Visit by Shandong University academic

The Department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Malta was pleased to host Dr Xi Li (research fellow at the Center for Judaic and Interreligious Studies, Shandong University), who delivered a series of lectures as part of the Erasmus+ ICM teaching mobility program.

Primarily, Dr Li shared insights from his forthcoming book, Posttraumatic Growth in Psalms of Lament, Jeremiah, and Lamentations (Routledge, 2026). He outlined a new psychological approach to Biblical Studies, exploring how positive and negative reactions to traumatic events coexisted in some texts of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and shaped their narrative features.

In addition, Dr Li delivered other lectures on the formation of Early Christianity, with special focus on the theological parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity, and gave a public talk on the history of Biblical Studies in China.
The Erasmus+ ICM teaching mobility provided Dr Li an exceptional opportunity to engage with scholars and students in Biblical and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Malta.

This experience not only broadened his perspective on European scholarship, but also laid the groundwork for future collaboration between the two institutions.

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