Qualifications

BA, MA, DPhil (Oxford)

Academic background

I read Theology at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford; did my doctoral research in Oxford; spent two years at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris; then returned to the UK to take up my first job as Lecturer in Theology at Hull University. After a year I was appointed Lecturer in the History and Theology of the Latin West at Durham University, where I remained for just over 25 years (I was appointed Professor in 2008). I moved to Oxford in 2015.

Undergraduate teaching

I teach Early Christianity; Augustine of Hippo; and Music and Theology.

Research interests

I research Early Christianity. My work has focused on the Latin West, especially Augustine of Hippo (354-430); auditory culture; spirituality; language; exegesis; sense perception and materiality; and music.

Featured publications

Forthcoming: Reading Augustine on Music: Sense, Affect, Voice. New York, NY: Bloomsbury

2013 The Art of Listening in the Early Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press

2006 Rethinking Augustine’s Early Theology: An Argument for Continuity. Oxford: Oxford University Press

2000 Augustine: Christian Truth and Fractured Humanity. Oxford: Oxford University Press

1992 Revelation and Beauty in the Thought of Saint Augustine. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Other interests and activities

I enjoy listening and dark chocolate.