معرفی
Isaac Soon serves as Assistant Professor of Early Christianity in the Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies within the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia. His academic appointment focuses on the intersection of ancient religious texts and embodiment studies, with particular attention to how early Christian literature portrays bodies that depart from established norms.
Dr. Soon completed his educational journey with a progression of specialized theological degrees: B.A. in Biblical Studies from Alphacrucis University College, M.Th from Excelsia College, M.Phil. in New Testament from the University of Oxford, and Ph.D. in Theology and Religion from Durham University. His doctoral work was supported by a Durham Doctoral Studentship, and he was a finalist for a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at Oxford in 2021. Prior to joining UBC, he served as Assistant Professor of Religious Studies (New Testament) at Crandall University in Moncton, New Brunswick from 2021-2023.
Dr. Soon's research centers on embodiment in the ancient Mediterranean world, with particular focus on early Christian, Jewish, and Graeco-Roman material. His work critically examines intersections between disability and gender within wider cultures of healthcare, medicine, and ideal embodiment. His first monograph, A Disabled Apostle: Impairment and Disability in the Letters of Paul (Oxford University Press, 2023), represents a significant contribution to disability studies within biblical scholarship. He has also written a trilogy of articles on "short" figures in the New Testament that challenges scholarly preconceptions about the bodies and abilities of early Christian figures. His current research projects extend this work into themes of enslavement, death, and metamorphosis, with particular interest in how early Christian texts portray non-normative bodies of key figures.
Dr. Soon's scholarly output reveals consistent thematic focus across recent publications. His work demonstrates growing interest in the physicality of biblical figures, particularly regarding circumcision practices, height descriptions, and disability representations. The recurring emphasis on bodily boundaries, gender, and power dynamics in ancient religious contexts shows how his research pushes against traditional scholarly assumptions about ideal embodiment in early Christian literature. His articles frequently challenge longstanding interpretations that assume key biblical figures were uniformly able-bodied.
- Durham Doctoral Studentship for doctoral work
- Finalist for Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at University of Oxford (2021)
Dr. Soon welcomes graduate supervision opportunities for students interested in biblical studies, particularly as related to disability, gender, and enslavement in early Christian literature. His research projects, including "Bodies Beyond the 'Normal' in Early Christian Literature," provide frameworks for examining how ancient texts conceptualize embodiment and physical difference. His scholarly approach combines textual analysis with insights from disability studies, gender theory, and ancient medical knowledge to offer fresh perspectives on familiar biblical passages. As both an academic and creative artist (evidenced by his songwriting pursuits), Dr. Soon bridges scholarly rigor with artistic expression in his approach to religious texts.
