Personal Details:

Title: Dr.

Name: Taede Anne Smedes

Address: De Gildekamp 3069, 6545 KR, NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands
Telephone: (+31) (0)24 8488086
Mobile phone: (+31) (0)6 52084838

Email: tasmedes(at)tasmedes(dot)nl

Website: main website is http://www.tasmedes.nl

Date and place of birth: 03 July 1973, Drachten, the Netherlands

Nationality: Dutch

Gender: Male

My vision concerning research and education:

My passions circle around two fields of gravity: doing research (learning) and sharing that research through communication (teaching).

My vision is that I not only want to share my knowledge, gained through research, with others, but I would also like to share in the knowledge and vision of others. I also aim at inspiring people, helping others to develop their own vision.

Education and qualifications:

1999 - March 18, 2004: PhD studies at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Groningen University.
Supervisors: Prof.dr. L.J. van den Brom (professor of Systematic Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Groningen University) (promotor); prof.dr. H.W. Broer (professor in Nonlinear Mathematics, faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Groningen University) (promotor); dr. A.F. Sanders (associate professor in Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Groningen University) (co-promotor).

September 2001 - December 2001: Exchange student, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton NJ., U.S.A.

1992 - 24 December, 1998: Master’s (‘doctoraal’) in Theology, Groningen University, the Netherlands.
Major in Philosophy of Religion. Subsidiaries: Systematic Theology and Psychology of Religion.
Title of thesis: “Tussen Orde en Chaos. Een studie over orde en chaos, wereldbeelden en God” (“Between Order and Chaos. A study on order and chaos, worldviews and God”).

1985 - 1992: Secondary school, Drachten, the Netherlands.
Leaving Certificate subjects: Dutch, English, German, French, History, Geography, Economics.

Work experience:

January 2009 - Present: Postdoc at the Faculty for Religious Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands

September 2006 - December 2008: Postdoc at the Faculty of Theology, Catholic University Louvain (K.U. Leuven), Belgium. Click HERE for the project description (in Dutch!).

February 2004 - June 2006: Postdoc at the Faculty of Theology, Leiden University, for the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) for project: Renewal of Theology Through the Sciences? Regional and Disciplinary Variation in ‘Theology and Science’ (for programme ‘Cultural Change and the Foundations of the Humanities’). Click HERE to read the project description (NWO-website).

October 2002 - 2006: (with dr. W.B. Drees) Blended Learning course on “Religion and science in the European context” as part of the project ‘Afstandsonderwijs in de vorm van blended learning’ (‘Education at a distance in the form of blended learning’), Department of Theology, Leiden University.

2004 - Present: Scientific Programme Officer of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT).

1999 - Present: Various presentations, papers and lectures for: Princeton Theological Seminary (2003); Evangelische Akademie Arnoldshain (plenary lecture 2004); Free University Amsterdam (plenary lecture symposium 2004); Nationale Milieudag, Den Haag (National Environmental Day, The Hague, 2004) Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University Groningen; the Dutch research school NOSTER; ESSSAT Conferences (ECST VIII, Lyon (2000), ECST IX, Nijmegen (2002), ECST X, Barcelona (2004)); AAR meeting Toronto (November 2002).

February 2003 - August 2003: Part-time administrative and secretarial job at Bioclear b.v. in Groningen; investigation of link between soil management, sustainable technology, and theology.

September - December 2001: Guest lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton NJ., U.S.A.

February 2001 - April 2001: Assistant for the HOVO (Hoger Onderwijs Voor Ouderen – ‘Advanced Education For Seniors’). (Organizational tasks, arranging lecturers, discussion leader.)

December 2000 - March 2001: Lectures in Systematic Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Groningen University.

September - November 2000: Lectures in the History of Philosophy, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Groningen University.

1997 - 1999: Student Assistant to prof. dr. L.J. van den Brom, professor in Systematic Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Groningen University.

1996 - 1997: Student Assistant to dr. A.F. Sanders, associate professor in Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Groningen University.

Memberships:

The European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT)

American Academy of Religion (AAR)

De Nederlandse Vereniging voor Godsdienstwijsbegeerte (NVGW)

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS)

The Institute for Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS)

Atomium

Brief summary of research of the last five years:

During my doctorate research at Groningen University, I investigated the possibilities of speaking meaningfully about divine action in the context of the contemporary scientific worldview. I analyzed the theological models of John Polkinghorne and Arthur Peacocke, who use chaos theory and self-organization as frameworks for dealing with divine action. I concluded that both the problem of divine action and attempts to speak about divine action in scientific terms rest on a category mistake due to taking the natural sciences as normative for theological reflection. I questioned this scientism and argued that the concept of divine action is not a scientific issue but needs to be addressed within the linguistic framework of theology.

In my NWO-funded research at Leiden University, I studied the regional and disciplinary variation in the interaction of theology and science. I investigated whether the regional variation in 'theology and science' and the lack of interaction between theology and 'theology and science' is a reflection of underlying views on the nature and situation of theology, religion, and science. I focused particularly on the Anglo-Saxon discussions (te US and UK) and those on the European continent (especially Germany and the Netherlands). It turned out that at least one explanation of the differences between discussions in the US and Europe is the way the Enlightenment has worked out in the different areas, and thus the way science has been received and the different ways theology and the philosophy of science have developed.

Major publications:

Chaos, Complexity, and God: Divine Action and Scientism (Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, 2004).

God en de Menselijke Maat: Gods Handelen en het Natuurwetenschappelijke Wereldbeeld (Zoetermeer, the Netherlands: Meinema 2006).

God én Darwin: Geloof kan niet om evolutie heen (Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Nieuw Amsterdam 2009)

For other publications, see my Publications website.

Awards & Scholarships:

ESSSAT Student Award 2002, European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT), for the article ‘Is Our Universe Deterministic? Some Philosophical and Theological Remarks on Models of Divine Action.’

Two times invited as 'younger scholar' to the Conference of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR), Boston, USA, 18-22 August 2004, and again to the Conference in Cambridge, UK, 8-13 July 2006.

September - December 2001: Scholarship for study at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Skills:

Typing skills: Typing certificate (Associatie voor Stenografie, Machineschrijven en Kantoorpraktijk.)

Computer skills: MS Office (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint).

Languages: Frisian and Dutch (mother tongues), English (fluent), German (fluent), French (working knowledge).

Interests:

Composing, producing, and listening to (electronic) music.

I have also preached regularly on Sundays in the Dutch Reformed Church for a period of over two years.