Majella Franzmann is a professor in the Department of Studies in Religion at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

(FAHA).

Early life and education

Majella Maria Franzmann was born in 1952. Franzmann completed her PhD at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in 1990 in the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics. The title of her thesis was "An analysis of the poetical structure and form of the Odes of Solomon". While Franzmann was working on her doctorate she also spent time at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

on a

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

(DAAD) scholarship. On completion of her doctorate she was the recipient of a

Humboldt Fellowship The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...

from 1992 to 1993. She renewed her Fellowship in 1995 and 2007.

Career

Franzmann was Associate Dean (Research) and Chair of Academic Board at the University of New England from 2004 to 2006. From 2008 to early 2010 she was Pro Vice-Chancellor Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. She then returned to Australia to take up the position of Pro-Vice Chancellor Humanities at

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

from 2010 to 2015. Franzmann is now an Honorary Professor in the Department of Studies in Religion at the

. Franzmann was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2001 in the Classical Studies/Religion Section. In 2001 Franzmann was awarded the

Australian Centenary Medal Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

for services to Australian society and the humanities in philosophy and religion. In 2013 Franzmann was elected as a member of the Australian Council of Learned Academies for a three-year term. Franzmann serves on the editorial board of the international journal published by Brill, ''Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies''.

Honours

In 2006 the Australian Association for the Study of Religion (AASR) Women's Caucus invited Franzmann to give the annual

Penny Magee Penny Magee (11 June 1937–17 February 1998) was an Australian scholar of religion specialising in feminist studies and eastern religions. The Penny Magee Memorial Lecture was established in her honour by the Australian Association for the ...

Memorial Lecture. The title of her talk was, "Tehat the Weaver: Women's Experience in Manichaeism in Fourth-century Roman Kellis".

Publications

Books

* Franzmann, Majella. (2003) Jesus in the Manichaean Writings, New York: T. & T. Clark. * Franzmann, Majella. (2000) Women and religion, Oxford University Press, New York.

Edited books

* Gardner, I., Lieu, S., Eccles, L., Franzmann, M., Parry, K. (2012). Medieval Christian and Manichaean Remains from Quanzhou (Zayton). Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers.

Book chapters

* Franzmann, M. (2019)
Gender issues in the study of ancient Gnosticism
In Garry W. Trompf, Gunner B. Mikkelsen, Jay Johnston (Eds.), The Gnostic World, (pp. 118–123). Abingdon: Routledge. * Franzmann, M., Gardner, I., Parry, K. (2012). The Indian Background: Connections and Comparisons. In S. N.C. Lieu, L. Eccles, M. Franzmann, I. Gardner, K. Parry (Eds.), Medieval Christian and Manichaean Remains from Quanzhou (Zayton), (pp. 215–242). Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers. * Franzmann, M. (2010). Gnostic Portraits of Jesus. In Delbert Burkett (Eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Jesus, (pp. 160–175). Chicester, United Kingdom: Louisiana State University Press.

Journals

* Franzmann, M. (2015). The epitaph of Mar Solomon, bishop of south China, administrator of Manicheans and Nestorians. Open Theology, 1(1), 293–300. * Bennett, D., Franzmann, M. (2013). Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 12(4), 367–381. * Franzmann, M. (2013). Augustine's view of Manichaean almsgiving and almsgiving by the Manichaean community at Kellis. Hervormde Teologiese Studies, 69(1). * Franzmann, M. (2012)
Personal and cosmic spaces of salvation in James and the Gospel of Judas
Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa, 48(1), 155–166. * Franzmann, M. (2011). The treasure of the Manichaean spiritual life. Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, 74, 235–243. * Franzmann, M. (2010). 'God desires ease for you, and desires not hardship for you': A comparison of qur'anic and Judaeo-Christian law. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 21(1), 1–9. * Franzmann, M. (2009). Imitatio Christi: Copying the death of the founder and gaining paradise. Journal for the Study of Judaism. Supplement, 132, 367–383. * Franzmann, M. (2008)
Reading James and the Gospel of Judas in Codex Tchachos: The relationship of texts and their characters in a common codex
Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa, 44(3), 543–552. * Franzmann, M., Gardner, I., Lieu, S. (2005)
A living Mani cult in the Twenty-first century
Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa, 41(1), vii-x1.

Edited journals

* Franzmann, M. (2022). Papers from the International Symposium on Women in Manichaeism, Sorbonne 2014. Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franzmann, Majella Living people 1952 births University of Sydney faculty Australian women academics Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities