Elizabeth Boase (born 1963) is an Australian biblical scholar and the inaugural Dean of the School of Graduate Research at the
University of Divinity
The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university with a specialised focus in divinity and associated disciplines. It is constituted by twelve theological colleges from seven denominations and three schools. The University of Di ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. Boase uses a range of hermeneutical approaches in her work but is particularly known for her use of trauma theory as an hermeneutical lens to interpret the Bible. She also publishes in the areas of
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations (, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible, it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ("Five Scroll ...
, the
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...
,
Biblical Hermeneutics
Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, fo ...
, Bakhtin and the Bible, and Ecological Hermeneutics.
Life and career
Boase studied applied science (speech and hearing) at the Western Australia Institute of Technology, now known as
Curtin University
Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...
. Following graduation, she worked as a speech therapist.
She is a member of the
Uniting Church of Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...
and at the age of 25 she was serving as an elder in the church. She was commissioned as a lay preacher in 1994.
She completed a Bachelor of Divinity (Honours) at
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...
in
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. Studying part-time while raising two children, she completed her doctoral studies at Murdoch University in 2003. Boase was a lecturer at the
University of Notre Dame Australia
The University of Notre Dame Australia (known simply as Notre Dame; ; French language, French for 'Mary, mother of Jesus, Our Lady') is a Private university, private Catholic university with campuses in Perth, Sydney and Broome, Western Austr ...
in Fremantle from 2004 to 2008. She later worked at the Uniting College for Leadership and Theology in South Australia where she was a lecturer in Old Testament and co-director of Biblical studies.
Boase also taught at the
Adelaide College of Divinity
Adelaide College of Divinity (ACD) was an accredited higher education provider offering diploma, associate and bachelor's degrees, graduate diplomas, master and doctoral degrees in Minister (Christianity), ministry, it also was a Registered tra ...
and
Flinders University
Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...
from 2009 to 2019. She became head of the theology department at Flinders University and academic dean of the Adelaide College of Divinity.
In February 2020, Boase began work as the inaugural dean for the School of Graduate Research at the University of Divinity in Melbourne.
Research
Boase's first book explored the relationship between the
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations (, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible, it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ("Five Scroll ...
literary theory
Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...
as an interpretive lens. According to one reviewer, "Boase's study has opened Lamentations in new ways and in doing so has demonstrated the usefulness of new methodological approaches." A second reviewer noted that "Boase's revised dissertation (2003, directed by Sue Boorer), is important for scholars of Lamentations, prophecy, and the interactions between them.
Boase is a scholar at the intersection of trauma theory and biblical hermeneutics. She co-edited, with Christopher G. Frechette, ''Bible through the Lens of Trauma'', which was published by SBL Press in 2016, number 86 in Semeia Studies. Described as a "landmark collection of essays on the use of trauma as a hermeneutical lens in biblical studies", the work explores how insights from the disciplines of psychology, sociology and literary and cultural studies inform biblical trauma hermeneutics.
Boase has also written about ecological hermeneutics and contributed to ''Ecological Aspects of War: Engagements with Biblical Texts'', edited by Anne Elvey and Keith Dyer.
Boase has served as co-chair of the Biblical Literature and the Hermeneutics of Trauma section for the
Society of Biblical Literature
The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...
. She is a member of the Fellowship of Biblical Studies. She is on the editorial board of the ''
Journal of Biblical Literature
The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journal
An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academ ...
'' and is the general editor of the Trauma Readings Series published by
Sheffield Phoenix Press
Sheffield Phoenix Press Ltd. (SPP) is an independent academic publisher specializing in biblical studies. It was launched in January 2004, continuing the traditions of the former Sheffield Academic Press.
SPP's main series of titles are Hebrew ...
.
The Global Church Project included Boase in its list of "20 Australian and New Zealander Female Theologians you should get to know in 2020".
She was awarded the Gold Award for Best Theological Article by the Australasian Religious Press Association in 2013. The award was given for her article "Learning in Lament, published in ''New Times'' in October 2012.
Biblical hermeneutics
Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, fo ...