Harvard Divinity School

The the symposium on Religious Literacy and Humanitarian Action opened on January 19, 2017 with a plenary panel featuring Alastair Ager, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, and Azza Karam. Opening remarks are offered by HDS Dean David N. Hempton, Diane L. Moore, director of the Religious Literacy Project at HDS, and Stephen Prothero, Professor of Religion at Boston University. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Mauro Nobili, Assistant Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign A Nineteenth-Century Political Project: Nūḥ b. al-Ṭāhir’s Tārīkh al-fattāsh Noah Salomon, Associate Professor of Religion, Carleton College, “Rethinking Scripturalism: Ethics, Knowledge, and Textual Practice in Contemporary Sudan” Oludamini Ogunnaike, Assistant Professor of Religion, College of William and Mary, “Philosophical Sufism in the Sokoto Caliphate: The Case of Shaykh Dan Tafa” Farah El-Sharif, PhD Student, Harvard University Sunnah as “Open Source” in Hājj ʿUmar al-Fūti’s Kitāb al-Rimāh Panel chair: Charles Hallisey, Harvard Divinity School Texts, Knowledge, and Practice: The Meaning of Scholarship in Muslim Africa website: http://hds.harvard.edu/texts-knowledge-practice-africa Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Etty Terem, Associate Professor, Rhodes College, “The New Mi`yar of al-Wazzani: Redefining Islamic Orthodoxy and the Making of Modern Morocco” Ismail Warscheid, Research Fellow CNRS, “A West African Approach to Islamic Law? Sahelo Saharan Legal Writing in Post Classical Malikism” Sarah Eltantawi, Assistant Professor, Comparative Religion and Islamic Studies. The Evergreen State College ”The influence of Northern Nigeria’s encounter with European colonialism on the development of Islamic law.” Matthew Steele, PhD Student, Harvard University, “The Khalil and Commentary: Making of Legal Literary Canon in West Africa” Panel chair: Zachary Wright, Northwestern University Qatar Texts, Knowledge, and Practice: The Meaning of Scholarship in Muslim Africa website: http://hds.harvard.edu/texts-knowledge-practice-africa Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

A roundtable discussion with journalists and scholars during a symposium organized by the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School in collaboration with Boston University. Panelists were: Diane Moore, Harvard Divinity School; Stephen Prothero, Boston University; and Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Journalists and scholars discussed Donald Trump and evangelicals during a symposium organized by the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School in collaboration with Boston University. The panelists were: Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post, Jason DeRose, National Public Radio News; Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Princeton University; Debra Mason, Missouri School of Journalism; and Jeff Sharlet, Dartmouth College. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Journalists and scholars discussed refugees, immigration, and national security during a symposium organized by the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School in collaboration with Boston University. Panelists were: Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post; Stewart Hoover, UC Boulder College of Media, Communication and Information; and Angela Zito, Center for Religion and Media at New York University. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Journalists and scholars discussed the Black Lives Matter movement during a symposium organized by the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School in collaboration with Boston University. The panelists were: Adelle Banks, of Religion News Service; Lilly Fowler, of Religion and Ethics Newsweekly; Nathan Schneider of the University of Colorado, Boulder; Wendi Thomas, a 2016 Nieman Fellow; and Diane Winston, the the Knight Center Chair in Media and Religion at the University of Southern California, Annenberg. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

New York Times religion reporter Laurie Goodstein delivers the keynote address during the Religious Literacy and Journalism Symposium at Harvard Divinity School. Opening remarks are offered by HDS Dean David N. Hempton, Diane L. Moore, director of the Religious Literacy Project at HDS, and Stephen Prothero, Professor of Religion at Boston University. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Religions and the Practice of Peace Colloquium co-sponsored with the conference "Pluralism Project @ 25: Diversity and Inclusion in the American Crucible." This event was held on September 22, 2016. The featured speakers were Sarbpreet Singh, playwright, commentator, and poet, and J. Mehr Kaur, graduate of Smith College with a BA in theatre and an emphasis in directing. Mr. Singh and Ms. Kaur were joined by the actors Benjamin Gutman, Sydney Grant, Monica Giordano, and Michelle Finston, who performed an excerpt from Mr. Singh’s play "Kultar’s Mime." Thanks to the generous support from the El-Hibri Foundation. This monthly public series, convened by HDS Dean David N. Hempton, brings together a cross-disciplinary RPP Working Group of faculty, experts, graduate students, and alumni from across Harvard University and the local area to explore topics and cases in religions and the practice of peace.

Part of the Religions and the Practice of Peace Colloquium Dinner Series, this event was held on October 6, 2016, and featured 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, Liberian peace activist, trained social worker, and women’s rights advocate. The conversation was moderated by David N. Hempton, Dean of Harvard Divinity School and Ann Braude, director of the Women’s Studies in Religion Program at HDS. Co-sponsored by the Women's Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School. With generous support from the Provostial Fund for the Arts and Humanities at Harvard University, the Susan Shallcross Swartz Endowment for Christian Studies, and the El-Hibri Foundation. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

WSRP Research Associate Gwynn Kessler delivers the talk, "The Crooked and the Straight: Queer Theory and Biblical Interpretation." Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Grassroots relationship building across divides has emerged as a recommendation from scholars, practitioners, and religious peacebuilders in many of our RPP conversations. While recent political and social turmoil in the US has led to much pain, partisanship, and anger, it also presents an opportunity for individuals and communities in this country to demonstrate and model a more constructive path forward. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will discuss the challenges of leading a city in today's turbulent racial and political climate. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Professor Guy Stroumsa delivered the 2016 Albert and Vera List Fund for Jewish Studies Lecture on the topic "Christianity and the God of Israel: Henri Bergson, Simone Weil, Emmanuel Levinas." Professor Stroumsa is Martin Buber Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Professor Emeritus of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, University of Oxford. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

WSRP Research Associate Rosalyn LaPier delivered the talk, “People, Plants, and Purity: Blackfeet Women of the O’kan.” Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

In what ways does piety and the contemplative life encourage or discourage social change activism? How do liberal and conservative religious traditions integrate or divide the inner life and work for social justice. In what ways can social change activism be a spiritual practice itself? Join with a diverse panel of religious leaders in exploring how different religious traditions balance inner spiritual development with the mandate to work for economic and social justice for all. Panelists include: Claire Schaeffer-Duffy, cofounder of the Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker; HDS professor Cheryl Giles; Celene Ibrahim, Muslim chaplain at Tufts University and HDS alum; David Jaffe, rabbi, author, and founder of the Kirva Institute; and Dudley Rose, HDS associate dean for ministry studies. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

In 1939, Rev. Waitstill Sharp, a Unitarian minister, and his wife, Martha, a social worker, agreed to travel to Prague to investigate reports of a humanitarian crisis. A new documentary by Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky, Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War, tells the riveting story of the Sharps’ work in Europe during World War II. In this discussion, panelists Artemis Joukowsky, HDS professor Kevin Madigan, Amber Moulton of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and Sana Mustafa, an activist and Syrian refugee place the Sharps’ efforts in a larger historical context of modern refugee crises. The panel was was moderated by HDS professor Dan McKanan. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Charles Stang, HDS Professor of Early Christian Thought, discusses his recent publication, Our Divine Double. Gregory Shaw (Stonehill College) and Benjamin Dunning (Fordham University) serve as respondents. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Arvind Sharma, Birks Professor of Comparative Religion at McGill University, discusses the recent tensions between the academic and faith communities. This is the second Hindu View of Life Annual Lecture. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

For twenty-five years, the Pluralism Project at Harvard has studied the changing religious landscape of the United States. Join us as we mark this milestone with “The Pluralism Project at 25: Diversity and Inclusion in the American Crucible,” a conference featuring conversations about the critical challenges and opportunities religious diversity poses today. In this panel co-sponsored by the El Hibri Foundation and moderated by Diana L. Eck, Parvez Ahmed, Imam Hassan Selim, Taymullah Abdur-Rahman, Celene Ibrahim discuss Islamaphobia in the interfaith age. “The Pluralism Project at 25: Diversity and Inclusion in the American Crucible” is part of Harvard Divinity School Bicentennial celebrations. From August 2016 through May 2017, HDS will celebrate 200 years of excellence in the study of religion and look ahead to its future. Learn more at http://hds.harvard.edu/about/hds-bicentennial. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.