ReligionProf Podcast with Ruth Hayhoe

In the ReligionProf Podcast episode embedded above, I talk to Prof. Ruth Hayhoe, a specialist in comparative education who was recently involved in the production of a book in the field of biblical studies. The backstory is that Ruth is the sister of Suzanne McCarthy, whose writings on her blog I mentioned and linked to on my own blog often. Suzanne sadly died from cancer while working on a book about gender bias in Bible translation, and her sister Ruth, in collaboration with several other family members, made sure it was published. It is now available from Wipf & Stock under the title Valiant or Virtuous? Gender Bias in Bible Translation. In the podcast you can hear more about this story.

Other blogs have talked about the book:

announcement: Suzanne McCarthy’s book

Marg Mowczko reviews “Valiant or Virtuous?” by Suzanne McCarthy

Valiant or Virtuous? by Suzanne McCarthy

Suzanne’s blogs were Suzanne’s Bookshelf and then also the BLT blog

There are obituaries in The Globe and Mail and from Mount Pleasant Group

Tributes appeared on blogs and discussion boards, including Kristen Rosser’s moving account as well as the following:

Suzanne Ethelwyn McCarthy, 1955-2015

iBiblio

Also related to this, Marg Mowczko (who provides one of the endorsements on the book) wrote about texts sometimes used to diminish women. Claude Montonini plans to explore some of those texts further on his own blog:

Obscure Texts Sometimes Used to Diminish Women

While the focus of this podcast is Suzanne’s book, I also want to highlight Ruth’s own work as a scholar. Here are three examples from among them: China Through the Lens of Comparative Education (Routledge: World Library of Educationalists, 2015). There is also a podcast where the author is interviewed about the book. Second, a co-edited book, just out in 2018, Religion and Education: Comparative and International Perspectives (Oxford: Symposium books, 2018). Third, Canadian Universities in China’s Transformation: An Untold Story (Montreal: McGill Queens University Press, 2016). A friend is active in the field of comparative education, and teaching in the core about other cultures and nations I often wish I had time to read more widely about the educational approaches and systems in other countries. From my experience of studying in the U.K. and teaching in Romania, I am aware of how significant the differences can be and how they are shaped by and in turn shape a society’s values.