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Timothy Howles

Key Details

Job title:
Associate Director

Tim is Associate Director of the Institute, a wide-ranging role including support for research programming, research grants, the visitor and affiliate programme, and academic events. His research interests lie at the intersection of politics and theology, with a focus on Earth System Science. He provides teaching in the Faculty of Theology & Religion and in the School of Geography & the Environment at the University of Oxford. He has led a John Templeton Foundation project on bioethics for the LSRI. 

Tim grew up in Birmingham and remains a committed supporter of West Bromwich Albion football club. He now lives in Oxford with his wife and two children. He is also an ordained Anglican priest and continues to engage in ministry in his local church.

  • Education

    DPhil, Theology, University of Oxford
    MSt, Theology, University of Oxford
    BA, Theology, University of Oxford
    MSc, International History, London School of Economics
    MA (Cantab), English Literature, University of Cambridge

  • Research Interests

    Tim’s research lies at the intersection of politics and theology. He has a longstanding interest in Continental European philosophy and its contribution to our understanding of the current planetary crisis. His recent work focuses on what Earth System Science can offer to the disciplines of theology and philosophy.

    Tim is also a Junior Research Fellow in Political Theology at Campion Hall and an Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology & Religion, University of Oxford.

  • Recent Academic Publications

    Howles, Timothy, 2024, The Political Theology of Bruno Latour: Globalization, Secularization and the Environmental Crisis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (forthcoming).

    Howles, Timothy, 2024, ‘The Concept of Equilibrium in the Work of Michel Serres" in Angelaki: Journal of the Critical Humanities Vol 24, No. 9, pp.14-24.

    Howles, Timothy, 2023, ‘Gas-Guzzling Gaia: James Lovelock and Neocybernetic Systems Theory’ in Critical Inquiry Vol.49, No.1, pp.113-125.

    Howles, Timothy, 2022, ‘De quel genre de pensée a-t-on besoin pour aborder la crise environnementale contemporaine? Réflexions sur la nouvelle écologie politique et sa relation à la théologie’, Vol.110, No.3, pp.503-519.

    Howles, Timothy, 2019, 'La religion comme un élément structurel du système philosophique de Bruno Latour' in Symposium: Canadian Journal of Continental Philosophy 22.2, pp.27-42.

    Howles, Timothy, et al, 2018, 'Creating an Ecological Citizenship: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives on the Role of Contemporary Environmental Education' in The Heythrop Journal Vol. 60. No.2, pp.997-1008.

  • Recent Popular Articles and Interviews

    'Catholic teaching and environmental theology' in The Church Times, 04 October 2024, read here

    'Audio interview on political ecology in contemporary Europe' at Hermitix, 06 February 2024, listen here

    'Laudate Deum: an invitation to live in the real world' in Thinking Faith, 06 October 2023, read here.

    'Interview with Tim Howles, Associate Director of the LSRI', 12 July 2023, read here.

    'Audio interview on conceptions of Gaia in recent political philosophy' at Hermitix, 24 June 2023, listen here.

    'Seminar presentation: The Significance of the Individual and the Concept of the Social in Carl Schmitt', 12 March 2023, watch here.

    COVID-19: Environment, Justice and the Future. 2020, Cambridge: Grove Publications.