Reflections on My Trip to Oxford
I am fresh off the heels of two weeks at Oxford University, where I participated in the ninth Lincoln College International Summer School in Greek Palaeography and presented at the Oxford Patristics conference. When I was deciding whether I wanted to apply for the course, I came across a few reflections online that gave me a better sense of what to expect. Since those were helpful, I thought I’d provide my thoughts here in case anyone who sees this may want to participate another year.
We’ll get the negative out of the way: I didn’t excel in the course as much as I hoped I would. While the organizers had sent preparatory material with plenty of advance notice, I had nearly no time to look over it while finishing chapter two of my dissertation. Added to this, I was already coming in at a disadvantage as a part-time student whose research doesn’t typically require reading manuscripts closely. In this regard, the week was a good opportunity for self-evaluation and self-reflection, reminding me that good scholarly work is less often the result of natural skill or ability and more often the result of hard work and application. Like a whetstone, inadequacy can sharpen how we learn and observe the world—and this is no less the case with theological work. So, while I wish I would have done better, the class provided me a good opportunity to grow.
Now for the positive: With that confession out of the way . . . the course was excellent, and I am exceedingly glad I was invited to participate. In the event you see applications open and are interested, I would encourage you to apply. There were twenty-two participants in total, I believe, but most of our time was spent split into in two groups. The days typically featured two sessions of 2–3 hour reading classes per day and library visits throughout the week. Each night concluded with a lecture from a scholar in the field.
For the sake of brevity and coherence, I think it may be best to offer just a few bullet points about the experience:
As a previous attendee had written, being put on the spot to sight read a scribal hand you had first seen five minutes ago with no crutches beneath you was a humbling and helpful experience—but it’s one that forces you to adapt and learn to wrestle with the text in front of you. Intimidating? When your peers are smarter than you, very much so. Beneficial? All the more.
The library visits were a high point for me. There, I got to thumb through manuscripts of Gregory of Nazianzus, Dionysius the Areopogite, John Chrysostom, and other figures I love. Maybe my favorite visit was the day we went to a reading room at the Weston Library, where we saw Clarke’s Plato, looked at examples of Homeric texts that solidified over several centuries, and saw a wax tablet—a significant feature of antique education and pedagogy that I had always read about but never seen in person. I’ll include a few photos of texts we interacted with below.
Beyond the course content, it was so refreshing to meet students from other regions and countries. After a day or two of trying to kill time, I found it in me to push myself beyond my introverted comfort zone and hang out with some other participants . . . and I’m so deeply glad I did. It really was some of the most fun I have had in a long time getting to chat with other people about their research, their interests, and their cultures. God’s world is a small domain, and talking about these topics was such a timely reminder of this. I hope to see and engage their work in the future as they complete their programs and undoubtedly make helpful contributions to their fields.
Of course, being at Oxford was a treat. I had always heard about things like the Bodleian, Blackwell’s, the pubs, Christ Church’s gorgeous cathedral, and the charm of the city, but spending more than a day or two trip getting to see them was great. Lincoln College was hospitable toward us, and it seemed to feel a little more intimate than some of the other ongoing summer programs scattered throughout the city.
The following week, I stayed for the Oxford Patristics conference. I have the terrible habit of presenting on things unrelated to my dissertation research because I have so much more I want to read and engage than Clement and ancient literary pedagogy. So, I finally got to do a paper on philosophical backgrounds for the Nicene Creed’s “begotten, not made” distinction. I hope to publish this research at some point in time, so I won’t rehash it all here—but I was really proud of the paper I was able to put together and think it helps further contextualize what someone like Arius was trying to do in his theological project (and why the category of biblical exegesis was so critical in the early Christian tradition). On a different note, I received some very positive feedback regarding my dissertation from others who work on similar topics. Encouragement and accomplishment is a rare feeling in the academy, so I’m taking those as wins!
I was admittedly more checked out than I’d hoped to be during much of the conference after a long week of reading Greek manuscripts, so I was more selective about the papers I attended than usual. A highlight of the conference was a fantastic workshop on “The Unity of Christ After Nicaea” put together by Andrew Tucker, Nathan Porter, and Joshua Miller. I didn’t attend the entirety of both sessions, but the participants were top-notch and the papers I heard were great. I love getting to watch other people I know excel at the things they are good at, and it feels like their session was a fantastic example at that.
I was glad to catch up with close friends and conference buddies alike, and it was particularly fun to meet others who are students under Fr. John. (Are his students called Baby Behrs?) We were able to get together a couple times throughout the week. Seeing their faces on Zoom is one thing, but getting to sit across the table and chat with them is a whole other!
Of course, it helps that Oxford makes such a wonderful backdrop for conversations. There are moments and memories that I hope to hold on to for a while, and I am very grateful for them. Despite the busyness and the exhaustion, this was a very sweet two weeks for me, and it isn’t due to the prestige or history or book discounts: it’s due to the people I got to see.
Lastly, I want to note the generosity of Lincoln College and The Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research for offering bursaries that allowed me to participate in both the course and the conference. I wouldn’t have been able to go if this wasn’t provided, and as a student with less funding available than other programs, it was a really massive weight off my shoulders to not have to pinch pennies the entirety of the trip since my registration and some lodging costs were already covered.
I hope to be able to return for Oxford Patristics 2027!
