Adam talked about his teaching, which ranged from more didactic (with the Foundation Year students) to more autonomous (with the Master’s students), and said much the same could be said of his academic writing. His doctoral thesis was more didactic, a book chapter he wrote – related to the thesis – which was more relaxed and left room for the reader to engage more autonomously. Writing the thesis, Adam felt obliged to use a specific ‘official’ style, that attempted to show off how clever the author is, and attempted to prove something. And yet earlier work on his own master’s dissertation was guided by advice on clarity: clarity is clever because it makes your cleverness clear. So the doctoral thesis sits alone, and Adam would like to write academic texts in the future that also speak to the general public beyond the academy, including, perhaps, something on the theology of football. And more in the more open style that leaves readers more autonomous – free to engage in their own way.

In the book on the theology of football, and in other writing, Adam likes to write collaboratively, as that too opens up spaces for the reader to be more engaged. And what about the Green Children of Woolpit? You’ll have to listen to this podcast to find out.

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