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Overview
Affiliations
AffiliationRoom numberTelephone
Professor in the Department of Theology and ReligionEtchells House 8b+44 (0) 191 33 43181
Professor in Theology and Ministry in the Common Awards Team 0191 33 43181

Biography

New book: The Life of Christian Doctrine (Bloomsbury, 2020)

In 1991, at the beginning of the third year of my undergraduate degree, I made a last-minute decision to switch from maths to theology – and I haven’t looked back since. I started my first teaching job in 1999 in Exeter’s Department of Lifelong Learning, overseeing evening classes in theology all over the South West from Truro to Yeovil, and developing distance learning courses. In 2005 I moved over to the Department of Theology, where I taught modern Christian theology and the history of Christian doctrine, and became became Head of Department in 2006. In 2010, I took up a three-year secondment to the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme, to develop research programmes bringing together scholars of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and helping develop associated public education projects.

My post in Durham is part of the University's Common Awards partnership with the Church of England and various ecumenical partners. I provide academic leadership for the University's validation of the Common Awards in Theology, Ministry and Mission offered in colleges and courses around the country, and for developing collaborative research projects that bring together people from the church and university sectors to discuss the future of theological education.

I am married to Hester, a copy editor and proof reader, and have two children, Jordan and Tom.

Research interests

  • Christian doctrine
  • Postliberal theology
  • Christology
  • Anglican theology
  • Theology of higher education

Publications

Authored book

  • Higton, Mike (2020). The Life of Christian Doctrine. Bloomsbury.
  • Higton, Mike (2012). A Theology of Higher Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Muers, Rachel & Higton, Mike (2012). Modern Theology: A Critical Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Higton, Mike & Muers, Rachel (2012). The Text in Play: Experiments in Reading Scripture. Cascade Books.
  • Higton, Mike (2011). Deciding Differently: Rowan Williams' Theology of Moral Decision-Making. Cambridge: Grove Books.
  • Higton, Mike (2008). Christian Doctrine. SCM.
  • Higton, Mike (2007). Deliver Us: Exploring the Problem of Evil. Norwich: Canterbury Press.
  • Higton, Mike (2006). Vulnerable Learning: Thinking Theologically about Higher Education. Cambridge: Grove Books.
  • Higton, Mike (2004). Christ, Providence, and History: Hans W. Frei's Public Theology. London: T & T Clark.
  • Higton, Mike (2004). Difficult Gospel: The Theology of Rowan Williams. London: SCM Press.

Chapter in book

Edited book

  • Higton, Mike & Bowald, Mark Alan (2016). Hans Frei: Reading Faithfully: Writings from the Archives, 2: Frei's Theological Background. Wipf and Stock / Cascade.
  • Higton, Mike & Alexander, Loveday (2016). Faithful Improvisation? Theological Reflections on Church Leadership. Church House.
  • Higton, Mike & Fodor, Jim (2015). The Routledge Companion to the Practice of Christian Theology. Routledge Companions. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
  • Higton, Mike & Bowald, Mark Alan (2015). Hans Frei: Reading Faithfully; Writings from the Archives, 1: Theology and Hermeneutics. Wipf and Stock (Cascade).
  • Ford, David, Higton, Mike & Zahl, Simeon (2012). The Modern Theologians Reader. Chichester, West Sussex Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Higton, Mike, Law, Jeremy & Rowland, Christopher (2011). Theology and Human Flourishing: Essays in Honor of Timothy J. Gorringe. Cascade Books.
  • McDowell, John C. & Higton, Mike (2004). Conversing with Barth. Barth studies. Aldershot: Ashgate.
  • Ford, David & Higton, Mike (2002). Jesus. Oxford readers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Journal Article

Newspaper/Magazine Article

  • Higton, Mike (2016). Jesus: The How of God. Church Times (26 February 2017): 18-19.

Report

  • Higton, Mike (2011). Towards a Church of England Vision for Higher Education. Church of England, Archbishops’ Council, Education Division.

Supervision students