June 20, 2019
Wheaton College's Dr. Timothy Larsen was recently awarded the Fowler Hamilton Visiting Research Fellowship from Christ Church at the University of Oxford.
Wheaton College’s Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Christian Thought Dr. Timothy Larsen was recently awarded the Fowler Hamilton Visiting Research Fellowship from Christ Church at the University of Oxford. Dr. Larsen will spend January through June 2021 at Oxford completing research and participating in the intellectual life of the college.
“This fellowship recognizes to a broader audience what we already know to be true of Dr. Timothy Larsen—that he is one of the world’s preeminent scholars on evangelical thought and history,” said Wheaton College Provost Dr. Margaret Diddams. “We could not be more thrilled for him.”
This six-month fellowship will enable Dr. Larsen to conduct research related to his next book: a project on Anglican chaplains during the World War I era. “I want to study their whole lives and basically see how the war changed them, how they thought about their ministry before the war, what they actually experienced during the war, and the kind of ministry they pursued after the war,” Larsen said.
With this fellowship, Dr. Larsen will have access to research materials, such as military and church records and newspapers, which would be hard to obtain in the States. For a historian like Dr. Larsen, this type of access is a dream.
“The work of a scholar is very solitary,” he said. “You spend so much time thinking about something on your own and reading about it intensely, so when other people notice and think what you are doing is worthwhile, it’s very validating,” he said. “I’m really thrilled that [those at Christ Church] think my work is good work and that they want to endorse it in this way.”
In addition to research, recipients of the Fowler Hamilton Visiting Research Fellowship are also encouraged to join the intellectual life of the college. One way they do that is attending three-course “High Table” dinners.
According to Dr. Larsen: “It’s the best food, and it’s in this magical room. It really is Hogwarts in that they literally filmed Harry Potter there. The people you’re talking with are Nobel Prize winners and ambassadors, and you’re meeting some of the most interesting minds from around the world, so it’s quite a wonderful world to be able to join for a while.”
“The fellowship is a wonderful thing where Oxford University is saying ‘we believe in your work, and we want you to come here, and we’ll give you the resources to pursue your own research and to become a part of our community,’” Dr. Larsen said. “I’m really thrilled to be a part of it—and to deepen Wheaton College’s connection with this storied university.”—Emily Bratcher
The above photo was taken from the Macdonald Randolph Hotel on one of Dr. Larsen's previous trips to Oxford.