Professor Jay Johnston, FAHA

Professor Jay Johnston, FAHA, is a cross-disciplinary specialist internationally recognised as a leader in conceptual and methodological innovation. Trained in the academic study of religion, cultural heritage studies, curatorial and museum studies, art history/theory, continental philosophy and wildlife conservation education, she has particular expertise in aesthetics of religion, religion and the natural world and religious heritage. Employed in the tertiary education sector for over twenty years, Professor Johnston has demonstrable expertise and efficacy in programme leadership, research (including grant) success, all aspects of pedagogy design and delivery for undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum, postgraduate research supervision and project management.

Education:

  • Doctor of Philosophy (University of Western Sydney, 2005)
  • Master of Education (University of Sydney, 2022)
  • Master of Letters (University of Highlands and Islands, UK, 2014)
  • Master of Arts Honours (University of Western Sydney, 2000)
  • Master of Art Administration (University of New South Wales, 1994)
  • Bachelor of Arts (University of Western Sydney, 1992)

Selected academic experience:

  • Faculty Member, Nisibis Assyrian Theological College (2026-)
  • Honorary Professor, School of Humanities, University of Sydney (2024-)
  • Adjunct Professor, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania (2026-)
  • Professor, School of Humanities, University of Sydney (2022-2024)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Studies in Religion, University of Sydney (2016-2021)

Publications:

Books

  • Johnston, J. Amulets in Magical Practice. Cambridge Element (short monograph). Cambridge University Press, 2024.
  • Johnston, J. Stag and Stone: Religion, Archaeology and Esoteric Aesthetics. Equinox, 2021.
  • Johnston, J. Angels of Desire: Esoteric Bodies, Aesthetics and Ethics. Gnostica Series. Equinox, 2008.

Edited volumes

  • BeDuhn, J., M. Choat and J. Johnston (eds). From Dakhleh to Dublin: Essays in Honour of Iain Gardner. Brill, 2026.
  • Johnston, J., M. Gibson, J. Hampson and N. Whyte (eds). Emplaced Belief: Heritage and Religion Reconsidered. Berghahn, 2026.
  • Johnston, J., and I. Gardner (eds). Drawing Spirit: The Role of Image and Design in the Magical Practice of Late Antiquity. De Gruyter, 2023.
  • Johnston, J., and K. von Stuckrad (eds). Discourse Research and Religion: Disciplinary Use and Interdisciplinary Dialogue. De Gruyter, 2020.
  • Trompf, G., J. Johnston and G. Mikkelsen (eds). The Gnostic World. Routledge, 2019.
  • Johnston, J. and A. Grieser (eds). Aesthetics of Religion: A Connective Concept. De Gruyter, 2017.
  • Samuel, G., and J. Johnston (eds). Between Mind and Body: Subtle Body Practices in Asia and the West. Routledge, 2013.
  • Johnston, J., and F. Probyn-Rapsey (eds). Animal Death. Sydney University Press, 2013.

Selected journal articles

  • Barcan, R., and J. Johnston. “Birds as Buddies: The Politics of Sentimentality in the Birds in Backyards (Australia) Facebook Site.” Continuum (2023): 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2023.2234106.
  • Johnston, J., and R. Barcan. “Looking Askance: Human–Bird Sensory Ecologies.” Unlikely: Journal for Creative Arts 8 (2022): https://unlikely.net.au/issues/issue-08.
  • Mozeley, F., Judge, S., Long, D., McGregor, J., Wild, N., Johnston, J. “Things That Tell: An Object-Centered Methodology for Restorying Women’s Longing and Belonging.” Qualitative Inquiry (2022): 1-12.
  • Gardner, I., and J. Johnston. “‘I, Deacon Iohannes, Servant of Michael’: A New Look at P. Heid Kopt. 682 and a Possible Context for the Heidelberg Magical Archive.” Journal of Coptic Studies 21 (2019).
  • Barcan, R.,  and J. Johnston. “New Age Artworks: Portrait of a Puzzle.” Culture and Religion 19.1 (2018): 1-20.
  • Johnston, J. “Stone-Agency: Sense, Sight and Magical Efficacy in Traditions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.” Aniconism. Special Issue, ed. M. Gaifman and M. Aktor. Religion 47, no. 3 (2017): 445-458.
  • Johnston, J. “Affect and Animal Dance.” Bulletin for the Study of Religion 46, nos 3-4 (2017): 11-16.

Selected book chapters and reference works

  • Johnston, J. “Mani’s Erudite Animals: Wild Ruminations on Empirical Observations and Religious Instruction.” Pages 263–281 in From Dakhleh to Dublin: Essays in Honour of Iain Gardner. Edited by J. BeDuhn, M. Choat and J. Johnston. Brill, 2026.
  • Johnston, J. “Sacred Species and Biocultural Heritage: Systems of Value and Practice in Conservation Assessment and Education.” Pages 210–234 in Emplaced Belief: Heritage and Religion Reconsidered. Edited by J. Johnston, M. Gibson, J. Hampson and N. Whyte. Berghahn, 2026.
  • Johnston, J. “Subtle Bodies and Ecology: Intersubjectivity, Alterity and New Materialism.” Pages 1-10 in The Routledge Handbook of Religion and the Body. Edited by Y. Kornberg Greenberg and G. Pati. Routledge, 2023.
  • Johnston, J. “Disrupting Sanctified Deviance: The Benefits of Boredom.” Pages 70-82 in Esotericism and Deviance. Edited by M. H. White and T. Rudbog. Brill, 2023.
  • Johnston, J. “Image Play: On Angels and Insects.” Pages 185-208 in Drawing Spirit: The Role of Images and Design in the Magical Practice of Late Antiquity. Edited by J. Johnston and I. Gardner. De Gruyter, 2023.
  • Johnston, J. “Magical Images: An Esoteric Aesthetics of Engagement.” Pages 7–28 in Drawing Spirit: The Role of Images and Design in the Magical Practice of Late Antiquity. Edited by J. Johnston and I. Gardner. De Gruyter, 2023.
  • Johnston, J. “Painterly Desire: Ithell Colquhoun’s Other-than-Human Art.” Pages 151–170 in Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses. Edited by A. Hale. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.
  • Johnston, J. “Beyond Language? Ecology, Ontology and Aesthetics.” Pages 231–242 in Discourse Research and Religion: Disciplinary Use and Interdisciplinary Dialogue. Edited by J. Johnston and K. von Stuckrad. De Gruyter, 2020.
  • Johnston, J. “Rites, Runes and Maeshowe: Northern Landscapes and Lived Belief.” Pages 211–225 in What is North? Visualising, Representing and Imagining the North from the Viking Age to Modern Times. Edited by O. Plumb, A. Sanmark and D. Heddle. Brepols, 2020.

Selected professional affiliations and activities:

  • Fellow, Australian Academy of Humanities (2022-)
  • Series editor (together with G. Trompf and J. BeDuhn), Gnostica: Texts and Interpretations (Routledge)

Editorial boards:

  • Environmental Change and Human Experience: An Oxford Intersection. Oxford University Press
  • Religion (Taylor and Francis) Peer-reviewed Journal
  • Journal for the Academic Study of Religion

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