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| R. S. Sugirtharajah | |
|---|---|
| Name | R. S. Sugirtharajah |
| Birth name | Rasiah S. Sugirtharajah |
| Birth date | 1945 |
| Birth place | Jaffna, Ceylon |
| Occupation | Biblical scholar, theologian, academic |
| Notable works | The Bible and Empire; Asian Biblical Hermeneutics |
| Alma mater | University of Ceylon; University of Cambridge |
R. S. Sugirtharajah is a Sri Lankan Tamil biblical scholar and theologian known for pioneering postcolonial and Asian readings of Christian scriptures. He has taught at institutions across United Kingdom, United States, and Sri Lanka, influencing debates in biblical criticism, postcolonial studies, and contextual theology. His work engages with scholars and movements such as Edward Said, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Walter Brueggemann, Desmond Tutu, and institutions including University of Cambridge, University of Birmingham, and Oxford University Press.
Sugirtharajah was born in Jaffna in Ceylon and educated at the University of Ceylon and later at the University of Cambridge, where he completed advanced studies in theology and biblical studies. During his formative years he encountered intellectual currents from figures such as Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, N. T. Wright, Karl Rahner, and movements including Liberation theology and Postcolonialism. His training connected him with scholars at institutions like King's College London, Trinity College Dublin, and the University of Edinburgh.
Sugirtharajah's academic appointments included posts at the University of Birmingham, the University of Sheffield, and visiting positions at Harvard Divinity School, Yale University, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He served on editorial boards for series published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and SAGE Publications, collaborating with historians and theologians such as Elaine Pagels, Jon D. Levenson, Brevard S. Childs, James Cone, and Paul Ricoeur. He supervised doctoral students who later taught at Durham University, University of Manchester, and McGill University.
Sugirtharajah authored and edited influential books including The Bible and Empire, Asian Biblical Hermeneutics, and collections engaging with postcolonial criticism, feminist criticism, and reader-response criticism. His publications appeared in venues linked to Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Fortress Press, and journals associated with Society of Biblical Literature, Journal of Biblical Literature, and Harvard Theological Review. He engaged texts such as the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, New Testament, and works by Philo of Alexandria and Josephus through lenses developed by Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Paula Gooder, and Elaine Pagels.
Sugirtharajah advocates contextual readings rooted in Asian theology, postcolonial theory, and feminist theology, dialoguing with traditions represented by Gustavo Gutiérrez, Dom Helder Câmara, Dorothy Day, John Howard Yoder, and Stanley Hauerwas. He critiques imperial and colonial readings connected to histories of British Empire, Portuguese Empire, and Dutch Empire, and interacts with methodologies from historical criticism, literary criticism, and socio-rhetorical criticism. His approach converses with scholars such as Walter Brueggemann, Marianne Meye Thompson, Adele Reinhartz, Anthony Grafton, and John J. Collins, while attending to contexts of Sri Lanka, India, China, and Southeast Asia.
Sugirtharajah received recognitions from bodies including the Society of Biblical Literature, the British Academy, and universities such as University of Birmingham and University of Glasgow for contributions to biblical studies and theology. His edited volumes and monographs have been the subject of symposia at conferences organized by European Association of Biblical Studies, the American Academy of Religion, and the International Association for Mission Studies.
Category:1945 births Category:Sri Lankan academics Category:Biblical scholars