Academic & Teaching staff

Dr Emma Tomalin

Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies

Dr Emma Tomalin

+44 (0)113 343 3658

Research Interests

  • Gender, Religion and Society
  • Religion and Global Development
  • Religion and Environmentalism
  • Buddhism and Hinduism
  • South and South-East Asia
  • The Role of Faith Based Organisations (e.g. in the 'Big Society'; in International Development etc...)

Currently, my main research interests are focussed around 'Religions and Global Development' and 'Religion, Gender and Society'.

Between 2005 and 2010 I was a research associate on a large research programme on 'Religions and Development' based in the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham and funded by the UK Government's Department for International Development (DfID). I have also recently been elected to the Steering Committee of the newly formed  Religion and International Development group of the American Academy of Religion.

For many years I have been working with a group of Buddhist nuns who are campaigning for full ordination for women in Thailand. The movement is concerned not only with the 'spiritual' advantages of ordination, but also maintains that the absence of this tradition makes it difficult for women to challenge negative stereotypes that find support within Buddhism. This fieldwork is has been funded by the British Academy. In recognition of this work I received an "Outstanding Women in Buddhism" award on International Women's Day, March 7 2006, at the United Nations, Bangkok, Thailand.

Teaching

Gender, Religion and Soceity; Religion and Global Development.

Publications

Books

  • Tomalin, E. (forthcoming): Religions and Development. London and New York: Routledge.
  • 2012 (forthcoming) (with S. McLoughlin, W.Gould and A.Kabir (eds)): Writing the City in British-Asian Diasporas. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Tomalin, E. (2011) Gender, Faith and Development. Oxford: Oxfam and Rugby: Practical Action Publishing.
  • Bradley, T., Tomalin, E., and Subramaniam M. (2009): Dowry: bridging the gap between theory and practice. New Delhi: Women Unlimited and London: Zed Books.
  • Tomalin, E. (2009): Bio-divinity and Biodiversity: the limits of religious environmentalism. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Articles

  • Tomalin, E. (2009) Buddhist Feminist Transnational Networks, Female Ordination and Women's Empowerment. Oxford Development Studies. 37 (22): 81 - 100
  • Tomalin, E. (2008)'Faiths and Development'. In Desai and Potter (eds) The Companion to Development Studies (London: Hodder Arnold), pp. 485-489
  • Tomalin, E. (2007) 'Pedagogy and Beyond: Supporting Cultural and Religious Diversity in Higher Education'. Teaching in Higher Education. 12(5-6): 621-634 (special edition on Diversity and Commonality in Higher Education).
  • Pearson, R. and Tomalin, E. (2007) 'Intelligent Design: a Gender Sensitive Interrogation of Religion and Development'. In Clarke, Jennings and Shaw (eds) Development, Civil Society and Faith-Based Organizations (Basingstoke: Palgrave) pp. 46-71
  • Tomalin, E. (2007) 'Religion, Gender and the Environment in Asia: Moving Beyond the Essentialisms of 'Spiritual Ecofeminism'? In Resurreccion and Elmhirst (eds) Gender and Natural Resource Management in Asia (London and Sterling, VA: Earthscan) pp. 243-259
  • Tomalin, E. (2006): 'Religion and a Rights-Based Approach to Development'. Progress in Development Studies. 6(2): 93-108
  • Tomalin, E. (2006) The Thai bhikkhuni movement and women's empowerment. Gender and Development. 14 (3): 385-397
  • Tomalin, E. 2004: 'Bio-divinity and Biodiversity: perspectives on religion and environmental conservation in India'. Numen 51(3): 265-295.
  • Tomalin, E. and Szerszynski, B. 2004: 'Enchantment and its Uses: Explicit and Implicit Religion in Direct Action Politics'. In Jon Purkis and James Bowen (eds) Changing anarchism: Anarchist theory and practice in a global age. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 199-212.
  • Tomalin, E. 2004: entries on 'Deep Ecology' and 'Religion and Development'. In Tim Forsyth (ed) The Encyclopedia of International Development. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Tomalin, E. and Hollick, J. 2002: 'Making a Radio Documentary on the River Ganges'. Contemporary South Asia 11(2): 211-226.
  • Tomalin, E. 2002: 'The Limits of Religious Environmentalism for India'. Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion 6(1): 12-30.