Jonathan Brant is the Director of The Oxford Character Project, an interdisciplinary initiative that combines academic research on character development with a practical programme offering University of Oxford postgraduate students the resources they need to become good leaders and wise thinkers. He also conducts research as a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion and the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life, covering two main areas of enquiry:
(1) The theology of culture: especially, the thought of Paul Tillich; contemporary literature and film; the use of empirical / qualitative research in theology; and construals of freedom in contemporary narrative fiction.
(2) The theory and practice of moral formation / character development: specifically, the question of what resources might be offered to Oxford University postgraduates to help them develop into wise thinkers and good leaders who may be expected to have a beneficial impact around the world throughout their careers.
Jonathan also serves as Oxford Pastorate Chaplain. The Oxford Pastorate is an Anglican trust, established in 1893, which provides extra, non-college-based chaplains for Oxford University students. Since 2008 it has focused on serving the postgraduate student community, particularly those in the newer, postgraduate-only colleges where there are no chaplains.
Jonathan is married to Tricia who is a portrait painter and also works for the charity Age UK, and has a teenage son, Isaac, who hopes to be a physicist.
