The future of research in Bible Society collections

August 11th, 2025Events;

26-27 September 2025

CRASSH, University of Cambridge

https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/47443/

Historically, religious communities have often expanded by finding ways to overcome language and cultural barriers in material ways. In the case of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS), this has taken the form of producing bibles in nearly 700 different languages whilst collecting some of the world’s most precious religious materials for translation into vernacular languages. How did the spiritual economy of bible craft reflect religious community expansion and, in turn, how did expansion change the Bible Society Collection in material ways?

This two-day conference and hands-on workshop invites scholars and specialists in Religious Studies, visual and material culture, and Medieval to Modern collections analysis to tackle Victorian-era bible production, material exchanges and book transliteration culture. State of the field presentations will explore key topics including: global communication, empire and imperial projects, knowledge and technology and more with the goal of opening inquiry in the Bible Society Collections. Featured activities will include panels and roundtable discussions, library and museum technical experts and curators tied to BFBS materials. This event seeks to explore, reveal and protect this collection’s materials in a tangible way for future research.

Speakers

  • Edward Cheese, Accredited Conservator-Restorer
  • Flavia Fiorillo (CUL Cultural Heritage Imaging Laboratory)
  • Joshua Fitzgerald (CUL Munby Fellow & St John’s College)
  • Noam Lefler (Queen Mary University of London)
  • Onesimus Ngundu (CUL Curator Bible Society Library)
  • Eyal Poleg (Queen Mary University of London)
  • Neil (‘Studge’) Rees, BFBS Digital Publishing and Translation Advisor
  • Heather Sharkey (University of Pennsylvania)
  • Lucy Sixsmith (St John’s Fellow)
  • Harry Spillane (CUL Munby Fellow & Darwin College)

Convenors

  • Joshua Fitzgerald (University of Cambridge)
  • Eyal Poleg (Queen Mary University, London)
  • Lucy Sixsmith (University of Cambridge)
  • Harry Spillane (University of Cambridge)

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