As the Distinguished Fellow of the Anthropocene at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, she will work on a "Future-oriented, Rights-based Ecological and Sustainability Hermeneutics (FRESH) and Doughnut Economics for the Bible, Anthropocene, and Sustainability Education (BASE) Project with Matthew 20:1-16 as a Test Case" (or FRESH-Doughnut for BASE). Supported by the Faculty of Religion and Theology and the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute at the VU Amsterdam, the project uses the interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral process that includes see-judge-act-evaluate-celebrate-ritualize steps. This endeavor aims to explore sustainability issues in Matthew 20:1-16, such as agriculture, land ownership, labor, and the dignity of workers in first-century CE Roman Palestine through an interdisciplinary lens. The FRESH-Doughnut for BASE approach also interprets the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from the contemporary context of the informal economy. It explores ways in which the biblical text might inspire and promote a fair and inclusive labor structure aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The project benefits from being situated in Amsterdam, which has adopted Doughnut Economics. The methodology and insights gained can be applied to other biblical texts in dialogue with multi-sectoral audiences.
About the fellow:
Dr. Ma. Marilou S. Ibita is an Associate Professor at the Department of Theology and Religious Education, De La Salle University (Manila, Philippines) and a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). She finished her doctorate at the KU Leuven, specializing in biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. Her research interests and publications include interpreting and recontextualizing biblical narratives such as those from the Gospels and the Pauline letters using contextual biblical interpretation and methodologies (liberationist, feminist, postcolonial, against anti-Judaism, trauma, ecological, future-oriented, and sustainability hermeneutics). She also researches economics and social stratification in the Bible, popularization of the Bible, adult faith education, and the intersection between the Bible, human rights, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
About the fellowship:
In the context of VU’s profile theme Science for Sustainability and hosted by the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute in collaboration with VU faculties, a fellowship has been set up to allow a researcher to study a topic related to the challenges of the Anthropocene.
Due to the complexity of the challenges, the fellowship examines them from different perspectives: the planet/nature, behaviour/society and ethics/religion perspective. These alternate with every term, with the next edition focused on ethics/religion starting in September 2024.