna Nürnberger Anna Nürnberger (PhD University of Augsburg, 2017) is postdoctoral research associate and editorial assistant of Lutheran Theological Journal at Australian Lutheran College. She joined the Memories of Utopia project as a research assistant in 2021. Anna’s primary area of interest lies at the intersection of early Jewish and early Christian writings on the one hand and psychology on the other, including intrapersonal and interpersonal religious struggles. Academia – Anna Nürnberger Australian Lutheran College – Anna Nürnberger
PhD Candidates
Katherin Papadopoulos Katherin Papadopoulos is a student at the Australian Lutheran College. Academia – Katherin Papadopoulos		Donna Francis Donna Francis is a doctoral candidate in Early Christian Archaeology at Australian Lutheran College, University of Divinity. She has a Bachelor of Archaeology with a major in ancient studies, an Honours degree in classics with a specialisation in early Christian art, and a Graduate Certificate in art history specialising in religious art. Donna’s research interests centre around early Christian churches and their art and architecture as a part of ritual performance. Academia – Donna Francis Twitter: ArchaeologyDon