Yan Okhtavianus Kalampung

Profile

I joined University of Leeds to study PhD in Theology and Religious Studies since 2020 which fully funded by Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidkan).

Prior coming to Leeds, I took a place on Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Manado (Manado State Christian Institute), a Christian Seminary which owned by Ministry of Religious Affair in the Republic of Indonesia. I was also an Adjunct Lecturer on Biblical Studies and Inter-Religious Dialogue in Universitas Kristen Indonesia Tomohon (Christian University of Indonesia in Tomohon) and Sekolah Tinggi Agama Kristen Luwuk Banggai (Luwuk Banggai Christian College) until 2018.

I completed my undergraduate and graduate studies in Indonesia. Where I completed my Bachelor of Theology degree in Universitas Kristen Indonesia Tomohon and Master of Theology degree at Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (Duta Wacana Christian University), both doing research on the topic of The Book of Qohelet.

Research interests

At Leeds, my research is based on the Interpretation of the Book of Qohelet from the perspective of Trauma. This emerging interdisciplinary study, starting from the year 2000, still has no understanding for why the Book contained many pessimisms, seen from the author’s psychological side. This is when I entered the discourse from the perspective of Trauma.

My focus is to show how the individual or collective Trauma influenced the writing. My previous research at Undergraduate level, I interpreted the Book using the Reader Response method. And at Masters level, I studied how Christian Mystics, namely Meister Eckhart, interpreted the Book of Qohelet. I hope by doing such research, I will be a frontier of a various yet deeply engaging expert on the Book of Qohelet.

Along with this, being a Christian Scholar in the ever-changing context of Indonesian religiosity, it also encouraged me to develop broad research interests. These include: 

• Postcolonial Biblical Studies
• Contemporary Christianity in Indonesia
• Inter-Religious Dialogue
• Maritime Christianity

Qualifications

• BTh - Universitas Kristen Indonesia Tomohon
• MTh - Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana