Kirsi joined Cliff College in September 2013.
Originally from Finland, Kirsi moved to the UK in 1999 to pursue a BA in theology. She is a graduate from the University of Wales, Bangor, where she completed her doctorate in 2012. Her PhD dissertation was on the biblical figure of Miriam and the multiple ways her story can be read when using different methods of hermeneutics.
Kirsi’s main research interests are women’s studies and biblical interpretation, especially in the Old Testament. Her recent research projects center upon reading troubling and violent passages in the Hebrew Bible such as Hosea 2 and Miriam’s Song in Exodus 15:21, using lenses of trauma theory, autoethnography, revenge and abuse. Her research seeks to find ways to better understand such disturbing themes in the Bible and read women’s stories in more empowering ways.
Together with Dr. Holly Morse (The University of Manchester), Kirsi is also the co-founder and co-director of the Bible, Gender and Church Research Centre. The Centre aims to foster research in biblical gender studies through various projects that will affect change in the Church and academia, so the both women and men can be empowered ‘to live life to the full’.
Kirsi lives in Sheffield with her husband Stuart who serves as a faithful sounding board to Kirsi’s research ideas. In her spare time, Kirsi likes hiking, streetdance and watching movies.
Education
| 1999-2002 | Mattersey Hall Bible College; BA in Biblical and Applied Theology Christian Diploma in Ministry |
| 2002-2004 | Birmingham Christian College; MA in Mission |
| 2006-2012 | University of Wales, Bangor; PhD in Theology |
Publications
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MONOGRAPHS
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A Woman on the Border: A Feminist-Structuralist-Deconstructive Reading of the Character of Miriam in Exodus 2:1-10; 15:20-21 and Numbers 12:1-16, (forthcoming)
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ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLES, CHAPTERS AND OTHER ENTRIES
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'"Look at what They’ve Turned us into": Reading the Story of Lot’s Daughters with Trauma Theory and The Handmaid’s Tale', Open Theology: Special Issue on Women and Gender in the Bible and the Biblical World II, 7:1 (2021) pp.208–223. Available at https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opth-2020-0156/html
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Kirsi Cobb and Hanna Tervanotko, ‘Miriam’ in Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, Vol. 19 (Berlin, Boston: Walter de Gruyter, forthcoming in 2021)
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Judith R. Baskin, Stephen R. Burge, Kirsi Cobb, Anne Margrete Fiskvik, Ann Jeffers, Helen Leneman, Jonathan M. Potter, Agnethe Siquans and Ori Z. Soltes, ‘Miriam (Prophet),’ in Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, Vol. 19 (Berlin, Boston: Walter de Gruyter, forthcoming in 2021)
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‘Reading Gomer with Questions: A Trauma-Informed Feminist Study of How the Experience of Intimate Partner Violence and the Presence of Religious Belief Shape the Reading of Hosea 2:2-23’ in K. O’Donnell and K. Cross eds., Feminist Trauma Theologies: Body, Scripture & Church in Critical Perspective (London: SCM Press, 2020) pp.112-133
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‘Manoah’ in Encyclopedia of Bible and Its Reception: Vol. 17 (Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2019)
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‘When Irony Bites Back: A Deconstructive Reading of the Midwives’ Excuse in Exodus 1:19’, in I. Fischer ed., Gender Agenda Matters: Papers of the “Feminist Section” of the International Meetings of The Society of Biblical Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2015), 1-11. The article can be viewed as an extract from the book at https://www.cambridgescholars.com/resources/pdfs/978-1-4438-7634-6-sample.pdf
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CONFERENCE AND SEMINAR PAPERS
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'"Look at What They’ve Turned Us into”: Reading the Story of Lot’s Daughters through the Lens of Trauma with a Little Help from the Handmaid’s Tale,’ The University of Manchester Ehrhardt Seminars, April 2021 (invited by Dr Todd Klutz).
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‘Reading Gomer with Questions: How the Experience of Intimate Partner Violence and the Presence of Religious Belief Shape the Reading of Hosea 2:2-23,’ Nazarene Theological College Research Seminars, December 2020 (invited by Dr Geordan Hammond); University of Edinburgh Biblical Studies Research Seminar, January 2020 (invited by Dr Suzanna Millar); Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, Bristol, June 2019 (invited by Revd Dr Helen Paynter).
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‘Revenge Through Song: Reading the Story of Miriam as a Response to Trauma,’ (ISBL, July 2019)
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‘What does Aaron Do to Help? Re-evaluating the Role and Function of Aaron in Number 12:1-16’ (IBSL, Vienna, July 2014)
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‘Persuading for Peace: Re-Evaluating the Song of Miriam in Light of Exodus 2:1-10 and 15:1-18’ (International Doctorate and Post-Doc Forum for Gender Studies in Theology, Graz, March 2014 and Post- Graduate Seminar, University of Cambridge, December 2014)
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'Finding Another Pharmakon? A Deconstructive Reading of ʽānāh in Exodus 15:21’, (SOTS: Research in Progress, Durham, January 2014)
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‘Miriam, the Mirror of Moses: Reflecting on Leadership and the Metaphor of Family in Numbers 11-12’, (SBL, Baltimore, November 2013)
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‘God’s Work of Women’s Work? Reading the Women of Exodus 2:1- 10’, (EABS, Leipzig, July 2013)
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‘Who Sings What to Whom? Re-evaluating Miriam’s Leadership in Exodus 15:19-21’, (EABS Graduate Symposium, Sheffield, March 2013)