Johanna Stiebert

Teaching in Botswana and Early Publications

I taught Biblical Studies at the University of Botswana from December 1999 to December 2002 and have maintained ties with friends and colleagues there.

Some of my early publications focus on biblical interpretation and the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis in African contexts.

I have collaborated extensively with individuals based at the Ujamaa Centre in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and, in the past, regularly attended OTSSA (the Old Testament Society of South Africa) and BOLESWA, a collaboration of the Universities of Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini.

British Academy Grant (2011–2014)

From 2011 to 2014, Professor Musa Dube (then at the University of Botswana) and I co-led a British Academy grant, bringing southern African and British biblical scholars into dialogue.

This initiative included visits to Leeds from both Professor Dube and Dr. Makhosazana Nzimande (now a priest in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa).

It resulted in an edited volume, The Bible, Centres and Margins (Bloomsbury, 2018).

Humboldt Fellowship at the University of Bamberg (2017–2018)

I spent one year as a Humboldt Fellow at the University of Bamberg in Germany (2017–2018). I chose Bamberg because it is home to the Bible in Africa studies series (BiAS), of which I am co-editor.

AHRC Research Network Grant (2018–2020)

I was Principal Investigator of an AHRC Research Network Grant titled “Resisting Gender-Based Violence and Injustice Through Activism with Bible Texts and Images” (2018–2020).

The grant was awarded to me and Co-Investigator Dr. Katie Edwards (University of Sheffield) with Project Partner Dr. Mmapula Kebaneilwe (University of Botswana).

Our project activities spanned South Africa, Botswana, and Lesotho.

Additionally, the project received GCRF follow-on funding to extend work with colleagues from Trinity Theological College in Legon, Ghana.

Our work in Ghana was further supported by a Worldwide Universities Network grant, bringing me together with colleagues at the University of Ghana in Accra (2018).

With members of The Nature Network (TNN), in Matasia, Kenya (2019).

Tales of Sexuality and Faith (2019–2021)

Together with my colleague, Professor Adriaan van Klinken, I collaborated on a British Academy/Leverhulme Trust-funded project entitled “Tales of Sexuality and Faith” (2019–2021).

This project focused on the experiences of predominantly Ugandan LGBTQ+ refugees in Kenya.

It led to multiple co-authored publications, most notably the book Sacred Queer Stories (James Currey, 2021).

Mentorship and Ongoing Collaborations

I mentored virtual visiting research fellow Dr. Robert Kuloba Wabyanga (University of Kyambogo, Uganda) in 2022.

In 2023, I visited Uganda and am currently exploring research collaborations with Dr. Wabyanga and Dr. Helen Nkabala (Makerere University, Uganda).