iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Previously, only our JLCDS special issue introduction was available for free. However, The University of Aberdeen has made the article by @zoestrong.bsky.social open access 😁 You might want to take a look - it's really good....

020

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Yep, am definitely excited 😄 Cannot wait to listen to Dr Hall Sharp in person (online).

030

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Current "handbag book" is coming in handy tonight whilst I wait in the reception during R's handball practice. So far it's really insightful... definitely setting me up to not get bored for the next two hours 😄

A copy of Esther's Army by Katie Gaddini. Book sits on top of an upturned wooden crate that is functioning as a coffee table.

020

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Out now! Special issue of JLCDS, edited by @krysiawally.bsky.social, @naomijacobs.bsky.social and myself. liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/jlcds/20/3

Front cover of JLCDS journal showing the contents page.

Introduction: Space for Interpretation, by Emma Swai, Krysia Emily Waldock and Naomi Lawson Jacobs

Disability and the Sacred, by Julia Watts Belser

How Can I, Unless Someone Guides Me? by Zoe Strong

Toward an Inclusive Theology, by Majd Subih

The Making of a Blind Bhakti Poet, by Aniket Ojha

Power in Whose Hands? by Hannah Lewis

093

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Happy moment of the afternoon - discovering your work forms part of a chapter in someone's PhD thesis. Like named and everything. I feel noticed 😁

020

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Summer afternoon in Liverpool - taking an hour before the kiddos get back from their various trips.

110

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Ended up sitting next to a uni classmate from my first degree on the train back to Liverpool this afternoon. Was surprising but a brilliant conversation (we both had PhDs but had gone in very different directions. So, no, I did not start reading my EABS acquisitions 😂

Disruptive Readings. Essays Honouring the Work and Wisdom of Amy-Jill Levine.

Readings of Trauma, edited by Alexandra Grund- Wittenberg and Maike Schult

Disability, Feminist Theologies and Gender Studies - ESWTR Journal

040

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Short pause in the journey home from EABS. First time working in the British Library 😁

020

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Today is 'Bodies of Communication' day at #eabs2026 😁 (totally worth a smiley face emoji)

Session 1, 9-10:30. Presider Dominika Kurek-Chomycz, University of Manchester and KU Leuven.

"My Covenant in the Flesh" and The Rite of Circumcision in Priestly Narrative - Sandra Jacobs, Kings College and Leo Baeck College

Touch as Communication: The Divine Body in the Hebrew Bible - Dae Jun Jeong, Kwangshin University

Bodies of Communication 2, Presider Emma Swai, Liverpool Hope University and Westcott House

Wounded Words - Wounded Bodies: The Power of Suffering in Psalm 6, Johanna Rondland, Uppsala University

Shaken to the Core- Psalm 6 - a Traumatic Text,
Alexandra Grund-Wittenberg, Marburg University

Strong, Striking, Violent? The Body of One Like a Son of Man' in Revelation 1-3.
Judith Konig,
University of Regensburg

000

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

First new discovery of #eabs2026. Beginning of the "random food to take home" side quest.

Pink pringles tube. The flavour is Salted Caramel.

010

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Joint paper with @melissacmtan.bsky.social is now written and ready for #eabs2026 Now I just need to finish packing (with a broken washing machine) ...

010

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Today was my book review day. This book = totally not what I expected, but my brain is 🤯 (blown) in a "how did I not think this before" and a "when you take it to the real implications..." sort of a way. Interdisciplinary and different in style to what I am used to. Now to write the actual review...

030

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Thank you for being brilliant @alexianafry.bsky.social - I will be digging about in my "handbag book" for your stuff on Vashti now x You were a dream to host.

130

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

It's a really surreal experience when your eldest is looking at which university he wants to go to. Unfortunately he's not a theology bunny, so I will be sitting in on Computer Science and Maths tomorrow without a clue. At least it's Manchester, the app works, and I know where the coffee shops are 😁

010

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

So this is out in the world! And I get to shout out so many people whose work I admire too (not that they need it) 😀

Screenshot from the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Disability Studies' home page

Screenshot of article title: Disability in the New Testament, Emma Swai, Published 15 June 2026

1113

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

When you are actually excited to review a book... I mean, it's beautiful and I haven't even opened it yet.

Book cover for Trauma and Survival in the Hebrew Bible by Kamilah Hall Sharp. The cover includes the illustration of seven women standing hand in hand. The women are depicted in a style similar to African wall paintings/patterns. They are faceless but in a way that suits the style. The women are wearing head wraps or have their hair out in a afro, though each is indicated by a blocked shape/outline rather than in a realistic style.

030

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Feminist Theology Network @feministtheology.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

I told you it was going to be awesome. I did. Now I am allowed to saw who (and, yes, the book is fab 😊)

152

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Now we have quite a strong stomach for comedy in our house, but I was beyond disappointed by Lizzo in The Roast of Kevin Hart. When your teenager turns and says, twice in the set, "Isn't that ableism, Mum?" and there's no way it can be identified as anything else...

000

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

When your bank holiday "just for funsies" reading arrives 😁

Book cover photo. Esther Keeps the Score by Alexiana Fry. White lettering with botanical background: green leaves and red flowers.

040

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

And off I go to the Leeds Disability Studies Conference 2026 for a panel on religion with @krysiawally.bsky.social, @naomijacobs.bsky.social and Brian Irvine. @mbrandonmassey.bsky.social , I am publicising 'Rewriting Jesus: Forgotten Pasts and Possible Futures' as promised!

PowerPoint open on laptop. Planning slides on display. Presentation title is 'Was the Historical Jesus Disabled? Challenging Embedded Prejudice' Dr Emma Swai. Liverpool Hope University; Westcott House, Cambridge.

042

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Feminist Theology Network @feministtheology.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

The latest of our Practical Theology collab articles is out now! This one is by the awesome @karenod.bsky.social so you know you need to read it. It's genuinely fabulous and also outlines a bit of how the FTN came to be, a tweet from a sun lounger and here we are: practicaltheologyhub.com?p=2081

practicaltheologyhub.com

Ten Commitments Of A Feminist Theologian - Practical Theology Hub

I was sitting opposite one of my PhD supervisors, having just attempted to dismiss the entire genre of feminist theology as not relevant to my project when my radicalisation began. I had grown up in a...

122

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

From the Female Corporeality and Religion Conference in Leuven to finally being out there (and open access).... You can download my article 'Restricted More as a Daughter: The Interaction between Gender and Disability in the Gospel of Luke' now: poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?...

poj.peeters-leuven.be

PEETERS ONLINE JOURNALS

030

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Feminist Theology Network @feministtheology.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

And the countdown is on... FTN expert panel on publishing is next week, so add Tuesday night to your diary.

Poster for FTN online event. Title = Publishing in Feminist and Womanist Theologies. Panel of experts is listed below. Professor Lisa Isherwood, editor of the journal Feminist Theology and author of many books in Feminist Theology. Rachel Edge, Assistant Commissioning Editor at SCM Press. Professor Margaret Kamitsuka, editor of the AAR series with OUP and author of many books in Feminist Theology.

Also listed is the FTN website address www.feministtheologynetwork.org.

For assistance in accessing the mailing list and/or information sent via email directly, please DM.

074

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Feminist Theology Network @feministtheology.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Last one from me today, promise. We have been asked to post our upcoming events calendar on here, so your wish is my command... To quote the Lego Movie, "Everything is awesome..." - I genuinely can't pick my favourite, so just come to everything!

Orange poster with white text boxes, rounded corners and orange text inside. Feminist Theology Network Upcoming Events. 20th Jan 7pm GMT, Publishing in Feminist & Womanist Theologies. 3rd Feb, 7pm GMT, Lizzie McManus-Dail. 11th Feb, 7pm GMT, Lisa Allen-McLaurin. 25th Mar, 7pm GMT, Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones. 28th Apr, 7pm BST, Lynn Huber & U-Wen Low.

043

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

From a friend: While the national news is focusing on protests in Minneapolis, ICE is systematically moving info smaller cities in the area, namely Shakopee, Jordan, and Savage with efforts targeted at restaurants, construction sites, schools, and hospitals.

200

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

So way back at the Female Corporeality and Religion Conference, I said I was going to turn this into an article. Just to prove I actually did...

Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research - Volume 33: Disability, Feminist Theologies and Gender Studies, Contents Page.

Top line is my article, 11-32 'Restricted More as a Daughter: The Interaction between Gender and Disability in the Gospel of Luke'

031

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

So it "finally" arrived through my door. I am actually really proud of this chapter, purely because I wanted to open up on the fact that experience changes exegetes (even if we like to pretend it doesn't). Thank you @davidbolt13.bsky.social for giving me a soap box to stand on!

Book cover for Cultural Stations of Disability: A Moment in Discourse, edited by David Bolt. The book has a wide purple stripe across the bottom, with the text overlaid in white. The top section of the book is black with a splattered pattern breaking up the black. Inside the splatter are random blue marks on fuzzy light red lined paper.

The background is brown/kraft cardboard.

A snapshot of chapter 8. Entitled A New Testament - Changing Positionality,Changing Interpretation. Emma Swai.

0135

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Feminist Theology Network @feministtheology.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

FTN advent reading group! Asynchronous, i.e. whenever in the day/week you like, so we can join together over different time zones without me messing up the clock... Totally shouting out to our members across the various oceans 😊

Feminist Theology Network flyer. Black background with white letters. Join us for an advent book group. Reading begins 30th November. Online/WhatsApp discussion - fits in when you have the time. Central picture is a cartoon-like candle graphic. Book cover is Rev Lizzie McManus-Dail's God Didn't Make Us to Hate Us. QR code to join Feminist Theology Network on the bottom right.

173

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Just finished speaking with the online crew at @sthild.org - what a welcoming learning group. Had a fabulous time and they let me get on my soap box a bit! By the end of the teaching session I was pulling book recommendations off my shelf....

A scattering of books...left to right: In the Beginning There was Darkness by John Hull, Disability and the Church by Lamar Hardwick, Autism and the Church by Grant Macaskill, Changed Imagination Changed Obedience by Natalie Houghtby-Haddon, and At the Gates by Naomi Lawson Jacobs and Emily Richardson.

Technically my light pink water cup is in the background and there is a Black Panther phone stand on the left, but the books are the important bit.

050

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Julia Watts Belser was so good at Disability and Church last weekend, I sort of had to...

Loving Our Own Bones by Julia Watts Belser (Book Cover)

150

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

That one really was for the girls 💪🏻 Second highest attendance at a rugby world cup final, men or women. 🌹

Women's Rugby World Cup Final Canada 13 England 33

030

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

September is IIH awareness month.

Imagine your head feels as though it's been crushed by a vice, a headache unlike anything you've ever felt before, where every part of your head hurts, that pressure is unbearable and it's a pain no one can see. Imagine a world in permanent soft focus, where things come in twos, where things disappear momentarily, where you can't tell how deep a step is, where bright light is a pain you can't stand. Imagine a world that says around you, where you feel as though you're in the middle of a storm on a cross channel ferry, feeling dizzy and sick - yet you're standing still. Imagine you're so totally exhausted that your body doesn't want to move and all you want to do is sleep, yet an incessant roaring in your ears keeps you awake. Imagine feeling lost and fearful, confused in a place you used to know well. Welcome to the world of IIH.

010

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Feminist Theology Network @feministtheology.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

For an update of our upcoming events: mailchi.mp/cam/incredib...

mailchi.mp

Incredible line up of speakers at the next FTN events!

022

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Naomi L. Jacobs @naomijacobs.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Tickets acquired! This disabled-led conference on disability & church is the highlight of my year (& features prominently in my book with @emjric.bsky.social). Will be lovely to reunite with old friends for the first hybrid conference & first at St Martin’s since 2019. I’m preaching on the Sunday :)

386

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

@siobhanjolley.bsky.social Guess what I got given to read on the journey home from #BNTS

Book cover. Reimagining the Magdalene by Siobhan Jolly.

030

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

When you get Eowyn's "I am no man" into a seminar question at #BNTS2025 😁

020

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Prepping the kiddos for back to school: "If anyone says there are no zombies in the Bible, they're lying..." Well, they did walk in as I was starting to pull together a conference workshop for October, so I am not sure what else they expected 🤷🏼‍♀️

030

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Excited to be part of this. Do take a look -

030

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Karen O’Donnell @karenod.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Oh we’ve got a fun few months coming up in the @feministtheology.bsky.social Sign up to the mailing list to get links to these events and more! mailchi.mp/a5e743737064... #feminist #womanist #theology #community #christianity

0144

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

I am genuinely excited to be helping students ask innovative questions which challenge perspectives in our field.

061

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Add NT studies, disability studies, a bit of feminism together, to animal studies, stir and "ta da"... Yep, I still get excited at seeing my name printed on actual paper pages 😁 www.bloomsbury.com/uk/animals-i...

Book chapter first page. Chapter 7. The Choice to Untie a Donkey, Ox, or "Daughter of Abraham" in Luke 13:10-17.

040

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... An article by the lovely @mckasp.bsky.social.

tandfonline.com

020

Reposted by Dr Emma Swai

Karen O’Donnell @karenod.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Just a reminder that if you haven’t already joined the Feminist Theology Network and want to be part of a supportive, inclusive, vibrant place for feminist & womanist research, you can do so here mailchi.mp/a5e743737064... @feministtheology.bsky.social #feminist #theology #womanist #community

mailchi.mp

Feminist Theology Network

0179

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

When you turn up to your hospital appointment and realise you have accidentally coordinated your clothing and your reading... A hastily thrown on FTN t-shirt and the book you grabbed from the desk as the cab arrived...

Book cover, muted orange with white type. Feminist Theologies - A Companion. Edited by Kerrie Handasyde, Stephen Burns and Katharine Massam

000

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Excited to share this upcoming volume. My perspective has changed somewhat with experience and David gave me space in this collection to write about it.

050

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

An SCM sale is always "dangerous"... but the kiddos might have just got me these for my birthday 😉 Ordered Tuesday, arrived today - am set up for summer reading!

Three book covers. Preach It by Carol Tomlin, A Redemption Song by Delroy Hall and Bathsheba Survives by Sara M. Koenig.

101

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Today was the first day I woke up with the knowledge that people are prepared to present your ideas as their own. Naive perhaps, but I had enjoyed the bubble of academic innocence for a while at least.

010

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

So Loose Women might get slated a lot, but I was reading Laura Bates' book at the GPs and this elderly lady struck up a conversation with me about AI and sexism on the back of her Loose Women interview: youtu.be/J8plVS73veA?...

youtu.be

The Shocking Reality of AI, Online Sexism, Deepfakes & More! | Loose Women

YouTube video by Loose Women

010

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

So my profile is now up and running for prospective postgraduate students wanting to study disability and biblical studies/theology, amongst other things 😁 www.westcott.cam.ac.uk/about-us/who...

westcott.cam.ac.uk

Dr Emma Swai - Westcott House

Associate Supervisor

030

Dr Emma Swai @emmajoyswai.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Horrifying but incredibly powerful. Absolutely needs to be read by, like, everyone. Bates is sounding a warning call before it's too late... and we really, really need to listen.

Book cover. The New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates.

010